Namely News: Fred Kahn enriched community with his commitment to service
Fred Kahn recommends getting involved in the community. Don’t stand on the sideline. Find a cause that is essential to you and embrace it. “It is important to give back.”
Fred did an excellent job of giving back. He was involved in South Bend by serving on the city park board, county park board and the Fischoff music competition. Over the past 50 years, there were 12 boards and foundations from Memorial Hospital to the Firefly Festival for the Performing Arts.
Through his work, we can all enjoy Bendix Woods, St. Patrick’s and Ferrettie/Baugo Creek. “We are surrounded by parks with the three county parks and Potato Creek State Park on the south,” he said.
Surrounded by parks, he said, is a great selling point for the county. “The community has a lot to offer. Look around.”
He has cut back on community involvement in the past few years. Now he is looking forward to retirement in August from Merrill in South Bend as a senior wealth planner.
(We all know it as Merrill Lynch. Then if you have a good memory, you will recall it being Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. If you have an excellent memory, there was also a Beane in the mix. When you have that many names, show them off. Speak with reverence to all those guys.)
Lots of lunches, meetings and agendas for his community spirit. He also squeezed in a family with three children ― Matthew, Jeremy and Melissa. Matt also is with Merrill in South Bend as a wealth advisor, and he's also following in his father’s footsteps of community involvement.
Fred is married to Marsha Brook. Marsha had an active career in counseling in South Bend.
Another great love, besides Marsha, was sailing. He participated in Mackinac yacht races. Ten of those. Now it is mostly dry land.
He compared yacht races to the stock market. “You can be scared, but it is not a place to panic.”
Retirement is coming in August after 62 years of work and 45 years with Merrill. At 82, he said, it was time. “I still have my health. I want to do something before it is too late. I want to improve my golf game,” he said.
Born and raised in South Bend and a graduate of Central High School, he went to Purdue University for two years. The engineering field did not pan out for him. He went to Indiana University Bloomington for economics. Economics fascinated him.
He went on to get his MBA from IU South Bend in 1975. Fred said IUSB is a “big bonus for the community.”
After graduating from Bloomington, he worked in Elkhart for $250 a month. He was there for five years and got to know the business leaders there, such as Art Decio. He came to work in South Bend in 1967. He has been with Merrill for 45 years.
People who have worked with him sing his praises as a great board member who listened and took advice. Evie Kirkwood, retired director of St. Joseph County Parks, said Fred has always been a “quiet leader, a humble man.”
How humble? He has a place at St. Pat’s Park in the form of an unusual keepsake, an antique gas pump from the 1920s. The restored pump is near the park offices. It recalls Fred’s first job as a gas station attendant.
Evie said many wedding parties at the park have their photos taken with Fred’s gas pump. A scenic spot.
Larry Catanzarite, county park board president, said Fred examined a problem, talked it out and got it done. “He is an effective leader. A gentleman.”
Former mayor Stephen Luecke fondly remembers working with him. “From his work with parks and support for the arts, to his service on the Century Center and Hotel-Motel Tax Boards, he has shown his passion for service. Fred embodies the highest component of citizenship ― being engaged and taking responsibility for making our community a better place. Though he may not be faster than a speeding bullet, or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, he is Super Citizen and we're glad to have had him on our team.”
With lots of community spirit, Fred worked with mayors in South Bend and Mishawaka. He has eight Keys to the City from South Bend and Mishawaka. He said he has tried to do something for each mayor.
The keys, which are carefully mounted in a case, are among dozens and dozens of awards in the 1st Source Bank Building. The office may be the best in the city, overlooking Michigan Street. He watched a lot of changes down that street from that office.
Fred said he needs to start packing the mementoes and working on that golf game.
You can contact Kathy at kfborlik@yahoo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Fred Kahn retires after successful financial career and volunteer work
