SAIC's Trinity Church TV / Dad Obit. / Barry Glasser/ Freedom Forum - Birmingham

TCTV production heavy: "The church also hired Barry Glasser, who had been working at the Freedom Forum ..."
Coincidentally, the Freedom Forum - "Al Neuharth, former Gannett chairman, founder of USA Today and of the Freedom Forum"
 - was on the obit. page the other day ...

A measure of the Forum's interest in "Freedom": an FF trustee's bona fidés. His friends called him "Marty" or "Dad." ...

June 10, 2006 Civic and financial leader dies at 84
Martin F. Birmingham was former president of Marine Midland Fernando Diaz Staff writer During World War II,
he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and served in the Mediterranean theater with the Headquarters Squadron of the 36th Air Depot Group.
By 1954, after more than a dozen years with Abstract & Title, Mr. Birmingham moved on to Union Trust Co.,
an affiliate of Marine Midland Bank. Mr. Birmingham worked his way up the ranks to president of Marine Midland Bank in 1973
and served as chairman of its Rochester region his last two years with the company before retiring in 1989,
ending a career that spanned 35 years. In 1972, Mr. Birmingham ...
served as an elector for Ronald Reagan in the 1981 Electoral College. He was an active Republican....

"Marty introduced me to everybody who was anybody when I came to Rochester to join Gannett in 1963,"
 said Al Neuharth, former Gannett chairman, founder of USA Today and of the Freedom Forum, where Birmingham was named a trustee in 1980.
"He was our ambassador-at-large. He never met a stranger, and he was proud to tell the story of the Freedom Forum everywhere he went,"
said Charles Overby, chairman, CEO and president of the Freedom Forum.

Mr. Birmingham was no stranger to executive positions, and while the list of boards he served is long,
it includes the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce,
United Way of Greater Rochester, St. Ann's of Greater Rochester, the Automobile Club of Rochester,
 the Rochester/Monroe County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Rochester Americans Hockey Club,
ACC Corp. and the Executive Service Corps of Rochester.

 He was a trustee of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery ...
After his retirement, Mr. Birmingham maintained his decades-long commitment to many local institutions
and served as director of Manning & Napier's Exeter Funds Inc. until his death.
 "He never gave up on anyone," said Martin K. Birmingham. "Every community needs a selfless leader
- Rochester was fortunate to have Marty Birmingham,"
said Thomas Mooney, former president of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.
 "His motto of doing good for others never ended and a fond memory of Marty will live long in the hearts of all who knew him."

Mr. Birmingham was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws degree from St. John Fisher College in 1988,
 and served as an honorary trustee and former board chairman He and his wife, Ann, established the Ann B.
and Martin F. Birmingham Student Volunteer Recognition Award at St. John Fisher College in 1990 to honor students
 who demonstrate excellence as philanthropic volunteers. "Martin F. Birmingham was a legend in his own time in Rochester
 and a pillar of the Catholic Diocese.

He was one of the greatest supporters in the history of St. John Fisher College," said Donald Bain, president of the college.

The city of Rochester awarded Mr. Birmingham the Civic Medal, its highest honor, in 1990.
He was also the recipient of the Tocqueville Award from the United Way of Greater Rochester in 2000; the 66th Rotary Award
 from the Rochester Rotary Club; and a Distinguished Citizen of the Year award from the Otetiana Council of the Boy Scouts of America in 2002.

Mr. Birmingham is survived by his wife of 55 years, Ann Birmingham of Pittsford; children, Kate Sullivan of Boston, Mary and Ed Giblin of Houston,
Mark and Kris Birmingham of Washington, D.C., and Martin and Jill Birmingham of Pittsford; grandchildren,
Timothy, Meghan and Peter Martin Sullivan; Patrick and Katie Giblin; Michael and Mark Matthew Birmingham; and Annie and Tommy Birmingham.

Calling hours will be held from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at Anthony Funeral and Cremation Chapels, 2305 Monroe Ave., Brighton.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Louis Church, 64 S. Main St., Pittsford. FDIAZ@DemocratandChronicle.com

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