An Interview with Kipcon’s Founder, Mitchell H. Frumkin (Part II)
When you think of a good leader, who do you imagine? What are some of the things this person is passionate about? What motivates them to do what they do? Do they like what they do?
For Mitch Frumkin (you remember Mitch from last month, right?), learning, connecting, creating opportunities, sharing knowledge and mentoring the next generation have always been the things he’s cared most about. There are hundreds of cliches about doing the thing you love, but cliches are cliches for a reason. There’s always some bit of truth involved. “I never worked a day in my life,” Mitch told me. “Everything I do I have a passion for, I’m a lucky guy.”
Honor & Education
Throughout his career, Mitch has been involved in several non-profit organizations. Beyond his leadership roles with CAI, including national president of both the institute and the Foundation for Community Association Research, both of which he is still actively involved with, Mitch has served on the South Brunswick Senior Housing Commission and the South Brunswick Human Relations Council. He has also served as President of his Synagogue and was President of the Middlesex County Jewish Federation during its merger with the Monmouth County Jewish Federation. Mitch currently serves on the Board of the Jewish National Fund USA.
When Mitch was in his twenties, his high school teacher, Mr. Biunno, who taught Mitch technical drawing, passed away. In honor of Mr. Biunno, who was in his early forties when he passed, Mitch established the James Biunno Memorial Award. To this day, the James Biunno Memorial Award is still given out at Highland Park High School to the student who graduates and goes into a technical profession. Around the time Mitch established the award, Highland Park High School asked him, “Do you want this to be the Mitch Frumkin Award in Honor of James Biunno?” To which Mitch replied, “Absolutely not. This is for him. I don’t want my name on it.”
Every year, Highland Park High School presents the James Biunno Memorial Award at graduation, and each year, Mitch receives an invitation to present the award at the ceremony. Mitch told me he’s yet to accept the invitation. I told Mitch that he should, and he told me maybe one year he will. The most important thing for Mitch is that through the award, the man who had a huge impact on his career lives on.
The More You Know the More You Can Give Back
After Mitch joined CAI, he did everything he could to become an expert in every field, Transition Studies, Reserve Studies, etc. “The industry was relatively new. I learned about CAI, joined, and CAI was always looking for speakers. I would speak at anything I could, and then it snowballed.” Every time an opportunity presented itself, Mitch took it. Each opportunity was a way to grow, a way to learn, and ultimately a way to give back to the people and communities Mitch and the Kipcon Team would work for.
“I’m a firm believer that education is the greatest form of marketing,” Mitch told me. A sentiment that rings true for the Kipcon Team as a whole. Good engineers know what they know and aren’t afraid to learn what they don’t. There are hundreds of other cliches about learning and the journey for knowledge. At Kipcon, we’re students for life. Always learning and always looking for an opportunity to learn something new.
CAI Magazine, Common Ground, July/August 2013
nly Highs, No Lows
When I asked Mitch about the highs and lows of starting Kipcon, of doing the work, Mitch told me it was all highs. “Kipcon has always had opportunities.”
There were no particular projects that came to mind when I asked if there were any moments that stuck out for Mitch during his career, but Mitch did say that “Being the person who chaired the national task force and wrote The National Standards on Reserve Studies, being involved with every update since, as well as being the person who headed the writing and updating of the Best Practices of Transition Studies, stands out. What could be more satisfying than watching your company prepare Reserve Studies and Transition Studies knowing that you were involved in writing the Standards?” I’d say it’s extremely satisfying.
Cochairing the national task force which developed and updated the Public Policy Paper on Condominium Safety which is used by states across the country, to make sure that community associations across the country are structurally safe and adequately funding for reserves and preventive maintenance, is at the top of Mitch’s High’s List. Being involved with the development and passage of structural integrity and reserve legislation in New Jersey, and the structural integrity legislation in New Castle, Delaware, which are now laws, has also been an extremely gratifying accomplishment.
Remote Learning in a Kipcon Minute
During COVID, Mitch started making videos, Kipcon Minutes. Shut down like the rest of the world, Kipcon couldn’t perform many site visits, but Mitch and the Team could still give back. If you have a few minutes, you can spend them with Mitch and maybe learn something new.
All in the Kipcon Family
I asked Mitch if there’s anything he has missed since retiring. “Even before I retired, when COVID hit, people didn’t come into the office, I missed seeing them, I missed going out to CAI events, seeing my buddies.” But Mitch is okay with taking a step back these days as he watches his son, Seth, take over and run the business. “It’s him now. He’s doing a great job.”
Do It, Make Mistakes, Learn, and Do It Again
If you’re an aspiring engineer or an aspiring anything, Mitch’s advice is simple. “My theory was just do it, because you’re going to learn by making mistakes. Just do it.”
One of the other ways Mitch gives back is through his teaching. “I teach two classes every year, one at Rutgers Graduate School of Real Estate, and the other at Monmouth University, both on condominiums. At the end of the class, I say to the students, there are two things they don’t teach you at school, one is how to network, and two is how to only do things you enjoy, because if you do what you enjoy, you’ll be good at it and you will be successful.
I tell the students that if they’re interested, they can send me their resumes. I promise you there’s someone I know I can send it to. Just send me your resume. Take me up on the offer.” More advice from Mitch. Don’t be afraid to take the opportunity to reach out.
Connection is the Goal
“Whenever I meet people, my goal is to know what the hot spot in their life is. I want to connect on a personal level and learn from them. This drives my wife crazy… But, you know, there are a million engineers out there who can do what I do, not as good, but they do it. My goal, every time, was to connect with you, because any of these guys can do engineering, but I’m the one you connect with.”
Kipcon Wants to Connect with You
The team at Kipcon, like our founding father before us, continues to promote education and the quest for knowledge. If you’re a part of an Association, if you have any board members in your life, if you’re simply curious to learn more about a topic, or even to learn something new, check out Kipcon’s webinar series. Better yet, reach out to us here or call us at (800) 828-4118.