[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S814-S815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                         TRIBUTE TO FRED SEARS

 Mr. COONS. Mr. President, today, on behalf of Delaware's 
congressional delegation of U.S. Senator Tom Carper and U.S. 
Representative John Carney, I wish to recognize a close friend from 
Delaware, Fred Sears--a community leader and a passionate advocate for 
all in our community; a man whose name is synonymous with business 
leadership and public service in my home State of Delaware, and a man I 
am proud to call my friend.
  Fred is known statewide for his generosity, his enthusiasm, and his 
business acumen. For decades, his impact has been felt by elected 
officials, nonprofit and community leaders, and countless Delawareans 
of all backgrounds and careers. He is a true leader, an authentic 
champion of the community, and the embodiment of what service means in 
Delaware.
  Fred Sears is a Delawarean through and through, born just blocks away 
from his boyhood home at what was then called Wilmington Hospital, he 
grew up across the river from Brandywine Zoo. This Delaware native 
attended Mt. Pleasant Elementary, Alfred I. DuPont Junior High, and 
Wilmington Friends School for high school. Fred went on to earn a 
business degree from the University of Delaware and had a great deal of 
fun, including a truly memorable spring break trip to the Bahamas with 
Joe Biden, his classmate and friend.
  After graduating from UD in 1964, Fred began a nearly 40-year career 
in banking. Fresh out of college, Fred was

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scheduled to interview for a job with the Bank of Delaware, but 
accidentally walked into Delaware Trust instead. Fortunately, Delaware 
Trust was also hiring, and after starting as a management trainee, he 
rose to become the institution's first vice president of business 
development. From there, Fred went on to later work at Wilmington 
Trust, Beneficial National Bank, and ultimately Commerce Bank, where he 
was Delaware market president.
  While Fred was well and widely known as a leader in our financial 
services industry, he found many other ways to serve our community as 
well. Early in his career, Mayor Tom Maloney asked his friend Fred to 
take a leave of absence from Delaware Trust to serve as the city's 
director of finance and then later as director of economic development. 
Fred not only fulfilled those two roles terrifically, but decided 
afterwards to run for an at-large city council seat in 1976. Fred won 
and went on to serve two full terms.
  Many of us in younger generations of politics after Fred's elected 
service have called on his wisdom, his insight, and his ability to 
bring people together, as we had important decisions to make. So Fred 
served on the transition teams of Wilmington Mayor James Sills, 
Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner, and co-chaired my transition team 
after I was elected New Castle county executive in 2004.
  For many of us, decades of success in finance, in business, in 
politics might be the hallmark of a complete and successful career, but 
for Fred, these experiences were just a few of the ways he fulfilled a 
lifelong passion for service in our State of Neighbors. Just over 13 
years ago, while Fred was at Commerce Bank, our mutual friend Jim 
Gilliam, Jr., called Fred one day and said to him, ``I have a job for 
you.'' After some convincing, Fred accepted the job, and since then, he 
has served admirably at the helm of one of the most important 
organizations in Delaware: the Delaware Community Foundation. The DCF 
plays an integral role in my home State, helping local nonprofits 
direct philanthropy to Delaware's most worthy causes and encouraging 
long-term charitable giving to improve our State.
  Since Fred began as CEO in 2002, the DCF has tripled its long-term 
charitable funds and built its assets to $285 million. Dozens of 
nonprofits and community funds have flourished under Fred's leadership, 
and he and his team and their astute financial guidance continues to 
generate the funding that enables them to serve. Fred didn't join the 
DCF though just to raise money and just to be important and recognized; 
rather, he sought to improve the entire philanthropic community and 
quality of community life in Delaware, and his success in doing so 
reflects his values and his vision.
  Fred is a true leader: honest, insightful, thoughtful; creative, 
positive and confident. And Fred possesses that rare quality: the 
ability to inspire others. He has used his passion for service to 
motivate the next generation of great leaders in our State.
  Take, for example, one of Fred's many initiatives called the Next 
Generation. It is one he is most proud of--and justifiably so. Next Gen 
takes groups of civic-minded young professionals with limited or no 
experience in philanthropy and, with just the right amount of guidance 
and encouragement, helps mold them into nonprofit board leaders. Since 
2004, Next Gen's chapters up and down the State have helped direct over 
$300,000 in grants to community needs all over my home State of 
Delaware.
  My good friend Tony Allen, who also calls Fred a mentor and a friend 
and a brother, tells a story of how Fred helped establish the African-
American Community Empowerment Fund. The fund is today known as the 
Council on Urban Empowerment, and it promotes philanthropy that 
supports educational, social, and economic empowerment of African-
American Delawareans. As Tony notes, Fred didn't just help establish 
the fund, he wasn't just one of its first donors; he attended every 
meeting of the group. In 2010, Tony introduced Fred when Fred Sears was 
set to receive an award for nonprofit leadership. As Tony put it then, 
``While patience is a virtue, impatience is a weapon. And Fred can be 
appropriately impatient. Fred doesn't demur to what others would call 
insurmountable tasks and taboo topics of conversation. He takes every 
opportunity to constructively push the status quo.''
  Tony's absolutely right, and given that legacy of leadership, it is 
no surprise Fred has been honored by countless organizations for his 
business and community efforts. He has received a Lifetime Achievement 
in Philanthropy Award from the Association of Fundraising 
Professionals. He has been given a distinguished service award from the 
Wilmington Rotary Club. He has been deemed a Superstar in Business by 
the Delaware State Chamber and was named Citizen of the Year by the 
Delmarva Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
  Those awards and merits are certainly a reflection of Fred's values 
and his many successes. But those of us who have had the privilege to 
work closely with Fred and to know him know that his commitment to 
service shines most brightly in the hundreds of interactions he has 
with Delawareans every day, whether he is offering ideas and advice or 
just saying a quick hello.
  We know that even though Fred's leaving the Delaware Community 
Foundation, he will undoubtedly continue to serve the community he 
loves. In fact, Fred just accepted an appointment from Governor Markell 
to chair Delaware's Expenditure Review Commission, suggesting Fred has 
no intention of taking ``retirement'' literally.
  In a testament to Fred's thoughtfulness, leadership, and sense of 
compassion, just a day after the passing of our beloved friend Beau 
Biden earlier this year, Fred spoke to the Bidens and offered to help 
the family establish an organization in Beau's name. That idea became 
the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children--and 2 days 
after it was launched, they had already raised over $125,000.
  If this is all there was to Fred's story, it would be a remarkable 
one, but there is even more to Fred as a businessman, a philanthropist, 
and a person. If you speak to those who have been around him the 
longest, they will tell you his true passion is his family: his wife, 
JoAnn; his son, Graham; his daughter-in-law, Kathryn; his son, Jason; 
his daughter-in-law, Jen; and of course his treasured grandchildren, 
Kylie, Paxton, and Charlie. I have no doubt that Fred's retirement 
means he will be spending a lot more time as Pop Pop to his three 
treasures, becoming even more of a fixture at their frequent school 
functions and their baseball and soccer games.
  Fred's friends and family will also tell you how much he adored his 
mother, Marjorie, visiting her daily at Stonegates until her passing, 
and how much he cares for his father-in-law today. They will tell you 
that Fred loves dancing, snappy suspenders, and vinyl records.
  Fred's friend Tom Shopa will tell you about Fred's passion for golf 
and how, for decades, he has kept track of all of his golf scores, the 
number of putts he made, the weather that day--recording every single 
detail just as his father did. Fred's friends and colleagues will tell 
you they hear Fred say thank you dozens of times every day.
  Today I pause for a moment on the floor of this great institution to 
say thank you to Fred. Thank you for giving your time and talents over 
decades to more than 40 community nonprofit organizations, for serving 
on countless boards, from Christiana Care to the Rodel Foundation, from 
the Housing Partnership, to the United Way. Thank you for your decades 
of service to Wilmington and Delaware and for a lifelong commitment to 
family, friends, and community. Fred, as our friend Tony Allen puts it, 
everyone in Delaware is better off because of your efforts.
  On behalf of Senator Tom Carper and Congressman John Carney, I 
wholeheartedly thank you, Fred Sears, and congratulations on many jobs 
well done. I eagerly look forward to seeing where your so-called 
retirement will take you next.

                          ____________________