PRESIDENT'S PROFILE

John Knobloch

As NCICA’s 2011President, I would like to tell you a little about me: my home town is Montevideo, Minnesota, a small farming community in the western part of the state.  I am a 1954 graduate of the College of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota.  As an Army enlistee had basic training at Fort Leonard Wood followed by “schooling” at Ft. Holabird. After the ‘Bird, I was assigned to the 5th Army in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Dress was civvies, duty  office was in the Federal Building- well positioned with  FBI upstairs and  Secret Service down the hall. I was discharged in late 1956. (Two years later, troops were called in by the President to secure the city for the integration of Central High School.) 
For the next 30 or so years I was employed in the automotive battery industry, moving from  stock boy at corporate headquarters of Gould National Batteries (while in college)  to Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Chloride Battery of London England.  In 1983, I changed occupations-spending   9 years with a non-profit corporation called PRIDE- Diversified Enterprises. (PRIDE is an acronym for Prison Rehabilitative Industries) This was a first privatization in the United States of an important segment of a state prison system (that of the Florida State Prison System). Under the aegis of PRIDE, 3000 inmates in 35 correctional facilities were trained and worked for pay in 40 different business related industries.  I finally retired in 1996 following which  my wife and I moved from Tampa, Florida, on the west coast to Stuart, just north of Palm Beach on the east coast.  Sadly, In 2001 Carol, my wife of 46 years, passed away. After raising 3 girls and now having 4 grandchildren I made the transition in life to one of acceptance of my loss and meeting each day with a pleasant/positive outlook. Much of that is due to Kathryn Schultz, whom many of you have met. Kathryn and her husband Bob were long time friends of Carol’s and mine.  Since our spouses died, our friendship has continued and grown into a caring relationship for each other’s well being and support.
Activities that I enjoy: Reading the newspaper to the blind on the local NPR station; taping books for the blind sponsored by the Library of Congress;  volunteering at my church’s “soup kitchen” on Monday nights.  And now, my latest “adventure” is learning to fly radio controlled model airplanes.  I have 8 planes and all the “stuff” that goes with it- am a member of  two clubs, one in Florida and one in Wisconsin. Great sport and great people.
Last but not least, I enjoy the best of both worlds: A Florida condo in the winter and a summer cottage on a lake in northern Wisconsin that my grandfather built in 1912. 
As President for 2011, I look forward to the Convention in Bloomington, Minnesota by supporting NCICA with a first class gathering that will appeal not only to the “usual suspects” but also for new members who make this their first opportunity to enjoy the comradeship of NCICA. 
J.K.

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