HFTP Blog
December 8, 2020

HFTP Pays Tribute to Late Bernie Trieber, Longtime Friend to Association

Blog
Written by Frank I. Wolfe, CAE, FIH | HFTP CEO — Contributor

One of HFTP’s longtime supporter members, Bernie Trieber, unexpectedly passed Friday, December 4, 2020. The circumstances were unrelated to COVID 19.

After spending 42 and a half years at the USA Social Security Administration (SSA), as an IT senior security analyst, Bernie found HFTP when his son Jerry was inducted to its Global Board of Directors. His wife Rosalind, a professional speaker, began speaking on behalf of HFTP. Between her involvement, and Jerry’s, Bernie became totally enamored with the organization.

Bernie with his son Jerry and HFTP family at the 2018 Annual Convention.

As an IT professional, Bernie never worked in hospitality, per se. However, he could definitely add a lot to any conversation, explaining not only what things were happening with IT security currently, but also providing some great history about the late 1960s at the SSA.

Many of our members attending Annual Convention or HITEC North America were photographed by Bernie as he became our official, “unofficial” photographer. Using his great sense of humor, unusual gifts which he was proud to give away to his friends and his talent for storytelling, he could make you laugh and educate you at the same time. During Jerry’s term as 2013-2014 HFTP Global President, Bernie was deemed the “First Father” and proudly featured his custom embroidered HFTP shirts and hats to meetings all over the country.

In the HFTP Strategic Plan, we have a section titled "Core Values" that members use to best describe HFTP. These values include: inclusivity, integrity, a non-judgmental, supportive community environment, enjoyable experiences, fun — and, although not included, “family” also is mentioned quite often. Every single one of these core values can also be used to describe Bernie.

Bernie loved his HFTP family and would often help them behind the scenes. He was an amazing individual and was always sending out emails about charitable events, holidays and kindness. Bernie added both levity and charity to serious discussions about fatal illness and had a knack to get people to write checks to the charities he supported.

Due to the current pandemic, the funeral will be streamed on Friday, December 11 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) via www.sollevinson.com. HFTP members can also find a memorial book on the website to sign. Contributions in his memory may be sent to: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 200, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.

HFTP Pays Tribute to Late Bernie Trieber, Longtime Friend to Association