The award was bestowed by the Native American Finance Officers Association, an agency launched more than 30 years ago to support growing tribal economies and communities.
“I’m just really blessed that God made me a Quapaw, and I’ve been fortunate to work with some good people,” Berrey said.
Berrey was honored during the NAFOA’s 11th annual leadership awards luncheon at a conference last week New Orleans.
“This year’s honorees include extraordinary people, a cutting-edge education program, and an innovative financial deal nominated by the NAFOA community for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to Indian Country,” VaRene Martin, NAFOA’s first vice president, said in a statement. “The NAFOA Board is humbled and honored to recognize and celebrate them on behalf of the NAFOA community.”
Before becoming chairman, he was a member of the business committee, where he had served for one term. As chairman, Berrey said he has multiple responsibilities.
“That makes me sort of the figurehead for the tribe in terms of businesses, commerce, social services and the general direction of the tribal government,” Berrey said.
Barry Switzer, former head football coach of the Dallas Cowboys, provided introductory remarks during the ceremony. He said Berrey has a “great mind, business acumen and a big heart.”
Berrey helped with the ideas behind the tribe’s major enterprises including its beef and bison herd, agricultural sector, coffee roasting facility and the new USDA-inspected meat processing facility.
Though the tribe’s main source of income is from its gaming operations, Berrey said, its aim is to branch out into other enterprises in order to provide quality services for its members.
“Tribal gaming is still the predominant bread winner of our tribe, but our goal is to diversify other business so we’re not 100 percent reliant on the income from our casinos,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot from it. We get a lot of revenue and capital from it, but we’re really intent on finding other ways of providing resources that’s non-gaming.”
Enterprises and services
The list of Quapaw Tribal enterprises has been growing strongly, Berrey said, and continuing that momentum is one of his main goals this year. In September, the tribe opened up its own state-of-the-art meat processing plant, which has become popular.
The Quapaws also launched their own craft brewing company this year, an undertaking that has also taken off, he said.
“Every day, we get busier, and we have more inquiries at the meat plant," he said. "We’re getting all kinds of new customers that want us to do the processing for them. The beer is going crazy. It went from 0 to 60 percent of our draft beer sales within the casino, which is amazing to me.”
The Quapaw tribe has also been a key player in cleaning up the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Northeast Oklahoma. Last year, the tribe was awarded $10 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up mining waste.
Chairmanship
Having served as chairman of the Quapaw tribe for 17 years, John Berrey plans to run for his final term in the upcoming July election. Members of the Quapaw Tribal Business Committee are elected every two years, and there are no term limits.