Longest serving LTCC board member to retire

By Lake Tahoe News

Change is coming to the Lake Tahoe Community College board of education no matter the out come of the November election. Fritz Wenck is saying goodbye.

When Wenck’s term expires in December he will leave with the distinction of being the longest serving board member. Not only that, he was also one of the original board members for the two-year college in South Lake Tahoe.

Fritz Wenck

He and Roberta Mason were first elected in 1974. She retired in December 2014.

With the college now having board members be elected by geographic district, it meant Wenck and Karen Borges were in the same district. The options were neither would run, they face-off against each other, or just one incumbent would be on the ballot. The latter will occur.

Wenck has seen plenty of changes during his 42-year tenure on the board. Classes were first taught in a hotel on Highway 50. Now the 164-acre campus off Al Tahoe Boulevard is undergoing a bit of a renaissance with the voter-approved bond infusing cash into the facility.

At the start there were 500 students, while today there are more than 5,000. Class offerings were limited, now there is a robust curriculum.

While there is plenty of work to be done in the next five months, one key vote he might have the opportunity to cast is who the next president of the college will be. This is because President Kindred Murillo tendered her resignation earlier this year, with the goal be being gone by early next year at the latest.

He is the current board president, a role he has had multiple times in the last four decades.

Wenck isn’t likely to be bored when he no longer has to attend the monthly board meetings. After all, he is still a dentist. Before opening his practice in South Lake Tahoe in 1970, he was a dentist for the Navy from 1966-70. He later spent 29 years in the Navy Reserves, retiring as a captain.

The Optimist Club has been a passion of his. He’s also an active host for foreign exchange students, including members of the local hockey team.

Between Wenck and his wife, Patience, they have seven children and 10 grandkids.