Fishing for change

by Roger Enlow Hoopla Correspondent

Bored with retirement?

Consider drawing inspiration from Gene Auerbach, an extraordinary volunteer.

Auerbach and his wife Marie retired to Lake Granbury in 2015 after wanting to live closer to their granddaughter in Fort Worth. He also wanted to fulfill his dream of owning a lakeside home where he could sip his morning coffee and watch the birds and boaters scurry to start the day. He enjoys one of Lake Granbury’s best views, perched high on the southern end bluffs near the dam.

His background mirrors many of the retirees who have flocked to Granbury for its small-town charm, recreational opportunities and proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. They’re well-educated, well-traveled and well-funded.

Auerbach, however, isn’t all about fishing, relaxing and traveling. Far from it.

He’s all about kids, who reap the benefits of his leadership and philanthropy. He helps raise scholarship money through his membership in the local Kiwanis and Optimist clubs. He frequently donates from his own pocket, and this year even bought new, quality tools for an auto mechanic attending the residential Universal Technical Institute (UTI) program in Dallas.

This spring Optimists awarded 33 kids $1,000 scholarships, but Auerbach had one more student in mind ... a boy in the CTE (Career and Technology Education) program raised by a single mom and who wanted to be a mechanic. Optimists heard Auerbach’s plea and quickly raised $1,000 for the boy.

At Kiwanis, two students benefited from his generosity. He gave each a $2,500 scholarship. He thought two others were worthy; so, he cornered two fellow Kiwanians and they funded the third and fourth scholarship.

Auerbach has a penchant for youngsters trying to find their way. Many opportunities exist for high schoolers not cut out for traditional university, he believes. He points out that 45 percent of the Granbury High graduates go to college and 55 percent go to trade school or back into the community.

“I’m interested in those kids who haven’t quite matured yet or have a different interest or come from a family who can’t afford college,” he said.

Students can learn a trade and make good wages, he emphasized. He has collaborated with the Granbury school district to have a CTE counselor next year at the high school focusing only on the students not planning to attend traditional college.

Volunteering for the schools, Auerbach listens to reports from school officials, and one such report spiked his interest. It concerned the poverty level of families whose children attend Granbury schools. This year, 56 percent of the families are below the poverty level, an increase of 5 percent from the previous year.

Thus, Auerbach wanted to see for himself. He and his wife drove through several of the local neighborhoods, and what he found was “appalling.” Some of the homes were nice; others not so: shabby mobile homes with no cooking facilities that renters pay $175 a week.

Auerbach, with a broad business background, began brainstorming. He had the idea for a private-public partnership. Land could be donated for new homes with the county overseeing the project and a bank handling the financial arrangement. There would be no down payment for the homeowner, but the homeowner would pay back the mortgage through a combination of his/her money and community service. In 30 years, he or she would own the home. This concept would be for families with children, impacting a stable environment while helping determine a good future for the children.

Auerbach’s philosophy: Increasing home ownership improves the community.

“If we can get people to take pride in what they’re doing and build something back into that basic investment policy instead of just rentals with a slum landlord, I think we have a chance of turning housing around that’s so bad and detrimental to families thereby contributing to community.”

Don’t challenge Auerbach to a U.S. geography quiz. He’d probably crush you.

He’s lived all over the country, from New York to California and points between.

His family moved a lot when he was growing up. His dad was in the FBI; his mom an Army captain during World War II and then a homemaker.

Auerbach attended high schools in Chicago, Seattle and

San Francisco. He was on wrestling teams and was a manager on the baseball squads. He enjoyed an “idyllic” childhood. His business and transportation studies at the University of Washington prepared him for a long stint as a Navy supply officer. He later worked for Sol Price who started the Price Club, the first warehouse club that became Costco. He was Robert Price’s executive assistant. As the CEO, Robert Price (Sol’s son) used Auerbach as his executive assistant, a superb learning experience.

After Costco, Auerbach worked for a British retail company in Hong Kong as a regional director for 1,500 stores in eight countries and later for AutoZone in Memphis, buying land, building domestic stores and starting development in Mexico, and then Estee Lauder in New York leading their worldwide supply chain.

In 2001, they lived on 38th Street in Manhattan when the World Trade Center was attacked. They moved to San Diego where Auerbach worked for a small biotech company and subsequently ran a $50 million contract helping the Navy manage repairable parts for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), which became Leidos, a major government contractor.

Auerbach finds time to serve as treasurer of the local PRCAC (Paluxy River Children’s Advocacy Center), which keeps abused and neglected children safe plus informing and teaching the schools and community of child abuse and trafficking dangers.

He’s among the volunteers for C.A.S.T. for Kids, a program that introduces special needs children to fishing. Most had never fished or been in a boat.

Auerbach and boaters take kids out fishing for a couple of hours, teaching them the basics -- baiting the hook, casting, catching and taking the fish off the hook. One of the children even caught a turtle. Another landed a 4-pound drum. Perhaps the biggest thrill for the kids is when they get to drive the boat.

The smiles and “intensity on their faces ... it’s really amazing,” he said.

Many youngsters in Hood County are smiling more because of Gene Auerbach’s passion for kids.

“What else could I do? I don’t have anything else to do,” he responds. “Go volunteer. There’s plenty of volunteer stuff out there. I’ve known several people, friends, that have retired, stayed at home and two years later died bored to death.

“I think you have to keep going!”