The veterans memorial project is complete, probably the final public project he will champion.
However, knowing Fred, that may change because giving back has been in his blood since relocating to the area in the 1970s with the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities. During his 34 years with the agency, he had done some amazing work, including providing leadership for the first planned integration of Ohio students previously excluded from public school attendance with Butler County school districts.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Part of why he became involved with the township’s veterans memorial project was to give back. While it’s not giving back to the county as a whole, it was an important project that started in 2016 when he and John Carboy jointly initiated it until Nov. 9, when the entire project was formally dedicated. Unfortunately, Carboy didn’t see the dedication, having died of a heart attack in 2019.
“We were new in the community in Fairfield Twp.,” he said of himself and his wife, Joyce, “and it was a way to get involved. I didn’t know it was going to take so many years.”
While it very well may be the last project he’ll lead, the legacy of projects and initiatives is long, even outside his work with the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
He worked with the Journal-News and the then-Middletown Journal nearly two decades ago as a consultant with the Butler County Family & Children First Council. In collaboration with the two Butler County newspapers, 40 articles were written that covered each of the SEARCH Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets. The articles were compiled into the booklet “Helping Kids Succeed.”
He also supported the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Program’s “Building Men for Others” event some 18 years ago by organizing the Community Reads effort with then Cox Ohio Publishing (now Cox First Media), Lane and Miami University libraries, and local bookstores.
He furthered his work with those with developmental disabilities by championing transition programs for students with disabilities, including Project SEARCH and Project LIFE.
Been involved with the Fairfield Rotary Club since 1996, a part of the Fairfield Community Foundation Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2016, and led the establishment of the Joe Nuxhall Chapter of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
“What’s gratifying is the opportunities I’ve had to serve,” he said.
But it takes persistence to serve one’s community, especially when you’re trying to garner support for a project that started out as an idea between two friends.
The veterans memorial project was also about building relationships just as much as it was about keeping the vision alive.
“We’re in the please and thank you business,” he said. “This project in particular, I spent a lot of time asking for support, asking for funding, sending in proposals. Please, please, please. Now I can really sit back and say, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’”
So can we, Fred. To you and the committee members, Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
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