Fred Bender: Putting education, politics into the limelight

Rosemary Zibart | For The New Mexican

11/21/2007 -

Fred Bender didn't wait until he'd retired to start volunteering. While still working in northern
Colorado as a mining engineer, Bender visited a youth corrections center and found the facility "horrible." Single-handedly, Bender started a youth advocacy group, rallied legislators and obtained a large grant, and soon the corrections center had been completely revamped.

In 1986, Fred and his wife, Mary, relocated to Santa Fe, and he's been involved in the community ever since. He first volunteered with the Girl's Club (now Girls, Inc.). He noticed several boys were attending the club because their parents thought the Boys and Girls Club on Alto Street was too tough.

"I decided to check out the Boys and Girls Club," said Bender.

"Fred worked here almost 40 hours a week," said Al Padilla, who had just been hired when Bender appeared.

In addition to serving on the board, Bender created the first computer room and wrote several key grants, enabling creation of the Santa Cruz satellite club location as well as reviving the local building.

Bender also developed summer vocational camps for the children to do projects in woodworking, welding, etc., and he took children on field trips and developed an art program.
By the time Bender left the board in 1996, the club was on solid financial footing with a positive image in the community. "Fred is one of the reasons our club is now a model for youth programs nationally," said Padilla.

Fred then joined the Educational Reform Task Force that spent almost two years examining education revenues from gas, coal and other natural resource royalties.

"We believed it was possible to slightly increase the percent going to education without significantly diminishing the total revenue," said Bender.

The detailed report he wrote was distributed to legislators, and a commentary was published in The New Mexican. As a result, at a public referendum, citizens voted in favor of raising the percentage of natural resource royalties going to education. The additional funding made possible a large increase in teacher salaries.

Closer to home, Bender helped out in his granddaughters' classrooms, teaching science through hands-on experiments at Atalaya Elementary.

He and his wife of 62 years, Mary, rarely missed a Tuesday night at the International Folkdance Club.

"Mary and I met dancing and we've loved it ever since," said Bender. The two still help teach, keep in touch with members,
help with transportation and appear at dances in folk outfits they got on dance trips to Eastern Europe.

But for many in Santa Fe, Bender is best known for his tough articulate letters-to-the-editor regarding politics.

For years before Iraq pulled this region to the forefront of national consciousness, Fred has been hounding legislators and citizens to realize the importance of creating peace and stability in the Middle East.

"Of course, it matters for the people who live there," said Bender, "but it's also key for security in our country."