16° and Clear
Image
We got news on Saturday from two sources about the passing of long-time Franklin TV board member Ken Norman. Franklin TV's Pete Fasciano offers an appreciation and we add our own comments, separately, below....
Ken Norman In Memoriam
by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 12/07/2025
2012. A lovely ‘greening’ day in April. A good day to show off the best of any town. Ken drove me (the new guy) all around Franklin. Nothing desultory about his pitch.
I had just been hired as the Executive Director for what would become Franklin.TV. Although I hadn’t officially started yet, I was up for the tour. Ken didn’t disappoint. As Board President of FCCA, Inc., dba Franklin.TV, Ken was all about getting me settled in and fully engaged. He brought enthusiasm for the Town and lots of rich detail and backstory to help me know the community firsthand – to welcome me.
Yes, I felt welcomed. Vested. Sold!
A week later. Tuesday. My second ‘official’ day on the job. Ken came to our studio at 13 Main that morning to see if I was okay. He instinctively knew that I had a hill to climb. Humbly, sheepishly, he asked. ‘Did I mind him stopping by? He didn’t want to intrude – get in the way or disrupt anything.’
“Are you kiddin’ me? Gladaseeya! Gladahavya! Anytime. Stop by all you want. Whenever. Sit. Let’s talk.” I welcomed him. He felt welcomed. Vested. Sold.
Thus, a deep abiding partnership was born. Partners in crime. Brothers in arms. Call it what you will, but Ken signed on to the ‘grand vision’ – all of it. Truth be told, he owns as much of any ‘grand vision’ as I do. That Summer we stumped around town looking for a new studio home. We visited other PEG studios. We discussed all manner of issues, opportunities, goals. We cobbled plans. Ken came by 3-4 times every week. Gabfests. More plans. More progress. More vision. More victories.
This was our normal – right up until covid, when our studio was closed – for 2 years. Together, we adapted. We soldiered on. Covid had its hidden costs for many of us. By 2023 Ken was no longer as spry. Getting around town became more challenging. Over time, I saw less of my partner in crime.
There are many business books on managing, but few on leadership. Visionary leadership is rare. There is leadership – and there is cheerleadership. Ken was a cheerleader – for me, for us, for Franklin. Every vision needs a spark. Ken passed away peacefully on Friday afternoon at The Maples in Wrentham. I miss his spark.
Copyright, 2025, FCCA, Inc. & the author. All rights reserved.
And – as always –
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.
And staying informed at Franklin●news.
Ken Norman: A Memoriam and a Nod to Human Complexity.
By Alan R. Earls, Editor, Franklin Observer
For many years I knew Ken Norman as a name, one that cropped up in connection with any number of civic activities, but particularly local cable. And, I also knew him 'second hand' for what I had heard of his presence on Facebook as a lion of Progressivism, and a rather fearsome lion, at that. As someone with less Progressive views, I have generally avoided FB myself but I felt I couldn't ignore it when his reputation reached me and impacted people about whom I cared. Yet I hated to take my opinions of him either vicariously or second-hand. So, wearing my political hat clearly, I asked Ken if I could have coffee with him some time, so I could better understand his strong and strongly expressed opinions.
Ken readily agreed, and for that I am very thankful.
We had a longish chat at the Senior Center, I spoke little and he, at my invitation, much. I learned a bit about his early life and his aspirations as a young person. And about Vietnam.
Ken's stories were not about combat. If memory serves me correctly, he was in-country but mostly in support roles. But what he saw and learned changed him, permanently. If he was ever a flag-waving patriot -- and I suspect he probably was -- Vietnam was transformative and probably traumatic.
What he shared was disturbing stories of known and ignored infiltration of key US functions by actual communist agents. Something that put US lives at risk and made a mockery of the whole stated purpose of US involvement. What he saw was repeated and flagrant acts of corruption by South Vietnamese officials with the cooperation, connivance, and participation in many cases, of Americans, including officers of the US military.
And what he did was to refuse attempts to drag him into the mire and make him corrupt, too.
The whole thing said a lot about him. He was sincere, and all-in and probably just a bit angry.
After that talk, we still differed. I suspect he was just as vociferous online as ever. But I felt at least I could see, in some ways, just how he came to be the Ken Norman so well-known in Franklin.
And I came away recognizing that all of us are more complex than we might appear at first glance. It has been a valuable lesson and I thank Ken for bringing it to me. Rest in Peace.
