“Service above Self” has been an integral part of Jack Kavanaugh’s life. He grew up on the west side of Chicago but spent his formative years in Elmhurst, a Chicago suburb. He graduated from Lewis College with a Bachelor of Science degree and has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.
His 21st birthday had a special greeting from the U.S. Government…a draft notice. He knew he didn’t want to “shoot stuff up” so instead he headed down to the local recruitment office and signed up for the U.S. Navy. What resulted was a 34 year career as a Navy Supply Officer with had eight deployments to the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. He describes his posting as the Supply Officer for the Atlantic Fleet Command as the “ultimate job for a supply guy.” His second best job was on the U.S.S. Mars which is a fleet store ship tasked with supplying other ships with essential items. In that capacity he got to tell the ship’s captain where to go to make deliveries to the fleet. His last command was with the Navy Exchange System, a $2 Billion business. During his tenure, he transferred it’s headquarters from Staten Island to Virginia Beach.
After retiring from the U.S. Navy as a Rear Admiral in 1996, Jack was heavily involved with the U.S.S. Wisconsin. This fixture of downtown Norfolk was decommissioned in 1991. Former Mayor Paul Fraim negotiated with the Navy and in December 2000, she was moved to her berth adjacent to Nauticus. Mayor Fraim knew that to support the U.S.S. Wisconsin as a naval museum, they needed a foundation and approached Jack and former club member Jake Tobin to build a foundation board. This board raised $5.5 million for the support of the U.S.S. Wisconsin. After Pete Decker said they needed someone to be the executive director of the foundation, and a six month national search, they decided that the best person was already involved and Jack took on that role. After the U.S. Navy donated the U.S.S. Wisconsin to the city of Norfolk in 2006, the Wisconsin Foundation was folded in the Nauticus Foundation.
He met his wife, Ann, at a bar while stationed in San Francisco. One of his roommates was dating one of Ann’s roommates. They got married on Treasure Island in San Francisco and are celebrating 51 years. He says that meeting Ann is the highlight of his life. They have three children. John is a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kristi is the managing director for worldwide sales for the Aspen Skiing Company while Mike is the senior production manager for ABC News Digital.
The Navy brought Jack to Norfolk where he was stationed at CINCLANTFLEET headquarters. He and his wife, Ann, fell in love with the area and knew they wanted to live in the Freemason area. Jack is known as the “Mayor of Freemason” and is the President of the Freemason Street Area Association. He is actively involved in civic life including but not limited to the Downtown Norfolk Council, the Norfolk Military Economic Development Advisory Council, and is the founding chair of the FBI Norfolk Citizens Academy Alumni Association.
Jack joined our Rotary Club in 1997 and is a Paul Harris Fellow + 1. He says he has no real hobbies but he enjoys his civic activities and is a voracious reader, particularly of histories.