THELAKER | 21 Kevin Flynn ’79 has climbed Mount McKinley, Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest – the list goes on. He can fly a single-engine plane, and he worked 37 years as a partner at Rochester’s Flynn advertising agency. But his most important qualification for serving as the new chair of the FLCC Foundation Board of Directors may be his student experience at what was then Community College of the Finger Lakes, or CCFL. High school for Kevin had been lackluster at best. “I wasn’t unhappy, but I wasn’t happy,” he said. “I felt awkward. I hadn’t found my place in the world.” Kevin waited tables at The Blacksmith Shop in Victor so he could pay his way when he joined other off-season student renters on East Lake Road. “When I got there, I started living on my own and had a big community of friends. It was quite the crew along the lake. Most importantly, my professors who took an interest in me turned on some switch inside of me that got me loving education,” he said. The environmental conservation team, including Chris White, Marty Dodge and Bill Banaszewski, gave him confidence. “They encouraged me to transfer to Cornell University upon completion of my A.S. degree. Everything was just kind of falling into place.” He earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental education from Cornell and went on to get a master’s in communications from the university. In the mid-1980s, Kevin and his brother, Chris, bought out their father Jerry’s stake in the company the elder Flynn had founded. In his spare time, Kevin pursued adventure. He learned to fly to meet with one of his major clients in Pittsburgh. He became an Adirondack 46er, meaning he climbed the 46 peaks that are 4,000 feet or higher. (Kevin climbed them all twice.) He has also scaled the Seven Summits, a reference to the highest peak on each continent. Kevin’s ascent of Everest in 2004 turned into a book he wrote with Rochester Democrat and Chronicle outdoor writer Gary Fallesen: “Mount Everest: Confessions of an Amateur Peak Bagger.” At the agency, Kevin and his brother introduced video editing to their suite of services ahead of other agencies. Later, they added digital advertising and social media to stay ahead of trends. Along with industry recognition, Kevin received the FLCC Distinguished Alumni Award. Earlier this year, the Flynn brothers received the 2024 Silver Award at Rochester’s American Advertising Awards for their contributions to the local advertising community. Kevin joined the Foundation board in 2015. He began his term as chair on July 31 to support initiatives that make the kind of life-changing experience he had possible for others. “CCFL put me on a great path towards success. It was a fundamental building block that took me on my life journey,” he said. “Sounds corny, but without CCFL, I really don’t know where I would have ended up.” ‘AMATEUR PEAK BAGGER’ TO LEAD FOUNDATION Kevin Flynn’s book “Mt. Everest: Confessions of an Amateur Peak Bagger” is available at the Charles J. Meder Library at the main campus and through the Ontario Wayne, Wyoming, Livingston (OWWL) Library System. Kevin Flynn ’79, new chair of the FLCC Foundation Board of Directors, climbs Antarctica’s Mount Vinson (16,050 feet).
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