Robert W. Foster
Graduating class: 1966
Inducted into Hall of Fame: 2014
Hall of Fame Category: Lifetime Achievement
Robert W. Foster graduated from Fairhaven High School in 1966. He was a member of the high school basketball team from 1963-1966 and was the recipient of the Walter Wood Award for Outstanding Achievement in History and Social Studies. He attended college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Bachelor’s Degree and then continued his education even further by receiving his Master’s degree and C.A.G.S from Bridgewater State College.
He has been a lifelong resident of Fairhaven and has given back to the town in several ways. He has served on several elected and voluntary positions, including Fairhaven School Committee (1971-1983), Board of Selectman (1983-1986), Town Meeting Moderator (2000-2005) and most recently the President of the Fairhaven High School Alumni Association since 1999.
Since retiring from his teaching position as Director of History/Social Studies in the New Bedford Public Schools in 2006, Bob has devoted much of his time to enhancing the status of the FHS Alumni Association. He developed a website, a bi-monthly newsletter with over 1,800 subscribers and a Facebook page which has helped strengthen connections with alumni of all ages. He maintains an FHS Alumni database and spends countless hours keeping it current.
Since 2010, Bob has volunteered as a tour guide for building tours that he established at FHS in the summers, and he also leads outdoor walking tours of the historic center of Fairhaven in the summer months in cooperation with the Fairhaven Tourism Office.
Due to his leadership as President of the Board of Directors of the FHS Alumni Association, the school building, students and staff have all been the beneficiaries of scholarships, mini-grants, funding of peer mediation programs, a new computer room and renovations to the clock tower at the high school, as well as ongoing restoration projects throughout the historic 1906 building.
All of these efforts and achievements helped Bob, along with his wife Nancy, to earn the titles of Fairhaven Man and Woman of the Year for 2010. His love of the community and the high school, demonstrated by his dedicated service and contributions over the past 40 years have earned him the title of Lifetime Achiever.
Bob continues to reside in Fairhaven for half the year and Florida for the other half. He and his wife Nancy have four grandchildren, two currently attending Fairhaven High School. His daughter, Kelly is a math teacher at Fairhaven High School.