Foundation hires longtime businessman
as new CEO

Long-time Nashville businessman and community leader Bob Kirlin has been named chief executive officer of the Brown County Community Foundation.

"In Bob Kirlin, the CEO Search Committee has found the perfect fit for the job. Bob's 10 years of service in Brown County in volunteer and government work make him the ideal person to take our development initiatives and strategic objectives to the next level," said foundation board chairman Jeff McCabe in announcing Mr. Kirlin's appointment. "We are thrilled to have a leader of Bob's caliber at the helm of the foundation and the Board of Trustees and I look forward to working with him as we fulfill our goal to make Brown County a better place to live."

Founded in 1993, the Brown County Community Foundation has distributed funds to the community totaling over $11 million. Assistance with project funding has resulted in the construction of the public library, the YMCA, two volunteer fire departments, and the renovation of the Humane Society, Hickory Ridge Community Center and the Brown County Art Gallery. The Career Resource Center was funded through the CAPE grant from Lilly Endowment.

In addition to funding capital building projects, the foundation has awarded many scholarships to prospective college students, including the coveted four-year Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships.

Born and raised in Wayne County, near Richmond, Mr. Kirlin grew up on a farm and says, "I would not be where I am today without my family," crediting both his parents for instilling the values of hard work and integrity in him at an early age.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin College, he served in the U.S. Army and then embarked on a career in sales in the apparel industry that spanned 31 years, culminating with an equity stake as vice president and managing partner of Apparel Workshop in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1997, Mr. Kirlin experienced two life-changing events within weeks of one another. He received a letter from Delta Airlines stating that he had flown 1,000,000 miles with the company and received news from his doctor that he had prostrate cancer.

"I knew at that point I had to make a change," he says. The change turned out to be a move out of the Cincinnati-area to Brown County.

Both of Mr. Kirlin's sons, Brad and Chuck, attended Indiana University in Bloomington. On visits to see them, Mr. Kirlin and wife Chris often drove through here on their way to and from the campus and fell in love with the area.

What they did next was something Mr. Kirlin calls a "leap of faith" or, as Chris prefers to call it, "destiny." They, and their life savings, left Cincinnati behind and moved to Brown County in 1998.

Upon his arrival in Brown County, Mr. Kirlin started a retail store called the Lexington House and delved headlong in to a variety of volunteer projects. Among the past and current projects and organizations he is involved with are Salt Creek Trail, We Care Gang, Brown County Partnership, Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Brown County Historical Society, Theatre Brown County, Nashville United Methodist Church and Phi Delta Theta.

He has also found time to serve as an elected member of the Nashville Town Council, where he is currently vice president, and as a member of the Brown County Solid Waste and Brown County Community Corrections advisory boards.

He has been honored for work with numerous awards, including the Rotary 2007-2008 Community Service Award, the John Rudd 2007 Community Service Award, Brown County Community Foundation and 2004 Brown County Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award.

While talking about some of the projects that he has been involved with over the years, the conversation invariably comes back to family. He related a story about his youngest son, Chuck.

Chuck wanted to get contact lenses and made an appointment with Dr. Merle Pickel for an eye exam. Dr. Pickel detected some swelling behind one of his eyes and referred him to a specialist. The specialist ended up diagnosing Chuck with a brain tumor.

"It was just another reminder of how important family is and how precious life is," says Mr. Kirlin.

The tumor was successfully removed and Chuck has made a full recovery and undergoes yearly check-ups.

"Thank goodness for Dr. Pickel," said Mr. Kirlin. "I hate to think what would have happened had he not caught it as early as he did."

Chuck is doing his student teaching at Helmsburg Elementary and plans to get married in June 2009.

When asked what attracted him to apply for the CEO position at the foundation, Mr. Kirlin says he "thought it was the right time" and felt that he was a good match with the Board of Trustees. He was also impressed with the board through his dealings with the foundation from his positions with the We Care Gang and Salt Creek Trail.

"I had several opportunities to make presentations to the foundation Board of Trustees through my affiliation with these groups and just thought that they asked the right questions and had really good insight in to what the organization should be doing in the community. I have also been very impressed with Board Chairman Jeff McCabe and am looking forward to working with him as we move the foundation forward."

Mr. Kirlin has several goals that he would like to accomplish during his tenure as CEO. First and foremost, he wants to achieve sustainability for the foundation through fundraising. Sustainability would mean that the operating endowment fund is large enough that the interest income it generates would fund the day-to-day expenses like administration, rent, office supplies, etc.

He also wants to make sure that the foundation stays local.

"I feel strongly that it needs to be in Brown County," he said. "We don't want to have our future decided by interests in Bloomington or Columbus. It needs to continue to be managed locally."

He would also like to see a broader base of contributions from the community. Typically the bulk of the contributions come from a very small percentage of the population and he would like to see that change.

"I know that they may not be large donations but even relatively small amounts of money can have a huge positive impact on the organization and the county if enough people are engaged in the process," he added.

And, finally, he would like to continue to help build awareness of the foundation.

"Too many people in the county still don't know about us and I'd like to change that," he said.

Mr. Kirlin sees the primary role of the foundation to fund projects that make Brown County a better place to live. He doesn't see a major change in strategic direction and primarily wants to help strengthen the organization's ability to help fund these projects.

He says that the foundation should continue to be involved in the 2020 Project and Brown County Partnership and "be a good listener." He feels the Partnership organization is good because it "brings people together and helps to set priorities and understand better where the needs are."

"I can't wait to get started," he says of his new role. "I am grateful for the trust and confidence that the Board of Trustees has placed in me."