Nashville businessman and philanthropist Ben R. Rechter, whose behind-the-scenes efforts involving civil rights, education, nonprofits, public media and the arts were integral in making the Middle Tennessee region a national model the past 50 years, died May 7. He was 83.
Rechter was president of Rogers Group Investments Inc. and was a founder and the second-ever board chair at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, where he remained an active member of its Board of Trustees.
CFMT honored him and other founders with the Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award in 2001. In 2016, he shared the initial Bridge to Equality Award along with his close friend, the late Francis Guess, for their tireless efforts to create equal opportunity in Nashville.