Misc. Notes
Since 1968, Edward Barlow has been a general partner at Whitcom Partners in New York City, where he currently holds the title of senior partner. He graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School and is a member of both the New York State Bar and the New York City Bar Association. Mr. Barlow is also affiliated with several business and professional organizations, including serving as president of Whitney Communications Company, director of the Chesapeake Publishing Corporation, and chairman of Heathrow (FL) Cable TV Corp. Besides his current appointment to the Board of Trustees of the Leakey Foundation, he can also be found on the boards of the Vocational Foundation, Inc. in New York, the New York City Private Industry Council, and the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Maine.
From the “Telluride inside…out” newsletter
His signature song should be the 1933 pop hit, “I’ve got the world on a string.” Edward Barlow embraces life with the enthusiasm of a young boy finding his first lucky penny on the ground. And he is a real free wheel nothing and no one slows down.
True to form, this part-time local has managed to elevate his mountain escape to the level of a sustained revolt against the status quo: he is a man who lives his life outside the box even inside our box canyon.
Blue-eyed candor, generosity of spirit, and an unedited sense of wonder and adventure fuel Ed’s irresistible charisma. What floats his boat is an abiding and unbridled curiosity: “I am deeply invested in people and places and what makes them tick,” he explained. Bottom line: Ed is as cool as a high mountain stream after a snowmelt.
Back in New York, the guy masquerades as a “suit.” His day job is senior partner at Whitcom Partners. John Hay Whitney founded Whitney Communications Company and Whitcom Partners in 1946. He brought Ed, then a young corporate lawyer, into the business in 1968. Today the company’s primary focus is community newspapers & cable TV. “I am privileged to be involved in a very tasty, very animating businesses.”
The line between work and play blurs for someone like Ed who only does what he likes and almost always likes what he does.
In Telluride, Ed is a business partner of Jake Linzinmeir, the chef/owner/operator of three of the town’s most popular watering holes: Excelsior, Blue Point, and ‘X’ Café.
But as soon as Ed loosens his tie, the guy morphs into his other persona: globetrotting gentleman of leisure. In the past few months alone, he has visited Italy, Croatia, and Chile. Just after the New Year, he is en route to Dubai. A man as smart as Ed, however, understands there is no free lunch: the quid pro quo for the good life is giving back.
The long list of philanthropic and civic causes on his resume reflects Ed’s wide-ranging interests.
The mission of the Leakey Foundation is to increase scientific knowledge and public understanding of human origins and evolution.
The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory is the largest coldwater research facility in the Eastern U.S. Founded in Maine in 1898, the nonprofit is dedicated to research and education in the field of marine biology towards a greater understanding and preservation of the environment and advancing human health.
Several other of Ed’s nonprofit commitments, past and present, focus on saving the world one child at a time through education. “I have spent lots of time and effort on charitable causes, particularly those involving young people.
In 1970, he became the president and later chairman of Vocational Foundation, Inc. which offers job training to challenged teens to help them get out of trouble and find a new way of life.”
I Have a Dream Foundation is an initiative Ed spearheaded at his alma mater, Yale. That nonprofit pays the tab on four years of college for an entire classroom of kids simply for completing high school.
“Fourteen years ago, for example, we tested the program on 50 fourth-graders at New Haven East Rock Community School. Not only did my classmates and I agree to pay for their college education, we managed to get additional government funding from Bill Clinton’s administration to support the work of teachers hired to coach the kids. In the end, 88 percent went on to college, proof positive of what can happen when a little attention is paid.”
Locally, Ed is a founding donor of The Telluride Foundation. Since its inception in 2000, thanks to the largesse of its members like Ed, the Foundation has established itself as the largest supporter of community groups and nonprofits in the region. In 2008 alone, the organization gifted $802,000, plus an additional $350,000 in special initiative grants, to 85 non-profits. The goal for 2009 is a cool $1 million.
“As a member of the grants committee, I get an up close and personal view of our many beneficiaries, whom I have found to be benevolent, concerned, dedicated individuals. The grassroots initiatives they work for add breadth and depth to our resort economy. Serving on the Foundation with co-chairs Ron Allred and Mark Dalton and executive director Paul Major, I have gotten back a lot more than I have given.”
Ed is married to Frances Hill Barlow. Thirteen years ago, the couple stumbled onto Telluride while looking for a place out West to ski. Ed liked Vail. Frances wanted Aspen – until their friends Peter and Deedee Decker, long-time Ridgway residents, told them to check out Telluride.
“Like so many others, we experienced a coup de foudre – French for ‘thunderbolt’ – the minute we laid eyes on the place. That same day we bought our first piece of property, just out of town in Elk Run. Over time, Telluride has become very important to our family: it is the place we all want to be, filled with people we want to be with.”
Among Ed’s closest friends is Damon Demas. “Because I am not a full-time local, I have to come to rely on Damon’s sound judgment and resourcefulness.” Business aside, Ed regards Damon and his wife Elaine as two very special people. “Damon and Elaine are the salt of the earth. They spend time & energy thinking up ways to help their friends.”
The Barlows own property in New York and California, Mexico, and Chile. However, for them, there is nothing quite like our mountain town.
“Our other homes are great, but Telluride is unique. In the winter, we return for the skiing and the Telluride AIDS Benefit fashion show and art auction, major productions not to be missed. Summer is all about hiking, and two other nonprofits: Mountainfilm and the Film Festival.
Spouses
Birth Date26 Dec 1936 Age: 87
Birth PlaceSan Francisco, California
Misc. Notes
"Frances L. Wyatt, 19-year-old honey-blonde of Fresno, is queen of the University of California homecoming week. She won out in a field of 16 coeds." —The San Bernardino County Sun, November 23, 1956, page 41.
Frances Hill began her theatrical career in California as an actress.
Since 1983, Ms. Hill has overseen over 600 staged readings/workshops and 75 productions of new work for the stage. She has directed over 30 workshops and productions. Her favorite directing credits are Roma Greth's Our Summer Days, Jim Lehrer's Chili Queen, (directed at Urban Stages & Kennedy Center) and John Picardi's The Sweepers (directed at Urban Stages & Capital Rep). Two of her plays have been produced, Our Bench and Life Lines.
Under the guidance of Ms. Hill, Playwrights' Preview Productions/URBAN STAGES has moved two plays into commercial Off-Broadway successes. Minor Demons opened the new Century Center Theater and Men on the Verge of His-Panic Breakdown won an OUTER CRITIC'S CIRCLE AWARD while playing to capacity audiences at the 47th Street Theater. Urban Stages' African American Poets as Playwrights won eight Audelco Nominations and Coyote On a Fence received 2 Drama Desk nominations and a Pilgrim's Project Award.