CHERRY TWP — The Patriots’ win in Super Bowl XLIX, Barack Obama’s inauguration, the fight of the century between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao and Joey Logano’s win at the Daytona 500 have one thing in common.

Each of these events were captured for a worldwide television audience by the keen eye and camera of Moniteau graduate John Pry.

Last week, Pry explained to Moniteau seniors how he rose from managing the school’s audio/visual department to becoming co-founder and president of JitaCam Inc.

Pry and other successful alumni — Judith Texter-Zedreck Gonzalez, faculty member at the Pitt School of Nursing; Hillary O’Neil, Army ROTC; Tad Thompson, U.S. marshal; Joe Marshall, U.S. Military Academy graduate; Jerry Campbell, founder of Campbell Bus Lines; and Jennifer Dillamen, author of the newly released book, “Shayde” — illustrated the path to success by their examples.

Pry’s path began at home in West Sunbury with his parents Ellen and the late Gerald Pry and 10 older siblings.

“Coming from a large family, his father kept him busy. Anything he did, his boys did. He taught them a lot about being able to fix things instead of just paying (someone else),” said Ellen.

The result was Pry’s ability to solve problems in a creative way.

“I had no plan to go to school,” said Pry, who spent the summer after his 1995 high school graduation working for Swank Construction in New Kensington.

But when a co-worker suggested he look into the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pry enrolled and ended up studying video production.

While still at the institute, Pry worked as an intern for Dale Rongaus’ Sound and Stage, a television production company in Grove City.

“It turned out to be a good thing John was a self-starter, a go-getter. In this business that’s what it takes. He was willing to do anything,” said Rongaus.

A job came along that required lugging a lot of equipment to New York, and Rongaus said he didn’t think it was worth it.

“John said ‘I’ll go,’ I think once he saw New York City and decided that’s where he needed to be,” said Rongaus.

While videotaping the Grove City bicentennial musical for Sound and Stage, Pry reconnected with Moniteau graduate Taryn Kollar, who had a leading role. He also met musical director Dave Barron.

Kollar became his fiancee the next year, and both she and Pry decided to move to New York City to pursue their careers.

Barron told Pry to contact his sister, Nancy Barron, who was stage manager for the soap opera, “As the World Turns.”

Her husband, Keith Morris, was head of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 1212, a technicians’ union that included television camera operators in New York City.

Through Morris, Pry got his first job operating video conferencing equipment and performing other duties.

Later Morris introduced him to Barry Fialk, who put Pry on crews for local sporting events televised by ESPN, CBS and ABC.

When CBS was looking for people to do the “NFL Today Show,” Morris got him an interview.

“I was all dressed up in my suit. Most of the other techs came in jeans and a T-shirt. She (the interviewer) said ‘I don’t think you’re right for this but I want you to meet Jeff Pollack.’”

Pollack said he’d give Pry a shot. “If it works out you can stick around. If not, at least you’ll have CBS on your resume,” he said.

Pry proved his worth as a utility (camera assistant) during his first year.

“By the second year, he put me on camera,” said Pry.

Pry began to learn to operate other camera platforms. One of them was a camera jib, a crane with a camera on the end. Camera movement is controlled by the operator via a remote, said Pry.

Before long, Pry was training others at WNYW, a local Fox affiliate, to use a jib; but at CBS he operated all cameras and was soon working as a regular on talk shows and news special events.

“They offered me staff a couple of times, but I wanted the freedom to take advantage of other opportunities that might come along,” said Pry.

By 2004, he was also jib operator for “CBS’ The Late Show with David Letterman.” He worked there for several years, and in 2005, he and the Letterman crew won an Emmy for their work.

Expertise in his field and entrepreneurial spirit prompted Pry to come up with the idea for a new jib.

“After working with jibs for a while, I had a conversation with my co-worker, Paul Manecky, about an idea to mount a camera jib to the ceiling. Everyone thought we were crazy but we thought it was a good idea. My co-worker had a machine shop and went to work designing a prototype,” said Pry.

Shortly thereafter, Pry and Manecky used that prototype to shoot the Country Music Awards in Nashville. 

“That was a lot of stress, and while I would not suggest going out on major television productions with a prototype, it was also very exciting,” said Pry.

That led to more award shows, sporting events, concerts and game shows and in August 2007 Pry and Manecky decided to form a corporation with veteran operator Chuck Goslin, and JitaCam was born.

From there the overhead jib system was used on various television programs, reality series, concerts and sporting events.

Today in a rented warehouse in New Jersey Pry and his co-owners and staff build the JitaCam and other exclusive mechanisms that move and guide cameras. They employ about 30 people and rent equipment to producers all over the country and in Germany and Australia.

JitaCam soared at the 2009 summer and winter X-Games, HBO boxing, Showtime mixed martial arts events and the UFC. Other credits include the “American Idol” finale, the Republican National Convention, the Music Video Awards, the American Music Awards, the People’s Choice Awards and several Super Bowls.

Pry’s main message to young people: “You need time to practice and learn, but when opportunity presents itself, you have to be willing to take a risk.”