Ron Ivery: e Face of Greenhill

In 1982, 22-year-old Ron Ivery was working a miserable job at the Motor Steel Company in Dallas.

“People were getting hurt and it was cold,” he said. “It was so extremely dangerous and there were no bene ts. I just said, ‘Boy, I know this ain’t where I’m meant to be.’”

Later that same year, he found where he was meant to be. He had just been laid o by the steel company job when a friend gave him a job lead at a private school in Addison.

“I dressed up, put on some good cologne and drove out here,” Ivery said. “ e guy who interviewed me said, ‘You sure smell good, [but] I don’t know how good you can work.’” at’s just what he does.”

He was hired on the spot, and more than 40 years later, Ivery has become a Greenhill institution.

“He can be loud and boisterous, but he also just goes about his work and he’s amazing,” said Associate Head of School for Mission, Community, and Culture Tom Perryman ’81, who has known Ivery for almost 40 years. “It’s just a reminder that showing up and caring about people matters.

Ivery quickly became immersed in the Greenhill community. He traveled around campus daily, interacted with students and faculty across all divisions and frequently helped with the logistics behind football and basketball games.

Forty-one years later, Ivery’s positive presence on campus has remained unchanged. He continues to help with setting up for events, moving and repairing things and helping with emergency tasks, such as making sure the renowned Greenhill peacocks stay on campus.

Ivery is one of the few members of his department who interacts with students and faculty every day.

“He always appears out of nowhere and gives you a st bump,” junior Ayne Park said. “It’s like he knows you and he understands you.”

Driving around campus in his golf cart, Ivery hands out peacock feathers to younger students and lights the replace in the Montgomery Library when it’s cold outside. Students say these small acts create a ripple e ect across the community.

Senior Barrett Self has been at Greenhill since kindergarten and still chats with Ivery every time they cross paths. Ivery even gives Self occasional rides to class in his golf cart.

“I’ve always seen Mr. Ivery as the face of Greenhill,” Self said. “Since Lower School, he has been the most generous man I’ve known. Having someone like him on campus really makes this place home.”

Students are not the only ones who interact with Ivery. Faculty across the school see Ivery on a daily basis and have felt the impact of his presence.

“He was our Baccalaureate speaker when I graduated,” Upper School History Department Chair Amy Bresie ’96 said. “I think he teaches people the value of connection, the value of kindness and the value of forming a community and being a part of something.”

Bresie says that Ivery has impacted her on and o the campus, from the time that she was a student at Greenhill to now, as a teacher.

“He was so kind to my father, who taught here for years,” Bresie said. “And then, when he got cancer, Mr. Ron came to the hospital multiple times to visit him. at’s just the kind of man he is. He doesn’t just smile and say hello, he shows up and helps.” roughout his many years at Greenhill, Ivery has also formed traditions with the faculty and sta

“He comes in every Monday morning a er a Cowboys game to unpack the results,” said Perryman. “It has become sort of a routine.”

Ivery emphasizes that his engagement with the Greenhill community is far from a chore.

“When it’s time to go to work, I get excited to see my kids and my friends,” Ivery said. “I get a joy, when I’m available, to help kids and teachers in whatever situation they may need help in.”

Ivery says that many students in Upper School ask him to go to their sports games. Over the course of many years, students have also invited Ivery to graduation.

“I’m the only one that goes to graduation in my department,” Ivery said. “I start crying sometimes, I’ve been seeing some of you guys grow up. Now I even see the kids of kids that went to school here.”

Having seen a number of changes throughout his Greenhill career, Ivery singled out some notable improvements.

“ ere’s been a much larger increase in diversity throughout the years,” Ivery said.

“It’s not a day that I’m not excited to see what kind of an impact this has on Greenhill.”

Another big change that Ivery experienced took place in 1997, when Perryman introduced the community-wide Heart of the Hill activities.

“Everybody taking time out to mingle and come together was a huge and great idea,” Ivery said. “When I rst started working here, they didn’t have big community activities and it makes a big di erence.”

From very early on, Perryman says he realized that Ivery wanted to participate in community activities, because of his love for the people on campus. is is why, to

Ivery, the most meaningful change was led by former Head of Middle School Lucinda Carter.

Carter acknowledged the maintenance department, paving the way for them to participate in community activities like Heart of the Hill.

“We previously couldn’t participate in certain things that the rest of the faculty could,” Ivery said. “[Lucinda] Carter thought of us and changed that.”

When re ecting on his previous jobs, Ivery notes that Greenhill’s unique culture impacted him in ways unlike any other job.

“As a person who just had a high school diploma, I have to say that this is the best job I’ve had,” Ivery said. “I’ve gotten to know so many of these kids, and I’m getting older so I can’t remember their names, but I remember all of their faces.” e people whose lives he has touched over the decades feel the same way.

From the welcoming community to the comfort that the campus brings, Ivery feels that these little things of Greenhill have made the past four decades a joy.

“I just can’t fathom a universe in which Mr. Ron is not a part of Greenhill,” said Bresie. “Even back when I was here, he was already legendary. And he doesn’t just know names, he knows things about you in a way that I think is kind of amazing.”

Perryman says that when alumni look back on their Greenhill experience, they can never forget Ivery because of his graciousness and generosity.

“He’s a xture,” Perryman said. “He’s a living, breathing embodiment of what the school stands for, and is a touchstone for so many people.”

Greenhill is an integral part of Ivery’s life now, and when he’s away for too long, he misses the school and all the people, he said.

“It’s kind of like my second home now,” Ivery said. “I may be gone soon, and I ain’t gonna see y’all no more, but y’all always gonna be a part of my heart.”