Greenville native Bob Howard made a career in banking and serves on many non-profit boards

Robert E. Howard became President of the Greenville Tech Foundation in January 2008 and retired at the end of 2016. Prior to this position he had a 30 year career with Bank of America and had served as Executive Director of the Greenville Symphony Association for 9 seasons.

A native of Greenville, Howard is a graduate of Davidson College and holds his MBA from Furman and Clemson and several banking degrees. He is a graduate of Leadership Greenville and Leadership South Carolina. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service.

He has served on a number of non-profit boards and is a past president of the Greenville Area Development Corporation, South Carolina Philharmonic, the South Carolina Nature Conservancy, the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, Leadership South Carolina, the Rose Ball and Trustus Theatre.

He currently serves on the boards of the Metropolitan Arts Council, Greenville Symphony Endowment and First Baptist Church Endowment. He is a trustee of Faith Memorial Chapel in Cedar Mountain, N.C. and a deacon at First Baptist Church. He founded and manages a military lecture series for the Poinsett Club and is on their Membership Committee. He is a member of the Greenville Downtown Rotary Club and is a former Commissioner for the Greenville Water System.

He is a graduate of the Southeastern School of Auctioneering, the Professional Ringman’s Institute and is a licensed auctioneer. He is an honor graduate of the Buckley School of Public Speaking and a graduate of Professional Santa Claus School in Denver, Colorado.

In 1999 Governor Hodges awarded him the Order of the Palmetto. In 2010 the South Carolina Arts Commission awarded him the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award. In 2017 Greenville High School added him to their Alumni Wall of Honor.

Howard is married and has one daughter.

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Talk Greenville: Where did your appreciation in the work of non-profits begin?

Robert E. Howard: I always was impressed with the people that non-profits helped and the problems they solved.

TG: What is one thing you wish everyone knew about non-profits?

BH: Supporting specific projects is great, but remember a non-profit also needs unrestricted money for lights and rent!

TG: What is one of your best moments in serving our community?

BH: Working with Maestro Tchivzhel, Sherwood Mobley and the symphony board and staff to bring internationally known cellist Yo Yo Ma to Greenville. He loved the orchestra and returned two more times.

TG: What drew you to a career in banking?

BH: I saw banking as a career that would let me help people and be involved in the community as part of my work.

TG: What would surprise most people about that career?

BH: The number of customers who become your friends.

TG: How did you transition from working in a financial career to working with the Greenville Symphony Association?

BH: I had been away from Greenville for 13 years and wanted to finish my working career in my hometown with an organization that helped the community and let me meet other people. The Greenville Symphony (and later Greenville Tech) let me do that and I am grateful to both for the opportunity.

TG: What was the biggest difference in your roles in each?

BH: I started with the Greenville Symphony in 1999. One of their first questions was “what are we going to do about the Y2K “Millennium Bug?” I almost answered “Let’s call the IT Department.” But then I realized that the IT Department was me, as was Human Resources, Security, Properties and every other department that had been just a phone call away at the bank. Directing a small non-profit is challenging work!

TG: When did you discover your love of public speaking

BH: Early in my career, the bank started a speaker’s bureau and hired a speech teacher to help us. I started speaking to groups and became comfortable with it. I am a storyteller and love a captive audience!

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TG: What drew you to auctioneering and how did you learn to do it?

BH: The Guild of the Greenville Symphony asked me to call their annual auction. In the non-profit business, you don’t say “no” to your biggest donor, so I went to auction school to learn the best auction practices and techniques.

TG: What would surprise people about veterans?

BH: The number of us who regard our military service as one of the most important experiences of our lives. I wish we had a national service requirement (either military or a non-profit) to give our young people this gift.

TG: How can we best show our appreciation for their service?

BH: Veterans served the country when they were needed. Now, the country needs everyone to serve the country by working to improve things. We can do that when we are kind, when we help someone else, and in thousands of other ways. Veterans can be thanked by seeing everyone working for a better tomorrow for all.

TG: You are a native Greenvillian. How has your hometown changed?

BH: We have gone from being invisible outside of our state to being nationally known. “Yeah, that Greenville!”

TG: What is the best change?

BH: The increased diversity of leadership in our community, the greater opportunity for everyone to be included and the chances for more citizens to get involved in making Greenville better.

TG: What is the thing you miss the most about the Greenville you grew up in?

BH:A downtown movie theatre.

TG: How did you become Santa?

BH: The symphony used to pay a Santa to help with Holiday at Peace. I decided that money was too hard to raise to pay someone to do it and decided to learn how to be a Santa myself.

TG: What happens at the Santa Claus School in Denver?

BH: They remind you that even if a child has met the President and the Pope, you are the most important person that child thinks they have ever met, so bring your best game. You also learn what to say, what not to say, and how to answer hard questions.

TG: Where would we find you on a Friday night?

BH: At a mountain cabin at Caesar’s Head.

TG: Where is the first place you take visitors to Greenville?

BH: To see our beautiful and fun downtown.

TG: What are you reading?

BH: I recently finished The Three Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu, the best science fiction I have read. I also finished Napoleon by Andrew Roberts. I am starting Heirs of the Founders by Dr. H. W. Brands, whom the Upcountry History Museum/ Furman University recently brought to Greenville for their American History Book Club.

TG: What do you want for Christmas?

BH: To spend time with my vaccinated friends.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville native Bob Howard serves on many non-profit and art boards