Despite all his contributions to Perryville, Frank Robinson still sees himself as an ordinary man, who usually focuses on others.
Those who interact with him every day would describe him quite differently. They would say he is quite “extraordinary.”
It’s for that reason that Robinson was honored with the Missouri Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award at the Missouri National Veterans Memorial on July 15.
The honor is intended to promote and highlight the positive accomplishments Missouri’s senior citizens provide their local communities.
“You start out young and crisp and we all have memories of what we used to be,” Robinson said. “As you get older, life becomes more important to you. That includes making sure you do things right as you try to help other people. When I look out on this crowd, I see a lot of people who are leaders who have that same philosophy and attitude that I have tried to have.”
Frank Robinson has been an instrumental figure in the development of the Missouri National Veterans Memorial and serves on several committees associated with MNVM. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Robinson Construction and is active with multiple other boards and committees as well.
Robinson is one of 11 recipients of the award in 2022 out of numerous applicants from all of the state’s 114 counties and the city of St. Louis.
Missouri House District 145 Representative Rick Francis noted that Perryville is a special place with leaders who have a vision for the area.
“At the Capitol and other places I’m asked what is it about Perryville and Perry County that you always seem to have something going on, a project, or a vision.” Francis said. “Other counties in the state, do not have the leaders in the community out on stage being transparent. Those leaders in other communities are behind the curtain and want to do things in the background. In Perry County, we have leaders like Frank who are deserving to be recognized for the things we have here.”
Missouri House District 116 Representative Dale Wright, who helped with the nomination process of Robinson, along with Francis, and Angela Swan and others noted that Robinson was in “vintage” form Friday.
“As important as he is to this community, we all notice that he gave the credit to everyone else and not himself,” Wright said. “A lot of people are submitted, but very few are chosen.”
Missouri Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe noted that the Missouri National Veterans Memorial has helped many veterans face the tragedies of war.
“I met a Vietnam veteran in a wheelchair at the wall in Washington D.C and he went about five steps and he had to turn around. He said he couldn’t do it,” Kehoe said. “The Vietnam vet that got him to do see the wall went to Perryville one day and looked at this wall and it got him through a lot of demons. The impact that Perryville is having on Vietnam veterans across the country is great.”
Kehoe noted that all recipients of the award have the same attitude of Robinson toward community involvement.
“Frank said he is an ordinary person and he’s not doing much,” Kehoe said. “That’s what all the people say, who do great work across our state. They all have people like Frank Robinson, who keep their head down, work very hard, and don’t want any credit.”
