CLINTON —
The night he died, Ken Kroemer was still making phone calls for the River Kings and Queens Athletic Booster Club, an organization he was a part of for more than 30 years.
“We’re all replaceable, but Ken Kroemer is not,” Richard Farwell, president of the booster club, said. “Ken has done more for Clinton athletics than anybody.”
Friends and fellow volunteers describe Kroemer, who died last month at the age of 71, as relentless and passionate.
His dogged persistence is manifested in the new football stadium, baseball and softball fields, wrestling mats, underground watering system, junior football program and year after year of updated equipment.
And that’s the abbreviated list.
As Kroemer worked restlessly to support high school athletics, he did so with a sense of humility his peers said.
“Ken was very instrumental, but he never bragged about it,” Farwell said. “You never would have known.”
During his time as a member of the booster club, and later the Restoring Royalty campaign, Kroemer was an integral part in raising millions of dollars.
“There’s no doubt that Ken impacted a tremendous number of students,” Clinton High School Activities Director Gary Lueders said.
Kroemer first came to Clinton in 1966 where he taught and coached at Clinton High School until 1971. He then moved on to work at KCLN and later at Associated Agencies until starting Ken Kroemer Insurance in 1984. After leaving the school, Kroemer’s support for the athletic programs remained unwavering.
According to his fellow booster club members, when the time came to raise nearly $4 million to improve Coan field by adding 1,000 seats and renovating the press box, restrooms, concession stand and scoreboard, in addition to constructing a baseball and softball field the school could call its own, Kroemer never faltered.
“There was no question in Ken’s mind that we could raise $3.6 million. He just knew that we could do it,” booster club member Tim Hartsock said. “It was a pleasure to work with him and see his passion for athletics.”
Hartsock said while Kroemer was leading the Restoring Royalty charge to renovate the outdoor facilities, his relevance to CHS was much more than the public relations campaign.
Next year, the numerous phone calls and connections Kroemer made seeking donations will come to fruition when the football field is outfitted with nearly $800,000 worth of durable field turf.
“His absence will certainly be missed,” Lueders said. “I don’t think people even realize how much yet.”
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Ken Kroemer
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June 22, 2012
Kroemer’s impact to live on
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