While fellow eighth-graders watched ball games or comedy shows on late-night television, Donald C. Fry was glued to the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
The man who will become president of the Greater Baltimore Committee next month knew at a young age that politics and public policy issues were his calling.
"I live to solve problems, whether while practicing law, serving in the legislature or here at GBC," said Fry, 47, who has been GBC executive vice president and general counsel for 3 1/2 years.
"Nothing is more fulfilling than being faced with a situation there doesn't seem to be a solution to and being able to make deals happen so that both sides get what they want. Problem-solving, coming up with compromises, consensus-building - those are things that get me excited. It probably makes lots of people bored."
Friends and associates describe Fry as easygoing, sincere, thoughtful, driven by a tireless work ethic, a good listener and confidant, skilled at bringing people with diverse viewpoints together.
For years, his workdays have stretched from 7 in the morning until 8 or later at night.
"I think he's one of the hardest-working people I know," said Walter Sondheim, senior adviser at the GBC, the region's leading organization of business and civic leaders. "He's here when I come, and he's here when I leave."
As far back as high school, Fry's student government faculty adviser remembers having to kick Fry out of the student government office after school, telling him: "It's time to go home now."
"Don always had a strong interest in government and leadership," said Bill Seccurro, Fry's student government faculty adviser then, and now chief executive of the Harford County Chamber of Commerce. "He was always curious about the workings of government."
Whenever Fry was asked to secure a guest speaker for school, he came up with someone from the House of Delegates or a county council, said Bill Stetka, director of public relations for the Orioles and one of Fry's best friends since 1969, when the two started playing football together at Bel Air High School.
Fry went on to play college football at Frostburg State College. A linebacker, Fry aspired to be the next Dick Butkus, the famous Chicago Bears linebacker.
He's still 6 feet 2 inches tall, but he politely declines to reveal how far north he is of the 225 pounds he weighed then, saying one of his goals is to get closer to his playing shape. Fry was co-captain of the team, the Bobcats, his senior year, during a tough season when the team's record was 0-10.
"I know how tough it was on him," Stetka said. "He didn't let up. It didn't matter to him if they were down 30 points or it was a scoreless game. He was determined to make the best of it and to make sure everyone did the same thing. If there's an obstacle, he looks for ways to beat it."
Fry earned his bachelor of science degree at Frostburg in 1977 and graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1979.
From 1980 through 1999, he was a general practice attorney in Harford County. Eventually, he decided he didn't want to do that for the rest of his life.
Mark L. Wasserman, senior vice president of the University of Maryland Medical System, knows Fry from his days in the General Assembly.
Fry represented Harford County in the House from 1991 to 1997. In 1997, he was appointed to the remaining state Senate term of William A. Amoss, who had died. Fry served two years.
"I think he has solid values, is well-grounded and his ego is in check," Wasserman said. "I think his gentle, courteous demeanor is disarming and attracts people to him. I think he has an unbelievably deep-seated work ethic that impresses people and sets a good tone."
Four years ago, Fry, a Democrat, was defeated in his bid to win a full Senate term. His wife, Bonnie, said that although she knew he was disappointed, he didn't say much at the time. He had predicted the loss, knowing that the district voted largely Republican, she said.
"He accepted it and didn't really talk about it a whole lot," she said. "To him, it wasn't something to dwell on. It was time to move on."
Soon afterward, GBC President Donald P. Hutchinson approached him with the GBC job offer, suggesting that Fry could be groomed for the top position, she said.
"I saw the GBC as a great opportunity to try to shape the direction of public policy, social issues and economic development," Fry said. "To help develop consensus among business leaders, community leaders and government officials and to sell those concepts to the ultimate decision-makers at the city, county or state level."
Recently, the plan had been to name Fry interim president, then conduct a national search. But GBC board members quickly decided that a national search was unnecessary.
"Fry deserves the position," said Hutchinson, who will step down as GBC president Nov. 1 to become president and chief executive of SunTrust Bank Maryland. "He's given us 3 1/2 very strong, good years. You can't have anybody smarter than he is, particularly in public policy issues."
Fry has proved to be an effective intermediary between the public sector and the private sector, Wasserman said.
"Don Fry has been the man behind the scenes who has been working himself to the bone to keep all the GBC agendas moving forward," he said.
Since joining the GBC, Fry has managed its day-to-day operations and overseen economic development and community projects focusing on the development of an East Baltimore biopark and completion of the west side revitalization.
He also worked on the development of a management structure for the Inner Harbor after a GBC task force determined that about a half-dozen city agencies have jurisdiction, with little communication among them.
"Existing projects will remain the focus," he said. "One thing you don't want to do is start something and not see it to completion."
Regional issues
As those projects move forward, Fry said, he thinks GBC will devote more time to working on a regional transportation system and on regional issues.
"The GBC has a great history and reputation for taking on battles and for creating visions," he said.
Fry acknowledges that he frustrates the GBC staff at times by his unwillingness to settle for the status quo.
"I ask, 'How do we do even better?'" he said. "'How do we take it to the next level?' I think you need to keep doing that as an organization and as an individual. That keeps me going."
Fry will take over the GBC in the midst of plans for a possible realignment of several regional groups, including the GBC, the Greater Baltimore Alliance, a regional economic development group, and the Downtown Partnership, a nonprofit corporation that promotes Baltimore. But he welcomes talk of change.
His friend Stetka sees that restructuring as one of Fry's biggest challenges.
"I'm sure the different groups are going to be tugging," Stetka said. "How Don handles that I'm sure will have a big say in his handling of the GBC and the role of the GBC down the road. This is probably going to be the first big test."
Fry thinks his greatest challenge will be the transition as he becomes the face and voice of the local business community. "Whenever you make a change, that's a whole different skill set you have to employ," he said.
Seccurro, the former Bel Air High School teacher, said Fry is well prepared.
"He knows how to work Annapolis and Baltimore," Seccurro said. "He knows the politics and all the players in the region."
A Revolutionary War buff, Fry learns some of his lessons from biographies of American leaders that he reads when he has time. He's reading a book about how Lyndon B. Johnson made deals, cajoling and intimidating the Senate into forming a coalition to pass civil rights legislation.
Terry Slade Young, president of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, has seen Fry's leadership skills in action during meetings of the Vision 2030 Task Force, which Fry chairs. That group is charged with developing a long-range vision for transportation planning in the region for the next three decades. In those meetings, typically attended by 15 to 20 business leaders, Fry has secured volunteers and workers to get projects done, she said.
"He does it in a nonthreatening way," she said. "Everyone's opinion counts. If he disagrees with someone, he's able to tell them in a way that's very respectful. ... He always makes you feel like you bring value to the table. That's what I think leadership is all about. ... I never have the feeling that there's a hidden agenda with Don."
Grew up in Bel Air
Fry, whose father was an elementary school principal and whose mother was a teacher, still lives near his parents in Bel Air, where he grew up. He and his wife went to high school together, though they didn't date until years later. She teaches high school physical education.
A typical weekend includes golfing with Bonnie and their 10-year-old son, Matt. Bonnie is an amateur golfer with a 3 handicap who has won the Baltimore Women's Golf Association title six times, five of them consecutively. Matt, who took up the game recently, is learning fast.
Within two years, Fry predicts, his ranking will slip to third-best golfer in the family of three.
"My friends and acquaintances are just waiting for that time to give me a hard time," he said.
For the most part, Fry's sports activities are of the spectator variety. He has season tickets to the University of Maryland and Ravens football games and is a frequent spectator at Oriole Park and his son's Little League baseball and basketball games. He expects to coach his son's basketball team this season.
By all accounts, Fry is as devoted to the Baltimore area as he is to sports.
"I think he's very passionate about the region," said Young. "This is not just a job for Don Fry."