When I found out that Fred Breithut passed away as a result of a fall, I was so upset. I wasn’t the only one. My entire staff was sad too. Actually, after I thought about it, I realized, it was a sad day for all Long Islanders.
Fred Breithut touched so many people. He ran School Business Partnership for Long Island (SBPLI) and was instrumental in getting the Robotics Competition on Long Island in Long Island schools. (This competition is where students from different schools build a robot and compete against other students.)
Fred had passion. He loved young people and wanted them to succeed. And many of them did as a result of knowing Fred. Check out what Fred wrote about the 60 Over 60 Gala and the people it benefitted:
Among the persons most grateful for being at the gala were the young people who provided escort and support service for the honorees. These were a few of the young people who benefitted from the gala’s fund-raising feature – support for SBPLI’s Long Island FIRST program…a program that challenges students at 47 of Long Island’s high schools to build 130 pound robots that compete with each other at the Hofstra University Arena each March.
I met Fred a few years ago. He came to my firm to talk with us about organizing and coordinating the 60 Over 60 Gala. We worked with him for two years. In that time, he motivated me and my staff. He would say to me:
“Hilary, people want you to succeed because they like you.”
That made me feel good.
So when I went to Fred’s wake yesterday and saw his shell lying there in the coffin, I kept thinking that this great man left a legacy for all of us. If each of us can touch people the way Fred did then our lives are worth living!
