By Janet Wetzel
Enquirer contributor

C. Everett Askew has been in the work force since the fourth grade. He worked his way through high school, college and graduate school.

Now, at age 87, he's still working, helping people solve business problems.

C. Everett Askew, 87, has been in the workforce since the fourth grade. He now volunteers three days a week at SCORE. (Steven M. Herppich photo)

The Deer Park man has been a counselor 17 years at Service Corporation of Retired Executives (SCORE), which helps small business owners resolve problems, and gives advice on starting a new business or expanding one.

The biggest problem for a new business usually is funding, said the former Army captain, who volunteers three days a week at SCORE. He's counseled people from all walks of life - not always about business. He aided one caller, just released from prison, who needed advice on how to get his prescription medicine.

Askew, who retired as executive president of Chemed Corp. last January, volunteered at Christ Hospital nearly 10 years, until 2000. He also helped out at Finneytown High School many years, and organized Finneytown Educational Foundation in 1998, which has raised more than $1 million for unbudgeted programs and benefits. He organized the Springfield Township Senior Citizens Center in the late 1980s and volunteered there until recently. It now has 1,200 members.

Limited mobility has forced him to focus on SCORE and the Cincinnati Community Land Corp., which buys and refurbishes properties to sell, primarily to minorities who otherwise could not buy a home.

Joe Neri called Askew "a constant inspiration. He has the best attitude of anyone I know...He has the energy and vitality of a man half his age, and the wisdom of one much older than his 87 years."

Askew said his work ethic began when as a fourth-grader he delivered drugstore handbills to earn money to help the family after his father lost his job. His $10 weekly pay was the family's only income for a time. Later he worked as a custodian and elevator operator to help out, while remaining a straight-A student.

"I love working, and I love helping people. That's why I stay at SCORE," Askew said. "I can help people achieve their goals if they just listen. I've thought about quitting when I'm 88, but why? My health is good, I enjoy what I'm doing, and I'm providing a service."

---

Do you know a Hometown Hero - someone in your community dedicated to making it a better place? E-mail Janet Wetzel at jjwetzel@siscom.net or fax to 513-755-4150.