Thoughts for the Day, February 15, 2022: See my video of the day. The Frank I knew was more than a conservative radio host.

Frank Beckmann

It has been nearly three days since I got the word that Frank Beckmann, 72, passed away.  I have been trying to process my emotions ever since.  I feel so sad for Frank’s family.  Frank gave so much of himself to his career, U of M football and his beloved charities. When he finally decided to spend his remaining time with his family, tragedy struck. Less than 90 days after retiring in March 2021, Frank became seriously ill and never recovered. 

Twenty years ago, I began my casual acquaintance with Frank Beckmann because of my role as chairperson of the Mott Golf Classic.  After three years of me serving as the MC of the dinner following the event, my fellow committee member Rick Bossard and I decided we needed a professional to MC the event.  Rick through his contacts reached out to Beckmann and a partnership was formed which lasted for over 10 years.  Every first Monday in June, Frank took the day off from his WJR broadcasting duties and spent from early morning to late evening with Rick and me.  Frank was always in our foursome at Radrick Farms, and it was a must that we had to win the event, which was relatively easy, since we always bought at least $1,000 of Mulligans for our group.  Frank would meticulously track how many mulligans we started with and how many we used on each hole.  Frank would let us leave a hole until we birdied it.  It was during this event that I found Frank Beckmann was much different than the one I heard on WJR during his morning broadcast.

As time went on and people learned about my acquaintance with Beckmann, I countless numbers of people who would come up to me and ask how I could associate with someone with his conservative political views.  My response was always the same.  I would tell them that Frank Beckmann may be conservative, but he cares about people.  He gives of himself willingly to many different charities, not just the Mott Golf Classic.  He is a good person who happens to be conservative in his political views.

When I was chairperson, my secretary Debbie Verhines, worked closely with Frank to coordinate his schedule, coordinate the program, etc.  Debbie was one of the most important people in my life and she loved Frank and he loved her.  Debbie passed away the day after Christmas from cancer in 2005. Even though Frank was on vacation, I texted Frank about Debbie’s passing.  When Frank returned from vacation, he opened his morning show on WJR telling all his listeners about the Debbie and what she meant to the Mott Golf Classic.  Since this was also my first day of retirement, I was listening to Frank that morning.  His comments brought me to tears.  I immediately called Debbie’s husband “H” to tell him what Frank said.  “H” asked if I could get a recording of the program.  I texted Frank and he was able to send “H” a copy of the broadcast.  From this point on, Frank held a special place with me.

Over the years, I would text Frank on regular basis usually during his radio show.  He was always quick to respond.  We usually played golf at least once each year over and above the MGC event. These were especially fun times as we were just out enjoying ourselves with no other responsibilities  When I was chairperson of the board of Eagle Crest Corporation, Eastern Michigan University’s for-profit corporation, I invited Frank to play Eagle Crest Golf Course.  My purpose was to introduce Frank to Eagle Crest and discuss the possibility of getting Frank to include Eagle Crest on one of his future Golf Michigan radio program tours.  As usual Frank was so grateful and willing to give of his time to meet with staff and ask questions about Eagle Crest.  We presented Frank with an arial photograph of Eagle Crest which Frank really appreciated.

One of Frank’s favorite charities was Kali’s Cure.  Kali, the daughter of the owner of Dunmaglas Golf Course in Charlevoix, was injured in a diving accident which left her a quadriplegic.  Kali’s Cure was started by Kali to help raise funds to help others with paralysis. Frank was asked to MC their golf outing and he fell in love with the event.  Knowing that I had a place in Petoskey, Frank reached out to me and asked if I would help support the event as it was one of his favorite charities.  I sponsored a foursome and participated in the event a couple of years.  Once again, I saw Frank Beckmann give of his time for a charity that really moved him. 

The time that most endured me to Frank occurred while he was the MC at the Mott Golf Classic Dinner.  At the dinner, we always honor a former Mott Hospital patient and their family.  At this dinner, U of M football coach Lloyd Carr was sitting at the head table with Frank, me, Rick Bossard and others.  The story which the patient and the patient’s mother told about their journey and the work of the Mott caregivers had everyone in tears, including Frank and Coach Carr.  As part of the program, Frank was to present the patient a gift of appreciation from the MGC.  When it was time for Frank to make the presentation, Frank was in tears, so he was trying to get Coach Carr to make the presentation.  However, Coach Carr was also in tears, and there was no way he was going to get in front of 300 people while he was crying. Eventually Frank pulled it together, but everyone knew he was crying.  It was a magical moment.

Frank was always true to his conservative values, and this rankled many people.  Because he had such a loud platform to express his views, too many people could only see the conservative radio host and Detroit News opinion writer, who had views that were contrary to their views.  I was fortunate to see a different side of Frank, that didn’t always come through on his radio program. 

What are you doing to stop the violence?  Get vaccinated and get your booster.

Orchid of the Day: Nick Baumgartner, the40-year-old snowboarder who won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics was honored Monday with a parade in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Nick walked the streets of Iron River, population 2,800, with the medal around his neck and his dog at his side, punching the air with his fist as people screamed for the hometown hero.

Onion of the Day: The International Olympic Committee whosaid on Monday that they planned to withhold medals in any event in which Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, 15, places in the top three until after her doping case is resolved, perhaps months from now.

Quote of the Day:  “It’s all just so unfair,”. “And now it’s also so unfair to all of these ladies because their whole Olympic experience is now wrapped up in the controversy because a country doesn’t want to play by the damn rules.”  Adam Rippon, a former Olympic skater who is coaching the U.S. figure skater Mariah Bell at the Games

Video of the Day:  From by best friend George Mihaiu. The B1G Valentine. https://saturdaytradition.com/big-ten-football/be-my-valentine-what-we-love-about-every-big-ten-school/?fbclid=IwAR1J2mPjLpjMK_QoBeet_BxtbKDdQ2C-EpBn9iRnhcmBUwjoiHQjCJFcfPc