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38 FEDA News & Views crew—of course, it was Ira! Ira and the Rehearsal Dinner When my son, Dan, married his love, Laura, Ira and Barbara and Joanne and Ken Gill came for celebratory drinks at our home in Chicago the night before the rehearsal dinner. I had all the calligraphy name cards for the wedding spread out on the coffee table. Table seating was assigned, but I had yet to write the table numbers on the name cards. Ira took one look at the coffee table, looked at me and said, "You need help. We will help you." For the next two hours, as everyone else peeled off from the task, Ira and I diligently worked. Without him, it would have taken me fi ve hours! And at the wed- ding, having poured over every name and listened to my stories about them, Ira introduced himself to so many rela- tives and friends that they thought he was a long-lost relation of theirs! Ira kept up his relationship with Dan and Sheila, not just asking me about them, but also inviting them to events when he was in their town or when he and they were in our town. He inspired and appreciated them. They have their own unique Ira stories, all a testament to the unique and amazing individual he was. Ira and Prime Advantage Fast forward to 1997, following many mem- orable trips with Ira and Barbara, stays at their homes and their stays at ours, trips abroad with customers and shared brainstorming sessions with industry giants, Ira was instrumental as a founding member of Prime Advantage. Ira's Servolift Eastern was the second company to join. Ira was the fi rst chair of the Supplier Selection Committee, and a driving force on the Executive Advisory Board. Most memorable were his passion- ate talks to our Endorsed Suppliers, in which he told the suppliers how lucky they were to be in this group and about the high standards they must keep to stay in the group. Over the years, Ira's roles changed in the industry but never in life. He remained the dedicated friend, the one person who was never thinking of him- self and always thinking of you and what he could do for you. Sending me notes about people, books and articles, Ira's mind never stopped working for the people he cared about. And Ira cared about SO many people! In this world there are Givers and Takers. Ira Kaplan was a true Giver, and in our friendship, I was the Taker. In actu- ality, anyone and everyone who was in a relationship with Ira Kaplan was a Taker. But while he touched everyone he knew, his wife, his children and his grandchil- dren were the real whole world to Ira. So many people owe a lot to Ira, and he left this world owing no one. He was the Giver, and I hope he's somewhere now where he can fi nally receive the most he truly deserves. Over the years, Ira's roles changed in the industry but never in life. He remained the dedicated friend, the one person who was never thinking of himself. IRA founded NAAP "Sometime in the late 70s or early 80s, Ira founded a group called The National Association of Aging Presidents (NAAP)," says his longtime friend Mike Stack. "There were six of us that had served as industry association presidents. We met for years, quarterly, to mentor one another, share ideas, and interact with chain restaurant leaders and other respected individuals. Ira was always the ring leader in bringing interesting people together." Stack and two other NAAP members reminisce about life with Ira in the passages below. Ira the Scholar Memories from Ken Gill, Former FEDA President Ira was the most unique person I've ever met. He was intelligent, street-smart, well-educated, and loved to be both a student and a professor. Once, he told me he was taking a master's class on the New Testament at Boston College. When I asked him why, he said that he did not know enough about the greatest book ever written. Interestingly, Ira also considered studying to become a rabbi when he started college and he was the president of his synagogue. He was a dedicated husband and father, and a second dad to my three children. There were times when he would be helping my son, Rick, with his high school studies and my daughter Laura in college accounting at Wake Forest. Ira, Barbara, Joanne and I always did our vacations together and we saw a lot of the world. Kim and I always laughed that when asked for a business suggestion or advice, Ira would throw a hundred ideas at you and at least one of them was always brilliant. He gave me the idea for Prime Advantage and Robin Ashton the idea for two publications. He loved helping people and he loved our industry. He was passionate about hunger relief and spent a great deal of his personal time assisting hunger-relief organizations nationwide. One could write a book about this man's life story. His legacy will last. Ira the People Person Memories from Keith Paris, Former Traulsen President I had the privilege of knowing Ira Kaplan for about 45 years after we met in the early 70s at the Fabricators dealership in Dallas for an industry sales meeting. I was presenting Traulsen and he was presenting Servolift Eastern. At the time, I couldn't help but notice something "special" about him, which over the years I have come to defi ne as his most noticeable delight in simply meeting, helping and connecting people. He was the quintessential people person long before the Internet, social media and LinkedIn. Ira always seemed ready to help you. Even after 40 years had passed since our fi rst meeting, he once again offered help when I shared with him a personal health prob- Industry Insights continued