Project Description
Meet COA’s Family of the Year Honoree: The Keating Kahn Family
Chuck Kahn and Patti Keating Kahn and their family are the recipients of COA’s 2022 Community Family of the Year award.
The Kahn family’s involvement with COA goes back five generations, dating to COA’s first Fresh Air Camp in 1906. Chuck’s grandmother was a founder of the Children’s Outing Association and his mother continued to be actively involved with COA for several years.
Chuck has a lifelong connection to the Children’s Outing Association including several visits to COA’s Camp Sidney Cohen. Chuck served on COA’s Board for several years and participated on the Camp Committee. As an attorney, he also provided occasional advice to COA’s Board and staff when legal issues would arise.
The COA family tradition continued with Chuck and Patti’s daughter, Brenda Keating, and son-in-law, Mark Szumski, who met while working at Camp Helen Brachman. Years later, their sons, Hogan and Kellen Szumski, followed in their parent’s footsteps, working at Camp Helen Brachman during their summer breaks from college.
About Chuck Kahn and Patti Keating Kahn
From 1992 to 2013 Chuck Kahn served as Circuit Court Judge of Milwaukee County. After leaving the courthouse Chuck founded A Neutral View, LLC, and became a mediator, arbitrator, and special master.
Patti Keating Kahn is an entrepreneur who has worked in the fields of international trade, architecture, construction, and real estate development. She founded a successful business development consulting firm before turning full-time to owning and restoring historic Milwaukee real estate. These include two of Milwaukee’s most important historic downtown office buildings- the Colby Abbot and Railway Exchange buildings.
Patti is an active community volunteer, currently serving on the Boards (immediate past Chair) for Milwaukee Film and Renaissance Theatreworks. She also serves on the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission, the Third Ward Architectural Review Board, and the Downtown BID Board. Patti has served on the Boards of Girl Scouts of Southeast Wisconsin, Professional Dimensions, Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, and Friends of Art of the Milwaukee Art Museum. She was also co-chair of the campaign committee to restore the Milwaukee Soldier’s Home for veterans and their families who are at risk of being homeless.
The Keating Kahn Family is a prime example of a family dedicated to making a difference in their communities and we are honored to have them as part of our COA family.
At COA, family is at the center of everything we do. We believe family is the single most important influence in a child’s life which is why our early childhood, youth development, and community development programs use a focused approach to address the needs of the entire family.
All proceeds raised during our Family of the Year luncheon will directly benefit COA’s holistic, family-centered programs and support our vision of providing child-centered, family-focused, community-connected opportunities that expand possibilities, change lives, and build futures.