Encyclopedia Dubuque
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BERTSCH, Frank H.
BERTSCH, Frank H. (Minneapolis, MN, Oct. 2, 1925--Dubuque, IA, Oct. 4, 1997). Chairman of the executive committee, FLEXSTEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. Bertsch began at Flexsteel as a plant engineer from 1947 to 1949. He was plant manager from 1949 to 1953, vice-president of design and development from 1953 to 1958, and president from 1958 through 1985 when he became chairman of the board and chief executive officer.
Bertsch guided the firm from a single-plant manufacturer into a ten-plant company stretching across the United States. The company has employed more than two thousand and pushed its annual sales from $7 million to over $125 million. In 1990 Bertsch was named chairman of the executive committee. This was a newly created post, when Jack B. CRAHAN succeeded him as chairman of the board and C.E.O.
Bertsch served on the boards of AMERICAN TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK, UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE, FINLEY HOSPITAL (THE), GREATER DUBUQUE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, Heritage Manor Nursing Home, Dubuque Airport Commission, National Rivers Hall of Fame, Four Mounds Foundation (founding member), CyCare Systems, Inc., and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Bertsch was a co-founder of the Ryan House restoration in 1969 and CABLE CAR SQUARE in 1972. He was also instrumental in establishing HERITAGE TRAIL. He was a member of the DUBUQUE SHOOTING SOCIETY and DUBUQUE GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB.
Bertsch received the Distinguished Service Award from the DUBUQUE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE(1964), Man Behind the Boy award from the DUBUQUE BOYS' CLUB(1969), Dubuque Rotary Environmental Citizen of the Year (1991) and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Dubuque (1992).
In 1990 Bertsch was named the Outstanding Philanthropist for Dubuque. He had previously received the Distinguished Service Award from the DUBUQUE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE and the Man Behind the Boy Award from the DUBUQUE BOYS' CLUB. (1)
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Source:
1. Gilson, Donna, "Two Win Awards for Philanthropy," Telegraph Herald, November 14, 1990, p. 2
"Frank H. Bertsch." Linwood Legacies. Online: http://www.linwoodlegacies.org/frank-h-bertsch.html
Gilligan, Amy K. "Business Leader Bertsch, 72, Succumbs to Cancer," Telegraph Herald, October 6, 1997, p. 3A. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19971006&printsec=frontpage&hl=en