Dublin-Worthington News Stories

Member Spotlight: Frank Dunbar III

By Friday, July 9, 2021
Advancing the Leadership Mindset
Finding Success in the Success of Others
 
This is another in a series of member profiles based on discovery interview questions that were designed to get an up close view of the traits and strengths of some of the members who provide leadership to this organization.
 
Membership Spotlight: Frank Dunbar III
A Detailed and Accomplished Globetrotter
 
Tell us about yourself.  Give us three facts that include information about your family, your career and your pastimes.

I’ve been married to my second wife, Sharon, for 26 years.  My son lives in Marysville and is a supervisor in the Dublin Parks and Recreation Department.  My daughter, who is an international consultant in the field of HIV/Public Health resides in Berkeley, CA and Harare, Zimbabwe.  She is the mother of my youngest grandchild, Tanaka Ngwara, an immensely talented, bi-racial eighteen year old who excels in musical theater, singing, dancing, opera, directing and costuming.  She is a freshman at Princeton University. 

After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University (’61) and the University of Chicago Law School (’64), I returned to Columbus and joined a law firm of twelve members.  We grew to 42 lawyers then to 93 members after a merger.  Later I became a sole practitioner for several years.  Then, in 1997 I joined the legal staff of the Supreme Court of Ohio as a Master Commissioner.  In 2006 I retired after forty-two years as a practicing attorney. 

To me a pastime is a generalized activity of special interest repeated over a period of time.  For me – fitting that definition is travel.  Since our retirement Sharon and I have been “snowbirds” (until coronavirus) spending one to three winter months exploring southern California and Utah, venturing off to Alaska, and a couple years ago, circumnavigating the world (mostly in the southern hemisphere) on a Viking cruise ship.  By my best count I have visited forty-three countries and territories.

How long have you belonged to Rotary?  What’s the best thing about membership?

I have been a member of the Dublin-Worthington Rotary Club for the length of its existence – for 47+ years.  I was a charter member of the club when it was formed in 1974 and am one of four or five of the surviving “active” charter members.  I was the third president of the club and the first to serve a full-year term.  I consider the best thing about membership in the Dublin-Worthington Rotary Club to be the association and camaraderie with other business and professional leaders with varied backgrounds and interests, all with the desire to help others less fortunate – locally and world-wide.

As you look back on your life and your career, where and when did you have the biggest impact on others?  Who was impacted and how?

The project I engaged in that had a significant impact on others came fairly early in my career ((circa 1970) and affected Central Ohio in general and Dublin in particular.  It involved the construction of a set of land use rules, regulations and home owners’ association (HOA) governance and funding vehicles for the Muirfield real estate development.  In preparation I studied other planned use developments (PUDs) and included a trip to Columbia, Maryland, which was an early PUD of national significance.  Impacted by the legal documents I prepared were the City of Dublin, the Muirfield real estate developers, home builders, architects, home buyers and mortgage lenders.   From the project I learned it was possible to try new ideas and be innovative.

As you look back, which of the opportunities you’ve had has been the most fulfilling to you personally?  Why?

In the context of the Dublin-Worthington Rotary, I had the opportunity to provide legal services to six fellow club members and their respective businesses.  Since it is the job of a lawyer to be a problem-solver, the opportunity to provide legal advice and guidance to help solve the problem(s) faced by each of these club members was both unique and fulfilling. 

Describe the most challenging project you’ve ever worked on.  What was your role?  What was the result?  What did you learn?

I’m hard-pressed to identify one project as more challenging than others.  Each was different and had different challenges and presented different learning experiences.  However, the Muirfield land use project is a good example of a complex challenge I dealt with.

What are some things you are passionate about?  What really excites you? What gets your adrenalin flowing?  What makes your heart sing?

Hey!  I’m an eighty-two year old man and retired for fifteen years from practicing my chosen profession.  All of these states of mind or emotions were expressed in the present tense.  To me they are either historic or non-existent.

What are you especially skilled at?  What is something that others often tell you that they think makes you stand out?

See my answer to the previous question. 

When you have a moment to sit back and think (dream) about your future, what do you think about?  What things would you like to do in your life that you haven’t gotten around to yet?  Is there something else you would like to accomplish?

I can quite honestly say that there is nothing that I am capable of accomplishing that I have not accomplished.

If you could choose anyone (alive or deceased) to have lunch with, who would it be? Why?

I would choose to have lunch (and I probably will) with my granddaughter, Tanaka, mentioned at the outset of this interview.  I would seek her views as a young person, and as the only black member of my family, about the BLM movement and of the seemingly systemic racism in policing nationwide.
 

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