bob ganger - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T20:36:53Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/bob+gangerGulf Stream: Fleeing car brushes resident; police ask for caution but not camerashttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-fleeing-car-brushes-resident-police-ask-for-caution-b2020-12-30T16:02:20.000Z2020-12-30T16:02:20.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>As he dodged a fleeing car that had suspiciously parked in his circular driveway, 85-year-old Bob Ganger instinctively recalled tumbling lessons he learned during his school years decades ago.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8365642670,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8365642670,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="98" alt="8365642670?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>“I did a couple of somersaults,” said Ganger, who lives in Gulf Stream and is a former Gulf Stream vice mayor and longtime community leader.</p>
<p>Bruised and suffering from cuts and scrapes on his knees and elbows, Ganger managed to get to his feet and call for help. Paramedics from Delray Beach Fire Rescue responded quickly, as did two Gulf Stream police officers, but the car that Ganger believes was a red Ford Thunderbird was long gone.</p>
<p>Police, using license plate readers in both Delray Beach to the south and Ocean Ridge to the north, identified one Thunderbird traveling soon after the incident but it turned out to belong to a 77-year-old Delray woman who was returning from Publix.</p>
<p>Ganger said the car brushed him as he tumbled out of the way, and he spent one night in the hospital. He said the incident highlights the need for cameras along State Road A1A in Gulf Stream, especially in light of a rash of auto thefts.</p>
<p>Several town leaders, including Mayor Scott Morgan and Police Chief Ed Allen, don’t believe the cameras are needed.</p>
<p>As of mid-December, the town had 11 stolen vehicles reported in 2020, all of which were high-end vehicles unlocked and with keys left inside.</p>
<p>While Ganger believes additional cameras could serve as a deterrent to law breakers, Morgan says a review by the Police Department presented to town leaders demonstrated that the cameras in Delray Beach and Ocean Ridge are sufficient and that resources would be better used elsewhere.</p>
<p>“Since Gulf Stream is already well covered for camera identification of suspect vehicles, our commission concluded that additional funding should be directed toward trying to prevent crimes from occurring, rather than just photographing after-the-fact activity,” Morgan said.</p>
<p>With that in mind, the town authorized adding another officer and another vehicle to patrol the community.</p>
<p>“We believe this is a better deterrent to crime than redundant camera equipment,” Morgan said.</p>
<p>Allen agrees and says he suspects the car thefts are the work of professional criminals who won’t be stopped by additional surveillance.</p>
<p>The car thieves, he says, are fairly sophisticated and know where cameras are and how to work around them. In most cases, the crooks usually travel by pairs in rental or stolen cars that are hard to track.</p>
<p>That was likely the case in the incident that occurred in Ganger’s driveway late on a Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>It was about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 22 and halftime of the Miami Dolphins game when Ganger stepped outside and found a car with dark tinted windows in his driveway. He could tell two people were inside and one appeared to be on the phone.</p>
<p>Thinking the occupants might need directions or other assistance, Ganger approached the car from the driver’s side and asked — through the closed window — if he could help.</p>
<p>That’s when the car bolted, brushing Ganger.</p>
<p>“It didn’t occur to me to connect this with the car thefts,” he said.</p>
<p>In what he believes could be more than a coincidence, Ganger saw another car pull into his driveway on a Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks later.</p>
<p>“Two weeks later to the day, damned if another car didn’t come and park in my driveway in the exact same spot,” he said.</p>
<p>This time the occupants saw Ganger, who was in a tree and doing yard work, and took off on their own.</p>
<p>Although Ganger hopes town leaders will revisit the idea of cameras to augment those in neighboring towns, the police chief is continuing to encourage residents to lock their cars and not leave valuables — or keys — inside.</p>
<p>Police also recommend that residents call them immediately if they see a suspicious incident and try to avoid any confrontations.</p>
<p>“That’s what we’re here for,” Allen said.</p>
<p><em><strong>CORRECTION: The December edition of The Coastal Star incorrectly reported the name of Gulf Stream’s newest police officer. He is Justin Menard.</strong></em></p></div>Correctionshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/corrections2019-01-02T17:53:24.000Z2019-01-02T17:53:24.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p>The Meet Your Neighbor profile in the December edition gave the incorrect age for Bob Ganger. He is 82 years old.</p>
<p>An incorrect monthly rental fee being asked for the former Little House restaurant space in Boynton Beach was published in the December edition. The correct rental fee is $7,500 per month.</p></div>Meet Your Neighbor: Bob Gangerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/meet-your-neighbor-bob-ganger2018-11-28T17:30:00.000Z2018-11-28T17:30:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960826059,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960826059,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960826059?profile=original" /></a><em>Bob Ganger’s Gulf Stream home was built by Lila Vanderbilt Webb. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Brian Biggane</strong></p>
<p>To say Bob Ganger has a passing interest in local history is like saying Shakespeare had a passing interest in writing plays.<br /> After Ganger and his father went to check out a beachside house in Gulf Stream that had been built by a member of the Vanderbilt family, he not only bought it but wound up writing a book about the woman who built it and its history.<br /> And after meeting Harvey Oyer (president of the Palm Beach County Historical Society at the time) at a dinner party more than 20 years ago, Ganger joined the organization, eventually joining its board of directors. He and Oyer also teamed up with others in a successful effort to restore the old Palm Beach County Courthouse.<br /> Ganger, 82, blames the transient nature of this area for a lack of appreciation of history among its residents.<br /> “When you realize a million new people come into the state every couple years, and with no background on who we are, over time the local history gets diluted,” he said. “We’ve found that, both in Palm Beach County and Delray, very few people have a clue as to who we are, and how we got to be what we are.”<br /></p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> I grew up in Bronxville, a tiny New York City suburb newly inhabited by recent veterans of World War II who were motivated to make up for lost time and provide their families with a great home. The local high school was highly competitive. My class graduated 75 students who achieved well over 125 advanced educational degrees. I managed to graduate with honors from Yale and Harvard Business School, based largely on the disciplines taught at an early age. <br /> Believe it or not, my high school class still gets together for five-year reunions. The latest was the 65th!</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> My professional career was almost entirely in the food industry. After a brief stint in the Air Force Reserves, I started at General Foods as an assistant product manager on Jell-O, and retired 32 years later as VP of planning and development. Our company was purchased by tobacco giant Philip Morris in 1985 and I was tasked to recommend a long-term strategy for the company’s future participation in the food industry. I’m proud of the fact that my plan is still being executed almost 30 years later, even after Philip Morris divested their food interests. <br /> After executing the first add-on acquisition, Kraft Foods, I retired to become a consultant to start-up consumer product companies, some of which have been quite successful. </p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> The business world has changed dramatically since I began my career, but one fact is still apparent: Life is too short for someone not to enjoy his or her work, but one is naïve if a “perfect job” is a career assumption. In 32 years at General Foods, I probably had 20 jobs, some of which were unpleasant but educational nonetheless. Each job provided new perspectives on the business world. In today’s fast-moving environment, gaining new perspectives is a must for success in virtually any career plan.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> How did you choose to make your home in Gulf Stream?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> On Easter Day 1969, my dad and I visited a house on the beach that was willed to Good Samaritan Hospital and had been empty for years. It was built by a Vanderbilt but divided during the 1930s into two separate dwellings. A developer had an option to acquire both dwellings when the original owners, both widows, passed away. Both houses were slated to be torn down. We decided to find another potential owner and make a bid. <br /> Then Joe Kennedy, a patient in the hospital, passed away, leaving the institution a large gift. The hospital decided that our quick nickel was superior to a slow dime. We acquired the house in late 1969, and I moved in full time after my father died in 1991.<br /> Parenthetically, my wife, Anneli, and I restored our house starting in 1994. To assure that the restoration was legitimate, we researched the plans of the original owner, Lila Vanderbilt Webb, granddaughter of Commodore Vanderbilt. Her story compelled me to write a book on who Lila was, and why she decided to build a house in Gulf Stream. The book, titled <em>Miradero</em>, was judged by the Independent Publisher Book Awards as the best nonfiction for 2005 among independently produced U.S. publications.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> Besides living in a lovely home, Gulf Stream provides an environment allowing me to engage in “small town” public service. My interest in local history led to a position as vice chair of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, and chair of the Delray Beach Historical Society. I have also served as chairman of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, president of the Gulf Stream Civic Association, and as a commissioner for the town of Gulf Stream. Believe it or not, these assignments all relate to one another from time to time.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> What book are you reading now?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> I am re-reading <em>A Land Remembered</em>, by Patrick Smith. While fictional, it captures the essence of pioneer life in Florida during the last half of the 19th century. </p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> What music do you listen to when you want to relax?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> When my friend Dana Gioia was chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, I made the mistake of telling him how guitar music was my ultimate “relaxer.” He sent me enough guitar CDs to play for the rest of my life.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> Late in my business career, I became associated with Hamish Maxwell, then chairman of Philip Morris. He was an extraordinary thinker. He surrounded himself with very bright people, and absorbed information like a sponge. In retrospect, his decision-making saved his company and industry from an almost certain early demise. We both retired on the same day and remained in contact until he died in 2014 at age 87. <br /> By the way, I have “smoked” one cigarette in my life, on April Fool’s Day 1952.</p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> If your life story were made into a movie, who would play you?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> Possibly Michael Caine — for revenge. Years ago, we were both in Fort Lauderdale at the same time, and some teenagers mistook me for Mr. Caine. I signed dozens of autographs and had photos taken. </p>
<p><strong>Q:</strong> Who/what makes you laugh?<br /> <strong>A:</strong> Bring back Rowan and Martin. I love corny humor.</p></div>