Curt and his life partner, Barry, were first introduced to D.A.P. at the 1993 Valentine’s Ball – the precursor to the following year’s very first Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards gala. He says, “Even though we were still living in Long Beach at the time, we were often in the desert with the thought that it might one day become our permanent home – as it has been for many years now. We realized that D.A.P. was a special organization, serving a very real need, and it deserved the help of its community.

In addition to D.A.P., the couple has contributed to several charitable organizations including the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the AIDS Assistance Program. They are also Friends of the Rancho Mirage Library.

As their ties to the desert community grew, so did their financial commitment, with Curt and Barry becoming Partners for Life in 1998. Curt was invited to join the D.A.P. Board of Directors in 2000 and elected President of the Board in late 2007. “We are remembering Desert AIDS Project with a significant gift in our estate plan and would encourage others to consider doing the same.

Curt has started and maintained a number of different businesses throughout his career. He and Barry, along with Curt’s brother, owned Liberty Industries, Inc. in Youngstown, OH, a marketing corporation specializing in sales and marketing of industrial wood products used in packaging. They also founded and owned Liberty Technologies, LLP, an industrial stretch and shrink wrap machine manufacturing and sales company with sales both in the U.S. and internationally.  From 1976-1995, Curt was the chief financial officer of Mullikin Medical Centers and Pioneer Hospital. During that 20-year period, it grew from two offices to the largest organization of its kind in the western United States with over 60 medical clinics.

Curt is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield, MO with a B.S. in Business Administration and is a Certified Public Accountan