The Video Professor

by Tricia Despres

His face is constantly on the television screen and his fans can be found all across the country. But for John W. Scherer, his heart will always be in Naperville.

"Naperville is a classic Midwestern city—the kind of hometown where a good work ethic is valued and a hard day's work brings an honest dollar," said Scherer, otherwise known as The Video Professor. "I constantly mention Naperville in my various speeches across the country, simply because I am proud of my family's roots there."

In fact, Scherer is a direct descendent of the Napers, who founded Naperville back in 1831. Throughout the years, the Scherer family stayed in Naperville with Scherer's grandparents, who lived close to the current Pfeiffer Hall at North Central College and Scherer's parents, Jane and William, who were born and raised in Naperville.

"I remember hearing stories of my family's cabin on the river back in the 1800s," said Scherer. "And whenever I am in town and go by those homes by Pfeiffer Hall, I instantly remember all of the hours I spent playing outside of my grandparents' house. Those were wonderful times."

These days, Scherer is busy as the owner and founder of Video Professor Inc., a company known for its easy to use computer software tutorials. More than eight million people in the United States and Canada have benefited from his unique teaching materials.

Although Colorado is now home for Scherer and Video Professor, he currently funds eight fully endowed college scholarships for graduates of Naperville Central High School. Each year, one academic and one sports scholarship are awarded to deserving students. Scherer also funds a scholarship for his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

"When my father died, I felt like I wanted to do something," said Scherer. "At first, I was going to do some sort of donation to the Art Institute. Yet, my mother quickly said that wasn't right. Naperville was the place."

"The Scherer scholarships are the largest scholarships given out at the high school," explained Nina Menis, director of community relations for school district #203. "It can be a real struggle to send kids to college, so we are so appreciative of Scherer's true gift to the students in this community."

In 1985, Scherer became the owner of a successful PC sales company called Data Link Research Service, Inc., which later merged into Creative Characters, Inc.

"We were basically building computer clones, and we needed some sort of video for users to understand how to use the computer programs," said Scherer. "We went to libraries and stores and could not find any sort of computer tutorials. The rest is history."

His family's history is also of great importance to Scherer.

"I keep encouraging my mom to write it all down because she has so many memories of her time in Naperville," said Scherer. "We have donated many historical family documents to the museum. The thing I love the most is that Naperville has kept its charm. It's such a great community. Everyone I meet there is just awesome."

"(Scherer) does not have a pretentious bone in his body," remarked Mary Ann Bobosky, who with her husband Grant, worked with Scherer on the Century Walk project. "Whether it was the scholarships or the statues, he never thought of himself. Everything he has done has been to honor his parents and their shared love for Naperville."

For now, Scherer is kept very busy building the future of the Video Professor which, he admits, keeps him away for the one place he loves so much.

"I used to come back once or twice a year, but unfortunately I haven't been back in the last couple of years," said Scherer. "Shame on me. But I will come back soon. You can be sure of that."