From the portraits on his shelves, it’s clear that he is family oriented and values relationships.The athletics memorabilia point to the fact that he is a lifelong sports fan, a former student-athlete and longtime coach — they also hint at his competitive nature. His humble nature, welcoming personality and ability to communicate in a straightforward manner are also easy to observe.

All of these traits have served Beard well in his 40-year business career since graduating from IC. He is the third generation to have ownership in the family business, Beard Implement Company, which started as a one-man operation in 1937. He bought his portion of the business in 1984 and today co-owns it along with son Jeremy Beard ’02 and Kyle Schumacher.

Beard credits IC alumnus, Ken Bradbury ’71 H’98, the late playwright and educator, with instilling in him at an early age the importance of being able to get up and speak in front of people, while Bradbury was a teacher and Beard a student at Triopia High School. “It’s really helped me in my business — so much of it is personal relationships with my customers and that ability has really enriched my business. It started at Triopia and continued at Illinois College,” he said.

While Beard can reflect on a wide range of lessons he gained through his education at Illinois College, he remembers athletics being the driving force to his decision to enroll. His time as a student-athlete playing football for four years and for a season of basketball has influenced who he is today.

Through his education, Beard gained confidence and expanded his horizons. He remembers enjoying his college experience, but after graduation he lost touch with what was happening on campus and he wasn’t very connected to his alma mater for a number of years.

“I hadn’t put a lot back into the College until I joined the board and met President Barbara Farley. I started to see more of what was happening at IC. I became very committed to making it even better. It re-engaged me and it inspired me,” he said of becoming an Alumni Trustee in 2013. In 2018 he was elected to serve as a Charter Trustee. Beard’s passion for the College has grown steadily over the past six years.

Looking back he recognizes the misconceptions about Illinois College that he held for years. “I thought that the College didn’t need my gift because of the large endowment. I should have known better being in business, but I made assumptions about the tuition paying for everything which just isn’t realistic. It takes gifts from corporations and individuals to achieve everything,” Beard explained.

Beard describes serving the College as a trustee as one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. It’s difficult to imagine one could be more dedicated to so many aspects of Illinois College than he has been in recent years. He’s a loyal supporter the IC Fund because he has seen how the annual fund really makes a difference with opportunities for students.

He and wife, Mary Ann, are members of the Illinois College Society. Beard provides annual support to the communication and rhetorical studies department and scholarships for students from Triopia and other regional high schools through the Gerry Beard Scholarship Fund. He’s an active member of the IC Varsity Club because of his love of IC athletics. He played a critical role in the success of fundraising efforts to renovate Joe Brooks Baseball Field and Jessica Kamp Softball Field. Beard Implement is the corporate sponsor of the softball scoreboard. Through his participation in that project, he has seen how having world-class facilities on campus really make a difference in the student experience.

With the recently established agribusiness program, Beard has found another reason to stay connected to IC and to affect the lives of students who hope to follow in his footsteps as a business leader in agriculture. Illinois College began offering classes in the major in January 2018, and since that time the program has continued to grow and evolve, drawing talented students from throughout the region and beyond.
 

Beard has been impressed with everything he sees happening with the agribusiness program and Dr. Woods’s leadership, noting that, “Like a lot of what is happening at Illinois College, there is a real energy in that program.” Beard has worked with students in the program to bring fresh ideas to his business. A great example of that is rising senior agribusiness major Madie Budd ’20 who is interning with the company now and recently put together a creative radio ad to highlight both Beard Implement and IC.

When he talks about the launch of Inspiring Achievement and the impact future projects will have on students and the College’s ability to recruit and retain talented students, his face lights up. He wishes for others who have grown apart from the College to share his experience of reconnecting to IC and to discover the feeling of giving back to a place that holds such significance for so many.

“What our challenge is today is to inspire people and get them to come back to the campus to meet with a coach or a professor, to take a walk across campus or talk with a student. When I walk on campus as a trustee, the students tell me, ‘thank you.’ That’s a really cool experience and tells me that the students today understand more than I did as a student about the value of donors in general,” he said.

Whether alumni and friends of the College connect to experiential learning, athletics, global travel, agribusiness, nursing or scholarships — Beard hopes that people will see Inspiring Achievement as another opportunity to take a deeper look at Illinois College, seeing both what is happening now and what is possible for the future.

“I think that a lot of people have a passion for education. Once they have engaged with the College in a meaningful way, they will want to be part of what is happening here,” he said. “There is someone on the campus who can inspire you. This campaign will allow IC to provide best-in-class facilities and best-in-class experiential learning. I hope that people get involved because it feels good to make a difference and be a part of something like this.”