Remembering the Board - Karen Osborne
Author’s Note:
September 11, 2019, marked a heartbreaking loss for the Foundation and this community. As the nation gathered together to honor the memory of those lost in the 2001 attacks, we received news that Board Member, Karen Osborne, had passed away.
This interview was conducted on Monday, August 26th, 2019 and we hope it honors her memory well.
Mason Beuhring, Communications & Program Services Director at Marietta Community Foundation, sat down with Karen Osborne, former Treasurer of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, to thank her for her years of service.
Mason Beuhring: I would like to first start out by asking what brought you to this area?
Karen Osborne: My husband, Ed, took a job on the faculty of Marietta College in 1971, teaching Accounting & Finance. So we moved to this area in the Summer of ’71 and raised our family here. I worked part-time in Public Accounting for Robinson, Caltrider, & Tenney.
Once our children were in school I started working full-time. I became a partner in Robinson-Caltrider and then we merged into Rea & Associates… I retired from there in 2010.
MB: Would I be correct in assuming you were already working in Public Accounting previous to the move in ’71?
KO: Yes, my husband and I both worked for Arthur Anderson, in Chicago.
MB: Are you a Chicago native?
KO: No, I grew up close to Cincinnati. I went to Miami University for my undergrad. My husband is from Southern Indiana, where he did his graduate and undergraduate work at Indiana University. We met in Chicago in the ’60s.
MB: How long have you been married?
KO: It’ll be 50 years on September 27th.
MB: That’s incredible! Any tips for a long and healthy marriage?
KO: Patience. Patience… and respect for each other.
MB: You mentioned you raised your family here. How many children do you have?
KO: We have two grown children. Our daughter is an educator who lives in Sausalito, CA. She received a National Science Foundation grant to go to Antarctica in October on a research project.
Our son lives outside of Chicago with his wife and three children. They are all spending this coming school year in Spain to give the kids an international experience.
Everyone celebrated mine and Ed’s 50th anniversary over the summer since they won’t be here in September.
MB: If it isn’t too much of a personal question, would you mind sharing a favorite memory you have of raising a family in Marietta?
KO: We enjoyed our children growing up here and their abilities to participate in youth activities. We were good supporters, followers, and chaperones of their activities.
Once they left, our lives changed to finding activities for ourselves including the game Bridge and belonging to the Marietta Reading Club. The first twenty years were one lifestyle and since then it has been different.
MB: Did you all share any family hobbies?
KO: We traveled a lot. With Ed’s academic schedule and my profession not being as busy during the summer, we visited all but one state with our children… we never made it to North Dakota.
We also took the children to Europe when they were teenagers. We’ve all been to China a few times because Ed taught some short-term courses there. All of us still take a family vacation every other year. When our children were growing up we would take them to Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, and other locations, but with the grandchildren, we spend a lot of time at beaches where we can relax and enjoy the warmth.
MB: Being in Marietta for over 40 years, I’m sure you have seen a lot of change? What has been the biggest shift you have observed in that time?
KO: The traffic! It has become an issue that I never thought about before, but that is a good thing. If our commercial activity is booming, then you will have the traffic.
Also, the decline in the student population of the Marietta City Schools. I’m not sure if there are just not as many young families as there were before.
I suppose a more disappointing change would be the closing of the YMCA. We live fairly close to the old location and our kids spent many hours there. Our son was a 12-year competitive swimmer and our daughter participated as well.
MB: When did you first get involved with Marietta Community Foundation?
KO: I think it may have been in the early 1990s. I was working with clients by recommending the Foundation, to assist with their personal philanthropic desires and improve their tax situations. Back then we were doing a lot of charitable trusts, which was a popular option at that time.
MB: Since your first involvement, you have served twice on our Board of Directors, once from 2001 to 2005, and then again from 2014 to this past July. What has been your favorite aspect of being on the Board?
KO: I think it would be working with the other Board members and the allocations of the funds in response to grant requests. Becoming more knowledgeable about other organizations and knowing how we can support them.
MB: Something I have asked many of the other Board members I have interviewed is, ‘Who is one person on the Board that you admire?’ Everyone that I have asked that question to has said, ‘Karen Osborne.’
Is there a philosophy or some secret that you have adopted that makes people gravitate to you in a professional environment?
KO: That is very generous of them. I have enjoyed working with the quality of people on the Board. Everybody has their own talents and expertise they bring to the table. I think that makes for a healthy Board, having different views.
I don’t know how to exactly answer that, to be honest. I try to respect everybody’s opinions and hope that our organization stays grounded in the basics.
MB: I asked earlier about seeing changes in Marietta, but what are some changes you have seen within the Foundation?
KO: I think the operation of the Foundation is very efficient now. We are also more visible in the community; which is a real positive. We have a lot more work and I’m amazed at how the Staff gets everything done.
MB: If there is one thing about the Foundation that you would want someone to know, what would it be?
KO: We respect the donors’ wishes for how their money is to be used. If they give it to us unrestricted, we make wise choices. If they give it to us with guidance or restrictions, we respect those. I believe that is important in building confidence with your donor base.
MB: Well Karen, on behalf of the Foundation Staff I know we are all very thankful for the work you have accomplished here. I am grateful that you took time to share your story with me.
KO: Thank you, it has been a pleasure.
