Beloved Community Member Honored For Heartfelt Dedication

SAG HARBOR, NY — She's been a longtime familiar face in Sag Harbor whose shining light in the community has impacted countless lives — and now, Nada Barry is being honored for her good work and caring heart.

Barry, owner of The Wharf Shop, "one of the commercial gems of the Village," will be awarded the Sag Harbor Partnership’s Community Service Award for 2018 on Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. in Baron’s Cove’s "Map Room" in honor of her "outstanding community involvement," the Partnership said.

Barry, originally from England, has traveled all over the world, "but her true and chosen home is Sag Harbor," the Parternship said in a release, adding that she was a child developmental psychology major in college, and wanted a progressive education for her own children on the East End.

To that end, she and others helped to found The Hampton Day School in Bridgehampton, starting with just 30 children coming from Montauk to Hampton Bays, the release said.

"When she opened the Wharf Shop in 1968, Barry’s idea was to bring a contemporary and youthful store to Main Street, making innovative, creative toys and games available to local children," the Partnership said.

Later, she became the co-founder of the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce with David Lee and Jack Taggliasacchi, "after having been denied a seat at The Round Table, the merchant organization that preceded the Chamber, because of being a woman," the release said.

With an eye toward nurturing local talent, one of Sag Harbor’s first art galleries was sited at the back of the Wharf Shop, giving artists a place to congregate.

"Ms. Barry tells the impish story of how, 40-ish years ago, she, Lee, and Taggliasacchi got it into their heads to fabricate a sign that looked like the highway department’s common green and white signs," supporters said.

The trio put the "Sag Harbor" sign in Bridgehampton; it had an arrow pointing to a turn off toward the village, "in an effort to increase business in the village. Sure enough, it did stimulate shoppers and introduced new people to the charm of the village — and it took three years for the highway department to realize that it wasn’t real!" the Partnership said.

Next, about 20 years ago, after noticing some minor vandalism in the village, Barry created the Sag Harbor Youth Committee with Linley Whelan — with an eye toward finding alternative programs and activities for teens, besides the already-available athletic programs. The Youth Advocacy and Resource Development, or YARD, program grew out of that effort, followed by SagHarborKids.org about eight years ago.

"There are few committees that Nada does not involve herself in, especially when they concern children, and SagHarborKids is still going strong today," the Partnership said.

The celebration dinner in Barry’s honor is by invitation only.

Patch courtesy photo.