Robert E. Griffin, Longtime Escalade CEO and Chairman, Has Passed Away at Age 89 - Seite 2

Griffin valued education, believing that it led to an improved quality of life and helped people make better decisions. He became a major benefactor to the University of Southern Indiana. In 2014, his leadership gift funded the construction of the USI Griffin Center. Bob continued to engage with his undergraduate alma mater and regularly attended Notre Dame football games. He supported the Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government, as well as the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. Bob was instrumental in the launch and support of the Galvin Science & Engineering Scholars program at Notre Dame.

Griffin remained physically active throughout his life and developed a keen interest in health care. His lifelong interest in skiing began in Aspen, Colorado in the 1960s, and he later shifted to Utah. He worked out regularly at the YMCA and enjoyed bicycling. He could be seen tooling around town on his vintage black Indian Scout bicycle. Among his proudest achievements was to introduce the first health risk-based insurance incentive program in the United States at Escalade.

Griffin was an accomplished investor and remained actively interested in the markets. Bob learned about stocks in high school and gained early boardroom experience when he engineered the sale of Obear-Nester Glass Company in 1967. Bob's friend and Evansville restauranteur, Andy Guagenti, identified Wendy's as a significant new franchise opportunity. Griffin and Guagenti set up a meeting with Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, secured the Utah territory, and formed a rewarding partnership in 1975 that built, owned, and operated more than two dozen Wendy's restaurants throughout the state. In 1991, Bob also led Escalade's successful investment in the renowned Swedish table tennis company Stiga Sports, and he developed a long-standing relationship with the Bandstigen family, partners in the business. Most recently, Bob was an investor in Regency Properties and served on their Board of Managers. Regency develops commercial real estate in county seats throughout the United States. Griffin thought of his philanthropy not as a donation, but as an investment that should be leveraged to provide a compelling return to the community.