Oral history interview with Freddy Robinson, 2013

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PRESERVING OUR HISTORY:
ROTARY CLUB OF GREENSBORO
INTERVIEWEE: Freddy Robinson
INTERVIEWER: Kathelene Smith
DATE: June 14, 2013
KS It’s June 14, 2013, and my name is Kathelene Smith. I’m at the office of Freddy Robinson and we’re here today for a Preserving Our History, Rotary club of Greensboro Oral History Project interview. Good morning, Freddy. How are you today?
FR: I’m doing great, thank you.
KS: Well, great. Well, I’m going to ask you a few questions to start off with. Please tell me when and where you were born.
FR: I was born on June 12, 1952 at the old Wesley Long Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina.
KS: Well, happy birthday!
FR: Well, thank you two days ago. But Wesley Long Hospital was located downtown on Elm Street at that time. It was not in its current location. It was—and that’s why I refer to it as the old Wesley Long Hospital.
KS: So this is your hometown.
FR: It is.
KS: Well, that’s great. So did you grow up here?
FR: I did. I’ve never left except for school.
KS: Wonderful! Well, tell me about growing up here and your family life.
FR: Fairly normal. My parents were transplanted New Yorkers, and my father came to Greensboro to work for the IRS and then started his own CPA practice in 1947. I had two older sisters, pretty normal childhood—nothing out of the ordinary. I just had a nice—I have fond memories of riding the bus to downtown Greensboro on Saturdays to go to the Carolina theater and I would—for a—I think the whole cost was a dollar to ride the bus, have lunch at—it was a delicatessen around the corner from the movie theater—have 2
lunch, go to the movie theater, have candy and a soft drink, and ride the bus back, and it was still—I think the whole cost was less than a dollar.
KS: That’s a big day for a dollar!
FR: It was fun; it was fun.
KS: So where did you go to high school?
FR: I went to Grimsley High School, as did all three of my children. And I have fond memories of that. I think it was—I thought it was a good school for me, and it was extremely well for all my children. They got a great education, and it’s worked well.
KS: What did you like to do in high school the best? Or in any of your education, actually—middle school or lower school? Did you play sports?
FR: I did. I loved sports. Baseball was my original love. I played Little League, Pony League. I played in junior high; I was not good enough to play in high school. I started playing golf. I played on the high school golf team. I played in the State 4A Golf Championship; finished fifth my senior year, which was probably the best golf championship I ever had. It was the best two days of golf in my whole life. I’ve been very active in sports and still enjoy it.
KS: When you were in high school, did you do a lot of things downtown in Greensboro. I know a lot a lot of people talk about the Christmas parade. Did you have any experience like that?
FR: I was active in high school, I was very active in the Greensboro Youth Council, and we had the—there was the carnival every year which was at the Coliseum. That was our big project, but I don’t—you know, we—there was not a lot of downtown activity, even back then. I don’t remember it anyway.
KS: Now was the carnival—did you all put on the carnival or was it something that you all just were involved in?
FR: Well, the rides were provided by a management company, and we would have a lot of booths that had activities in order to raise—fundraising for the Youth Council.
KS: Well, what kind of courses did you like best in high school?
FR: I did not like English, but probably history was the thing I liked the best. I enjoyed history; found it fascinating.
KS: When did you graduate from high school?
FR: Nineteen-seventy. 3
KS: And then what did you do next?
FR: I went to Chapel Hill, as did my two older sisters so all three—both my siblings and I went to Carolina as did my—and that’s where I met my wife.
KS: So tell me about your college days. What was your major; what things did you like to do?
FR: I was a business major for four years, and—what did I like to do: probably just be a typical college student. I tried to play golf my freshman year. I did not make the golf team, which was—it was a lot more competitive at that point. I was in a fraternity; had a lot of friends and just—I think just normal college life. The thing—the events of my college era, I guess, was that was the streaking era.
KS: Oh, that’s right.
FR: I don’t know if you remember or—
KS: Yes.
FR: Where you would see numerous bare bodies running through campus, so that was the streaking era. But it was a lot of fun. I was a business major and then, after I graduated, I decided to go into accounting, and I went to—I got admitted as a special student to the MBA program there, and did all my accounting in one year so I wound up staying five years. I did not get an MBA, but I did all the accounting classes necessary to take the CPA exam.
KS: So you said you met your wife in college.
FR: I did.
KS: Tell me about that.
FR: It was in August of 1971. She had just transferred to Carolina, and I met her, and I would say it was love at first sight for me. I don’t think that’s—I don’t think she would agree to that for her, but it has been a—the most important thing, best thing I’ve ever done, most important thing, and most life-changing event. We will celebrate our fortieth anniversary this August.
KS: Great. Did you all get married right out of school?
FR: Yes and no. I was still an undergrad. I had one year left, and she had graduated. So she was—right after we got married, she—my wife was a school teacher in the Durham County Schools; taught elementary school, fourth grade, and so she wound up teaching at that school for two years when I finished my senior year and did that extra year, and then 4
we moved to Greensboro at that point, and she taught in the Greensboro Public Schools for several years.
KS: So what was your process? Did you come home and get a job as a CPA immediately?
FR: Not—well, yes, I did, but it was a little more than that. I came to work for my father, so that’s the reason when I was finishing my undergraduate, the fourth year as a business major, you know, I was looking at jobs in banking, and it didn’t seem real exciting, and my father said, “Well, why don’t you try coming to work here.” And I said, “Okay.” So for one year of school, I could get my accounting, and I went to work for my father and my uncle.
KS: Oh, that’s nice.
FR: So they were in practice together. It was a small firm. I was the tenth employee when I came to work in 1975.
KS: So what was it like moving back to Greensboro after college?
FR: It was nice. You know, I knew my way around. Obviously it hadn’t changed. I was obviously coming back and forth between Chapel Hill and Greensboro the whole time, so it was really nice. We bought a house and moved into a part of town I had not spent a lot of time in, but it worked out really well. We lived out near Guilford Battlefield and it just—we were—it was really nice. Greensboro is such a nice place to live for a young family. The singles complain that it’s not—there may not be enough excitement, but those that are married find it to be a very easy and pleasant place to live. I think it was a great place to raise our kids. Unfortunately they didn’t come back, but—or they didn’t stay.
KS: Not yet.
FR: Well, it’s going to be hard to get mine, but it was—I think we really enjoyed living here. My family was all here; my wife’s family was an hour and a half away, so we had a lot of family close by.
KS: So what kind of things did you do when you were raising your family here? What kind of activities were going on in Greensboro?
FR: I’m not sure I know what family—we liked—I mean as a group, as a family—we liked to travel. We kind of gauged memories by: Well, that’s the year we went to California; That’s the year we went to Europe; That’s the year we went to Israel. So we took big trips together, and that was special for us.
KS: Well, do you remember—one of the questions we ask about really college and your life in Greensboro: Do you remember the political climate at the time? Were you involved in politics at all? What kind of memories do you have of that era in Greensboro? 5
FR: Well, I am Jewish and I did have some, I would say, prejudice in growing up. I do remember issues in elementary school and junior high—not much in high school—but I don’t think my children did. So I do think there was a greater awareness, and I think it did change in regard to that growing up, from what I experienced. I must confess, I think I’ve led a sheltered life. I haven’t had a lot of interaction with certain elements of our community, and, in all honesty, I’m not—just being completely open—that I don’t really understand the housing issues that we have and the race relations. I think—I hope it’s better. I think it’s better, but it’s just hard to tell sometimes.
KS: You were probably in the generation after a lot of that had happened, in the sixties.
FR: Yes.
KS: So by the time that you were really a young family here, some of that, you know—
FR: We hope so, but again, the Klan-Nazi thing was in 1979, and that was—that’s kind of a real—
KS: Do you remember that?
FR: Oh, it was really a dark point in the Greensboro history, yes. Sure.
KS: What kind of effect did that have on your family? I mean, was that discussed a lot?
FR: Well, we were embarrassed that an event so prejudicial would happen here in Greensboro. It was very difficult. It was a terrible situation.
KS: That’s what I understand. I’m not from here, but I’ve looked over some of the documents, and it was really a sad—a sad occurrence.
FR: Yes.
KS: So, you continued working with your dad?
FR: One job, my whole life.
KS: That’s great!
FR: I guess.
KS: That’s wonderful. One town, one job; that’s wonderful.
FR: One life. [laughter]
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KS: Even better. So what kind of work have you done mostly? Are you a corporate CPA, or—
FR: Well, now we have a large—we’re the largest CPA firm in Greensboro, and we do a myriad of services, but I specialize in taxation, mainly dealing with high-net worth individuals, and closely held businesses.
KS: Any significant events about your career that you want to talk about?
FR: Yes, just—when you say significant events, I think the important thing is that this company has been in business since 1947. My father passed away in 1994; my uncle retired in 1988, and we still represent clients one, two, and three, so I don’t know if I’d say that’s a significant event, but it’s just a statement that we’ve been able to retain clients over a long period of time, and have now grown from a small—very small—firm to the largest in the area, so I think that’s probably—
KS: So you’ve grown with the city, actually.
FR: Yes. Well, I’m not sure if Greensboro has grown as much. In fact, in the last few years, we’ve seen, in my opinion, the economic conditions here are extremely unfavorable, and the accounting market has shrunk. Over the last three years, we’ve had three major firms close their Greensboro offices. Grant Thornton, Dixon Hughes, and Ernst and Young have all closed their Greensboro offices, and yet we’ve grown every single year.
KS: There’s a lot to be said for that, my goodness.
FR: Well, before you could just rely on existing clients’ growth, their internal inert growth, and we haven’t had it. We had to get business from other clients, so it’s not market growth, it’s just we’re getting more market share.
KS: Okay, so—actually some of these questions we’ve already discussed: why you decided to move in to Greensboro, but I guess I could say why did you decide to stay in Greensboro? You had a wonderful family business, and family here, so those are probably prominent reasons why you decided to stay here.
FR: Sure. I mean, it’s what I know; it’s where my business is; it’s where my friends are; and, to a certain extent, it’s where my family is, so why would I go anywhere else?
KS: Sure. Do you have any—I know you all both went to Chapel Hill, but do you all have any connections with local colleges or universities?
FR: [pause] When you say “connections,” I’m not—
KS: Did you mom go to Woman’s College—
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FR: No, no. Both my parents went to City College in New York. Both my sisters went to Chapel Hill. My wife has a sister and brother; one went to Chapel Hill, one went to UNC-Charlotte.
KS: Oh, so really not.
FR: Yes, in fact my wife’s parents went to Chapel Hill and met and got married.
KS: Oh, my goodness.
FR: And my daughter and her husband both met at Chapel Hill and got married.
KS: You all are a traditional group!
FR: We have three generations of Carolina couples.
KS: That is really interesting.
FR: Of my children, only one went to Chapel Hill.
KS: So we talked about you were never really involved with local politics. That wasn’t a particular interest.
FR: Well, I mean, I’ve been treasurer of several candidates, but other than that, not really. Not personally involved.
KS: So what about other—we’ll get to Rotary in a second—what about any other philanthropic causes or organizations?
FR: Well, when—in my—I want to say youth. When I was much younger, my wife and I were heavily in the Jaycees. I was president of the Greensboro Jaycees, and that’s, you know—were you really involved in politics? That wasn’t really politics, but that—years ago—that was the young person’s civic organization. Unfortunately, it’s not what it used to be, but at the time they got a lot of things done, and being president of the Jaycees, in some cases, was almost a fulltime job. I mean, I probably—it consumed well over a thousand hours, the year I was president, of my time, so it’s a major undertaking.
KS: What kind of projects did you all work on during your presidency?
FR: The Jaycees—we probably had two hundred projects at the time, but one of the things: the holiday parade that you mentioned earlier. The merchants association, when I was young, used to always run that, and then they stopped it, and then in 1979 I was the chairman of the Jaycee’s and that was the first holiday parade that the Jaycees ran, and they still do the holiday parade every year. So I was the first chairman of the holiday parade under the Jaycees.
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KS: That’s great because I’ve heard from so many people what an important memory that is; just, you know, that either they went or they took their children, and that’s great that they—
FR: I remember how cold it was. It was so cold we were going to put tape on the sidewalk or the curbs where we would number where people would line up, and it was so cold that the tape would not stick to the pavement.
KS: Oh, boy, that is pretty bad.
FR: Yes, it was really cold.
KS: Well, so that was great that you could be involved with our wife; that you all could do it together.
FR: Well, back at that point the Jaycees were male only, and there was a female organization called the Jaycettes, so she was active in that, and I was active in the Jaycees, and the primary fund-raising project of the Jaycees was the Greater Greensboro Open. We ran the golf tournament, so that was the big project, so we were a unique Jaycee chapter in that we had thousands of dollars to run our organization. We had an office building; we had three, four, five full-time employees, you know. We were just a very unique Jaycee chapter because of the golf tournament. And then that—the golf tournament was pulled from the Jaycees about four or five years ago, because they steadily declined in membership, and their effectiveness was greatly diminished, and now it’s run by a full-time nonprofit board. But that was a big deal back then, the golf tournament.
KS: Were you all involved a lot in your synagogue?
FR: Yes, very much. I was on the board, I think, sixteen years in a row. My wife just finished serving as the president of Greensboro Jewish Federation. She was also president of North Carolina Hillel, which is the Jewish college campus program in North Carolina, so she was president of that for two years, so we had a lot to do with it. I have been on the board of the Jewish Foundation of Greensboro from its inception, and it is just a community philanthropic board.
KS: So what kind of projects do you all work on?
FR: Well, the Jewish Foundation is mainly—they try to have money placed with them, and then the donors pretty much decide where they’re going to put the money, but the whole point is just to stimulate philanthropy. And then the idea is if you stimulate philanthropy, a lot of that will fall to Jewish causes, but that’s the indirect benefit. The direct benefit is just to increase philanthropy in general.
KS: So you’re also, of course, in the Rotary Club; so let me know about your history in the Rotary Club. How did you get into the Rotary Club?
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FR: Well, years ago the Rotary Club in Greensboro strictly adhered to the Rotary concept of classifications. Everyone in Rotary has a business classification. And so obviously I would fall into some type of accountant, and for years the way Greensboro Rotary worked was the accounting positions were pretty much controlled by three or four large accounting firms. Each firm had a position, and they didn’t want any others coming.
KS: So it was like they had representatives in the Rotary.
FR: We’ll take an example: Arthur Anderson, which is no longer in business, but Arthur Anderson had a Rotary position. They could have one of their partners be in Greensboro Rotary, and his classification would be something like “accounting, international” and then you would have McGladry which used to have a very large Greensboro presence. They would have a position “accounting, tax,” and those firms—I want to say there were three or four firms that had positions, and they weren’t going to let any other person in with an accounting classification. They basically said, “No more accountants.”
KS: Was that just instigated by them, or was that kind of a Rotary policy where you only want to have a certain amount of accountants, a certain amount of lawyers, and a certain amount of businessmen.
FR: It’s a combination of the two. I mean, the club can limit whatever they want to. Now our classifications are just for identification purposes. We probably have twenty-five lawyers, and we will find a different type of law for each one of them so each one is different. But back then it was important—this was the adult—I call it adult as opposed to Jaycees—this was the adult civic club, and they wanted certain representation, and they didn’t want anybody else in their organization so I was blocked for a number of years by my classification, and I was fortunate to have two very good friends: Bob Cone—who has been very active in the club, and Carson Bain, and they both said, “You know what. We need—we really want to get Freddy in because he’s been trying.” I mean I applied, and it took a little over three years, and then I finally got in. It was in November of 1995.
KS: That is amazing that they had that blocked that long.
FR: Right, and my—it’s interesting: my classification is “accounting, local.”
KS: So it’s different; it’s different.
FR: So it’s kind of—I just thought that was kind of humorous because I was the only local firm. I was the first local firm to be admitted into Greensboro Rotary. We now have—I know, I think we have two other accounting CPAs in the firm—from local firms.
KS: Well, did the other ones before, when it was kind of blocked, did they just kind of almost the position to another person in their firm.
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FR: In their firm. If they were to leave or decide they didn’t want to be a member anymore, they would find a replacement for them from their firm. So it was kind of like the Arthur Anderson membership; it was the McGladry membership.
KS: So what have you been involved with since you’ve been in the Rotary?
FR: You know, we’ve done a lot of projects. We have an annual fund-raising event. We support the Rotary foundation. I’ve been on the board a number of times. It’s just—you know, I kind of—I always saw Rotary as almost a natural extension of the Jaycees. Here’s a way to be involved with the community leaders and do something constructive, so that’s the unique combination that I see in Rotary and enjoy, and it’s interesting. I’m the third president in a row of Greensboro Rotary with the Jaycee background. Our current president, Sam Troy, was very active in the Jaycees, and the president before him was Al Lineberry, and Al was a Jaycee president also.
KS: Well, what are some of your favorite projects that you’ve worked on, or some of your favorite things by being involved with the Rotary.
FR: Probably one of the most satisfying things I worked on was a project called Project Rebuild, and this was a—we went into an individual’s home, and it was an elderly couple, and they did not have a handicap-accessible home, and they needed it. I think that’s the best way I can describe it, so we went in and completely redid their bathroom so that the there were bars in the tub; there were bars near the toilet—we had to widen the door so that a wheelchair could get into it, and we made the whole house wheelchair-accessible, and, you know, these two people—the couple that we were assisting—were Hispanic; had limited English but they were basically—they were crying a whole lot of the time we were there. They just couldn’t believe that complete strangers would come over there and do this for them.
KS: Now how did you identify that family?
FR: There is an agency in Greensboro that does that, and Rotary did four houses like that—this one and three others—and they do that every year.
KS: So it’s now kind of a continuing project?
FR: Right, it’s every year.
KS: That is great.
FR: So that was pretty amazing to see those people. And then they wrote a letter, and they served us lunch. It was an interesting meal. [laughter]
KS: Any other favorite projects that you worked on?
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FR: [pause] When you say project—I mean, everything—I mean that’s the only one that’s really kind of moved me, that I thought was very—
KS: Now have you been involved with Rotary International?
FR: Very little, although I am leaving next week to go to the international convention in Lisbon, Portugal.
KS: Oh, that’s wonderful.
FR: Being a large chapter, it’s been a tradition that Greensboro sends their local president to the international convention, so it’s supposed to get me all fired up and ready to come back because as soon as I get back, I take over as president.
KS: Have you been to one before?
FR: Never.
KS: So this will be your first one. That’s great.
FR: Yes.
KS: So there’s a lot of collaboration?
FR: I’m looking forward to seeing it. I’m interested to see how they handle languages at this, because there are thirty thousand people—and five official languages.
KS: That’s amazing. Someone else was telling me in an interview that some years it’s in great places like Lisbon, but in some place it’s in Cincinnati. You just don’t know where you’re going to end up. [laughter]
FR: Al Lineberry, two years ago, had it in New Orleans.
KS: Well, that’s fun. I mean, it’s not Lisbon, but—
FR: It was in Bangkok, Thailand last year. Lisbon this year, and next year, it’s in Sydney, Australia.
KS: What a great opportunity. Do you get to take your family? Do you get to take your wife?
FR: Yes, I do take her.
KS: You’re not leaving for Lisbon without her! [laughter]
FR: No, I try not to go anywhere without her.
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KS: That’s wonderful. Any other comments about Rotary, and it’s a wonderful organization.
FR: It is, and, again, I think it’s had a profound effect on Greensboro. We have a major project that we hope will come to fruition soon. It’s the carousel, the downtown carousel that we’ve put a lot of money into and a lot of effort and now will be doing more fundraising for that. But we were the instigator of that project, so, you know, this is a way for Rotary to really leave its mark on the community. It’s pretty exciting.
KS: Well, tell me a little bit more about that. Not being from Greensboro, I’m not real sure about what’s going to be located downtown.
FR: It will be adjacent to the Children’s Museum, and it will be just as it sounds. It’s a true old carousel with the horses, and everything.
KS: Is it being created new or is it an older carousel that’s being renovated.
FR: No, it will be a new one that they’re going to build. The property was donated by the Weaver Foundation. The design has already been finalized. They’ve already pretty much chosen the manufacturer. Everything is ready to go. Now it’s just a question of getting the money.
KS: That’s amazing.
FR: But we’ve—I know our club had committed a substantial amount to it, and it’s going to happen.
KS: That’s really great. Isn’t it Bernie Mann?—
FR: Bernie Mann.
KS: He spoke to me about that when I interviewed him a year or so ago, and he was really excited about it.
FR: He’s an amazing guy. Yes, one of the things difficult—since you brought up Bernie Mann, it made me think that he is our programming chairman for this year and a former president, and when he was president, I was his programming chairman so—and Rotary meets every week, you know. It’s relentless, and trying to have a program every week is a tough thing to do, and he is so energetic and using all his contacts. We are booked with outstanding speakers, starting—our year begins July first—we’re booked into the middle of October with speakers.
KS: That is great. I’ve been there for several meetings, and the speakers are always so interesting.
FR: Yes. It’s really neat. We even have Tom Ross coming.
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KS: Really.
FR: Yes.
KS That’s great. That will be an interesting one.
FR: I went to high school with Tom.
KS: Did you?
FR: Our sons are very close.
KS: I think he used to be at Davidson. My son’s at Davidson so I know of his connection there.
FR: Oh, really. Okay, yes.
KS: And then, now being—I work at UNCG, and now he’s head of the whole system.
FR: He went to Grimsley. Then he went to Davidson, and Carolina Law, and then he was a judge. He practiced law; then he was a judge. And then after he left the bench, he went to be—he was—he ran the Smith-Reynolds Foundation in Winston. And then from there, he got the job at Davidson, and he only stayed there two or three years, and from there went to Carolina. Great guy. And his son is wonderful. He has a son Tommy and my son Ryan were in each other’s weddings. They’ve been friends a long time.
KS: Well, how have you seen the Greensboro nonprofit sector change, or the philanthropic atmosphere of Greensboro change through the years, or have you?
FR: I think the biggest change has been the lack of, or the reduction in volunteerism, is the best way to put it. I just think volunteerism has dropped dramatically in the last thirty years, and I think the reason for that is that so many families have two people in the workforce. You know, thirty years ago, typically you only had the husband working in the traditional family, and today you typically—both spouses work, and when both spouses work, there’s less free time. When there’s less free time, the priorities are changed, and it’s more family. So when people have time off, they’re not going to go work on a Jaycee paper drive, or they’re not going to go on a Project Rebuild to do it on—when they have some free time, they want to spend it with their family, so I think that there’s been a—and I’ll call it dramatic, drop in volunteerism. We try to stress to our people here, “Get involved in outside activities,” and it’s really hard for people with small children, that are, you know, both spouses are working. When is there time to do that? Unless we provide time during the business day, it becomes a real ordeal for people to spend time, or volunteer time for some worthwhile activity.
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KS: You know, I’m in Winston, and I was a member of the Junior League for years, and I’m out now, but I had a notification the other day that they have now decided to stop the big fund-raising rummage sale they had every year because they couldn’t get enough people to work it, and that’s been going on for decades.
FR: Well, that’s like the Jaycees. For years we had no trouble getting two hundred people mobilized for the golf tournament—two to three hundred people—and now the Jaycees have dropped down to fifty people. They just can’t handle an event that big, and so they’re just a small part of running that golf tournament.
KS: Well, are people still willing to write the check, or is it just the time commitment?
FR: I don’t know how to measure, you know, because of the change in value of money—I don’t know how to measure the level of philanthropy, but I think that the time commitment is just really less. I mean it’s just so hard. I mean it’s difficult for me to get our people here. We want them to do outside activities, but it’s hard. You can’t force people to do it, and they just don’t have the time.
KS: Well, do you see that there’s any organization, or is it the government—is anything filling in the gaps left by a lack of volunteers?
FR: That’s a good question. I don’t know. I don’t know, but it’s a real problem. It’s a real problem. I don’t know the answer.
KS: I mean, you see the synagogue’s and the churches trying to do all they can, and then the government only has—it seems like our budgets are always being cut, so you do wonder where the next generation is going to be.
FR: And what their priorities are going to be, because I think public service—or civic service, I should say—was a priority, I think, years ago, but I don’t think it is anymore.
KS: That’s interesting, so it’s a combination of the lack of time and the lack of prioritizing.
FR: Well, the prioritizing, I think, is a function of the time. I think that they are clearly interrelated.
KS: That’s interesting and unfortunate. Well, any other topics that you want to talk about. You said you all loved to travel. What are some of the fun places that you all have been.
FR: Let’s see, my—I’m trying to think—my wife and I have started to travel more, but I think the real joy in our life right now is our children and our grandchildren. We have five grandchildren.
KS: Oh, you’ve got grandchildren. Okay, well, that’s a different thing. [laughter]
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FR: And we have kind of committed that we want to see all our grandchildren at least every six weeks. And we have three grandchildren that for a long time lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and then they have recently moved to Tallahassee, Florida, and then we also have a grandchild, a granddaughter in Austin, Texas.
KS: So those children are kind of spread out a little bit.
FR: Yes, and the only good thing was our daughter did move closer to home when she had her—she had her first child. It’s six months old, and she lives in Charlotte, so.
KS: So that’s good.
FR: Yes.
KS: That’s wonderful.
FR: They’ll actually be here today.
KS: Well, gosh. Every six weeks. That is a commitment.
FR: We just got back from Austin, Texas, last weekend, and two weeks ago before that, we were in Tallahassee.
KS: Well, at least they’re nice places to visit, you know.
FR: Yes, well, Fayetteville, Arkansas, is a little. [laughter]
KS: Okay, well, two out of three. [laughter]
FR: My middle son is a football coach.
KS: Oh, that’s great. And that’s in Arkansas.
FR: He was at the University of Arkansas, and now he’s at Florida State.
KS: That’s really wonderful. So that’s taking up most of your time at this point.
FR: Well, that’s fine. We do have a good time going to see them, so we’re really lucky. We had three children that all have wonderful spouses, and even better grandchildren.
KS: That’s wonderful.
FR: It’s really fun, so we’re really fortunate. And we’ll have more of them. There will be some more kids coming, so I’m not sure what the total count will be, but it’s pretty neat right now. So right now we’re five from five—the oldest is five and the youngest is six months so— 16
KS: Oh, my goodness. That is a spread. Well, that is time-consuming but fun.
FR: It’s great, yes. So we’re having a great time with that.
KS: Well, any other things you like to do, or things you want to mention. Anything we’ve left out.
FR: No.
KS: Okay.
FR: You’ve done great.
KS: Well, we’ll do another one in five years and see what else you have to say. [laughter]
FR: Alright!
KS: Well, thank you so much. This has been great. I really appreciate you having me to your office today.
FR: Thank you, Kathelene. It’s a pleasure to talk with you.
[End of Interview]