Inspired by Children, Led By Conviction: Jan & Pete Friedt
What do most people do when they retire? Play golf, go the theatre and symphony - enjoy things most of us often lack time for during our working years.
It all sounded great to Jan and Pete Friedt when they moved to Asheville for "a slower pace," Pete will tell you with a chuckle. But Jan and Pete are people who care about their community, and soon they found themselves getting involved, which thankfully led them to Mission Foundation to learn more about health care in the Ambassador program. Soon after, the Friedts became so inspired by the work at Mission Children's Hospital that they truly jumped in with both feet -- joining the Gold Medal Endowment Advisory Council and making a five-year pledge to the Gold Medal Endowment Fund; hosting a gathering at Mission Reuter Children's Outpatient Center to introduce friends to the great medical services available to children; and, volunteering during the week at the Outpatient Center.
If they sound busy, they are! However, this is a trend that certainly represents today's younger, more active retirees who pursue their passions as diligently as they did their careers. In fact, Jan and Pete call what they do a "retirement adventure." This is their second retirement adventure, the first being five years ago when the couple moved to Williamsburg, VA, where Pete taught legal skills to first and second year students at the William & Mary School of Law.
The Friedts' passions are children and healthcare. On the recent occasion of their 41st wedding anniversary, Jan and Pete recalled for Inspiration how children have always been important to them not only because of their love for their two daughters Carrie and Jenny, but also because of their careers. Jan had been both a teacher and administrator in public and private schools. She also served as a volunteer with The Childhood League Center, a school for developmentally disabled children and as a Board Trustee with the Children's Hospital Guidance Center. Pete practiced employment and healthcare law with Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in Columbus, Ohio, for 32 years. Among his many community involvements were his service as Legal Counsel and Board Trustee for Columbus Children's Hospital (now Nationwide Children's Hospital); Board President of the Worthington Public Library; and later, as Mayor of the City of Worthington, a suburb of Columbus.
There is no sign of their retirement adventure slowing; in fact, when not volunteering, Jan and Pete try to visit their four young grandsons in Michigan and Ohio as often as possible.
-Originally published in Mission Healthcare Foundation's newsletter, Inspiration, in Winter 2008.
