Saturday, March 2, 2013
I met Fred in 1978 when I interviewed with him at Electro-Voice for an Accounting Manager position. He found out that we shared some common history in that we both lived in the Flint, Michigan area and graduated from the same high school (Grand Blanc) a number of years apart. Fred was a very smart man. He had to be because he and Harry Bradley hired me in September of that year. Fred was Harry Bradley's "go-to" guy for any special projects that had to be done. I can remember all of the managers piling into Fred's car for lunch time on Fridays and heading for fish at "Someplace Else" in Niles where a discussion of the week's activities usually occurred over a couple of martinis.
Then one winter morning Fred had an accident coming to work on Niles Buchanan Road. He slid off the road and ended up in a ditch. From that point on Fred never drove a car again. He always depended on someone else to get to work.
I'm not sure of the exact year that Fred retired from EV; I believe it was some time in the mid 90's. Fred became a recluse after that. I saw him only once or twice because he never went anywhere. He was a voracious reader of books. He had hundreds, if not thousands, of mystery books in his collection.
I always had the highest respect for Fred and I believe he did for me. Because of my interaction with Fred and being employed at EV, I became a valuable employee both at EV and where I worked in other positions for other employers. If it wasn't for Fred, people like Bill Criswell, Marti, Gloria, Kathy Willis and many, many others would never have known each other and helped to make Electro-Voice as successful as it was. So pause for a moment and remember Fred in a positive way. Thank you, Fred, for allowing us into your life.
Respectfully, Bill Braun
