Our Club's annual dinner dance this season, a highpoint of our yearly program, was held on December 7. Although few of us were aware of it at the time, those of us who attended were privileged to be present for an unusual and memorable happening. Bob Nadeau, one of our founding members and our fifth President, who was in attendance as usual at these events, was suffering from a terminal illness, one that would take his life exactly three weeks later. Bob's decision to devote an evening of his remaining time among us to a Club social event typified both his dedication to the International Men's Club and his exceptional gift for making and maintaining friendships.
Bob was the ultimate "people" person. Hassan Hammami, another of our Presidents, recalls that soon after he joined the Club, Bob took him under his wing, not only welcoming him to the Club and its membership but introducing him to prominent members of the Naples community who Bob felt would share common interests. Through this and many later contacts, Hassan remembers Bob as one of the kindest and gentlest persons he has known, working his magic of bringing people together without thought of personal gain or credit.
Bob combined his gentle nature with a strong aversion to seeking the limelight. Even many of us in the Club who worked closely with him and served under his leadership as President were unaware that, among a long list of accomplishments, he had landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, had served as Chief of Police in his home town of Old Bennington, Vermont, was a licensed manufacturer of Shaker furniture, a founding member of the Royal Poinciana Golf Club and a past Commodore of the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club.
Coupled with these traits, Bob had a strong entrepreneurial spirit which led him to successfully undertake a variety of ventures, many of a pioneering nature. After his move to Naples in 1964, Bob learned that the area had no swimming pool construction firm. Reasoning that if he could learn to manufacture fine furniture, he could learn to build concrete-lined ponds, he acquired a swimming pool service company and transformed it into the Nassau pool construction company, the area's first. He then entered the real estate field, establishing a realty firm and undertaking development and construction of condominiums.
The search for new challenges after successfully mastering existing ones was a characteristic of Bob's approach not only to making a livelihood but of his equally broad approach to enhancing his life style as well, and he was often able to combine the two pursuits. After learning to sail, he was able to make land available to the fledgling Naples Sailing Club on favorable terms, transforming it into a yacht club as well. He actively engaged in music, art, and educational pursuits, leading Dick Ringenwald, the former Pastor of his congregation, the Moorings Presbyterian Church, to characterize him as truly a Renaissance man.
As Club President from 2004 - 2006, Bob led the Board and the Club in a quiet and understated yet authoritative manner, leaving no doubt that he was in charge while avoiding controversy and fostering cooperation among the Directors. He felt strongly that the ability of the Club to bring together men of different backgrounds and national origins should be shared more widely and thus made increasing the Club's membership his primary goal during his term of office. He called for and oversaw the preparation of the Club's first membership brochure and placed on its cover the phrase "Building Bridges of Friendship" that has become both our motto and our guiding principle. Harald Josefsen, our present Teasurer who served as Club Secretary during Bob's tenure as President, recalls the importance that Bob placed on the origin of our Club as an outgrowth of Welcome to Florida International, the women's organization that preceded our establishment. In recognition of this association, Bob initiated the practice of inviting the members of Welcome to Florida International to an annual IMC luncheon.
With Mary Lou, his beloved wife of 61 years, Bob traveled widely, an experience that fortified his belief in the value of building bridges of friendship through organizations such as ours. As a result, his most cherished goal as President was to clone the International Men's Club through the establishment of similar clubs both in the U. S. and abroad, much as our sister organization has successfully done. This goal was not accomplished but it is worth asking whether it should be revisited from time to time. Bob remained active in Club affairs till the end, customarily exercising the privilege accorded past-presidents of Board attendance and culminating with his presence at this season's Christmas gala.
Bob was truly one of a kind - gentle, yet persuasive; modest and unassuming, yet extraordinarily accomplished. We will miss him.
