Honoring Bob Keet

By Daniel McCormick, MHA | February 29, 2016
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

ETR is a lucky nonprofit, for all kinds of reasons. One of them is embodied in the character of a single individual—Robert Keet, MD. This man has been a continuously active—and consistently dynamic—member of ETR’s Board for the past 35 years.

 

Think about that for a moment. What were you doing 35 years ago? How many of those things are you still doing today? With the same people or organization? Especially commitments that involve obligations such as weekend-long meetings where you review finance reports, business plans, performance data, legal issues and strategic goals?

 

Yes, it takes a special person to do this kind of voluntary work. And it takes an extraordinary person to do so for one organization over such a span of time.

A Tribute

Last week, we had an opportunity to pay special tribute to this man who has been such a fundamental part of ETR’s success over more than three decades. A group of about 50 friends, family, ETR staff and community leaders gathered to tell stories, hear tales and celebrate Bob’s wide-ranging and impressive achievements.

I’m not going to even try to list all of the things he’s done (though that list would include run a medical practice, remodel seven houses, build exhibits at our local children’s museum, participate in the AIDS ride multiple times, sit on a number of voluntary boards, raise a family and partner in a local restaurant). Instead, I’m simply going to offer some of the thoughts that come to mind when I think of Bob the man, the professional, the Board member and the friend.

Bob has an insatiable curiosity. He is inventive and creative. He is leading edge in his ideas, easily coming up with wide-ranging possibilities that others never imagined. And he has the commitment of will to see these things through! What a combination.

I add to this his selflessness and unerring commitment to excellence. Put these all together, and you have one incredible human being.

We wish Bob and his family the very best as he moves into new and different projects. Oh, and don’t get the wrong idea. He’s not retiring. We plan to continue working with him in his role on the Board of our partner organization dfusion.

Thank you, Bob. You have left an outstanding legacy that we will continue to build upon.

 

Dan McCormick is CEO of ETR. You can contact him at dan.mccormick@etr.org, or find him on LinkedIn.