Jodi Graber Berry, a 1994 alumna, a standout athlete from 1990-94 in women’s basketball and softball. She earned three Heartland Conference for Women all-conference honors, including twice in softball, and helped Franklin’s women’s basketball team to its first NCAA Division III postseason appearance after winning the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament title in 1994.
Berry led the softball team in batting average during each of her three seasons competing on the diamond. She ranked in the top-10 nationally in four statistical categories in 1992-93: slugging percentage, second at .910; doubles per game, third at .58; batting average, fifth at .517; and triples per game, seventh at .27.
Berry currently serves as principal of North Daviess Elementary School, and has been a successful head softball coach at North Daviess High School. She has won 354 games, 11 sectional championships, and two of her teams have been runner up in the state tournament.
Bryan Epperson, a 1993 graduate, a four-time captain and most valuable player of the track and field team. He graduated with school records in the indoor shot put (52-foot-10) and outdoor discuss throw (160-foot-4), and was the 1991 NAIA District 21 champion and record holder in the discus.
Epperson became the school’s first Division III All-American when he placed eighth in the shot put at the 1993 NCAA indoor track and field national championships. He later added a sixth-place effort to once again earn All-America accolades at the 1993 NCAA outdoor championships – the second of four times as a national track and field championship qualifier.
In his post-Franklin career, Epperson has spent 16 years in the financial services industry, and is currently a financial consultant with Hilliard Lyons in Franklin.
Robbie Ray, a 1980 alumnus, is being recognized posthumously after earning NAIA All-American football honors as a wide receiver, and being named the Heartland Conference’s Most Valuable Player in 1979. That senior season he caught 63 passes for 987 yards, including a crucial touchdown catch to seal a victory in the Homecoming game.
After graduation, Ray worked at Ernst & Young in Indianapolis before returning to Franklin to work with Woodbury and Company, CPA, eventually becoming owner of the firm. He lost a courageous four-year battle with cancer on June 8, 2009, and his family established the Robbie Ray Memorial Scholarship, given to Indian Creek High School athletes who attend Franklin.
