Bob Knipe's passion for the arts, community, media, and technology are all symbolized by the new podcast studio at GO Art!'s home, Seymour Place, in Batavia, according to his son, Tom Knipe, and Knipe's wife, Linda Knipe, who both spoke Sunday prior to a ribbon-cutting at the studio.
"My dad was somebody who this is just such a fitting thing to do in my dad's honor," said Tom Knipe, who currently runs the industrial development agency in Ithaca. "He was a college media guy. He was a radio guy. He, he loved really good sound. He was an audiophile since forever. I remember him putting huge headphones on my head when I was two years old. Listen to this. So it's very fitting."
Knipe was involved in numerous community organizations, most of them around the arts. He was on the board for GO Art! (and continued to be actively involved after his term on the board expired), as well as playing with and volunteering for the Genesee Symphony Orchester, Batavia Concert Band, and the Genesee Wind Ensemble. He was also a Rotarian and served on City committees.
"He saw all of his activities as critical contributions to the local community and its economic development," Linda said. "He told us some time in those final days that music brought meaning to his life. He said, 'without music life is kind of a cruel joke. I believe that there is music to the atmosphere, the sciences, the flow of electricity, the beat of the heart. Music is fundamental to everything.' And volunteering was fundamental to Bob's character and upbringing as well."
GO Art! Executive Director Gregory Hallock recalled the arduous path he took to get his job. He first applied in 2015 and didn't get the job. He said it was Knipe who called him to say he didn't get the job. He told him, Hallock said, that he wasn't ready. When the job opened up again in 2016, Hallock applied again. Again, Knipe broke the sad news but this time with an alternative offer: Hallock could become the assistant director, a position that hadn't existed before and would need to be funded through a grant.
"He had this plan," Hallock said. "He wanted me to come in as the assistant director because I wasn't from the area. He said you don't know anybody but you're meant to be here. He said, it's not your time. You need to be under somebody. So they hired, they got a grant to hire me, and brought me in, in February of 2016 so that I could work for a year under somebody else and then take over."
Linda Knipe said Bob always saw potential in Hallock and Hallock said Bob Knipe was always there for him.
He painted the main gallery. He built art displays. When Hallock floated the idea of a library in Seymour Place, Kniped showed up with books to donate. That was nearly five years before the library opened.
Whenever Hallock put the call out to board members, and even though Knipe was no longer on the board, he was always the first to respond.
"I always got a phone call or text from him, saying, 'What do we have to do? How do we make this happen?' Hallock said.
Linda said Bob loved Batavia and wanted to see it prosper and its people do well.
"Those of you closest to Bob probably understood his motivations but he loved people," Linda said. "His efforts were to change people's lives for the better, individually through programs and through building a community that was fun, interesting, and fulfilling to live in. He worked tirelessly to provide opportunities for people to grow."
Top photo: Bob Knipe's grandchildren, Alice, Eleanor, and Alder, along with Linda Knipe and Tom Knipe, cut the ribbon in the new podcast studio.
Tom Knipe.
