Within the first five minutes of meeting Coronado’s own Fred Eckert, I couldn’t help but feel like I made a new best friend! Eckert, a resident of Coronado since 1977, works for Chicago Title, but is known around Coronado as being “Mr. Green” because he’s made his home so environmentally friendly and offers advice to neighbors who are eager to do the same. For anyone who hasn’t been fortunate enough to cross paths with Eckert yet, he can best be described as a ray of sunshine. Even his dog Sassy is probably the sweetest and most well-behaved dog I’ve ever met!
Eckert was born in New York, and then raised in New Jersey by his father, who was a blacksmith, and his mother, who was a school bus driver. When Eckert was fourteen years old, he got his first job working alongside migrant farm workers, where he moved irrigation pipes. He learned from an early age the value of a hard day’s work.
Being Earth-friendly was something Eckert was exposed to back in the Garden State because his father did organic farming and composting on the family’s own 26 acres of land. The Eckert family raised the majority of their own food, and in addition to growing organic vegetables, they raised pigs, rabbits, and chickens. “It was pretty self-sustaining,” Eckert recalls of his family’s farm.
After graduating from high school, Eckert attended Ocean County Junior College [today known as Ocean County College], and then went on to study at Trenton State Teachers College [today known as The College of New Jersey]. Additionally he studied at the University of La Verne, where he earned his master’s degree.
Around the time of Eckert’s graduation from college, the Vietnam draft was in full swing, and Eckert signed up to join the Navy. After college graduation, Eckert headed to Pensacola, Florida, where he trained to become a naval aviator. Eckert proudly served in the Navy for 22 years, having the opportunity to call Florida, Virginia, and California home. He traveled all over the world during deployments, flying “SH-2s, Hueys, SH-60s, T-28s, T-34s, and S-2s.”
During his time in the Navy, Eckert married and became a father. His late wife Susan passed away seven years ago after her battle with cancer, and since her passing Eckert has been fortunate enough to find happiness with Suzanne Manuel, the President of the Rotary Club of Coronado.
As he was finishing his naval career, Eckert’s brother-in-law approached him about working in the title business. “It was a tough job market in 1992,” Eckert explains, and his brother-in-law, who was already in the title business himself, told Eckert, “I think this may be right for you.” After driving around with his brother-in-law for one day, Eckert told him, “I think I can do this.” He applied to six or seven companies, and was advised to start with a small company, and then make his way up to a big company, but that advice proved to be unnecessary because Chicago Title, the largest title company in the nation, hired him. “I didn’t have any experience,” Eckert explains, “but I had a nice resume. They gave me an opportunity no one else gave me.”
Of Chicago Title Eckert says, “They have been extraordinarily good to me. It feels like family. I’ve been there for twenty-four years in July, and I don’t really plan on retiring actually.” Eckert gushes when he talks about Suzanne Manuel, praising how “supportive” she is of his desire to continue working in a field that he loves, and compliments Manuel for not minding when he needs to return phone calls or emails to clients when they are on vacation together.
Eckert’s work schedule allowed for time to travel with his “sweet woman,” but his yard still needed his attention even if he wasn’t home, prompting his start of being “Mr. Green” in Coronado. “I decided that I wanted to make my life a little simpler. Frankly I was paying a gardener probably $90 a month with a $100 tip at the end of the year. I had to put all these sprinklers in, and had to buy seeds and everything. My first thought was, ‘I’m going to get artificial turf.’ ”
Advised by his good friend Wayne Strickland to hire Amazing Synthetic Greens, Eckert’s yard was remodeled with artificial turf, which saved him money because he no longer had to worry about watering his lawn or paying for chemicals and fertilizers. “Suzanne had the same synthetic greens put in at her house, and I liked the way those looked too,” Eckert says as he praises the quality of Amazing Synthetic Greens’ work.
Seeing how much money he was saving, Eckert was then inspired to tackle another home expense, his electric bill.
Again Eckert turned to Strickland for advice about solar panels for his home. Strickland advised him to call John Perkins of Perk Solar. “I had called a couple of other companies,” Eckert says, “but he [Perkins] was just so personable. He came out to the house, and delivered it all himself. He had a whole breakdown of what I would save and everything.”
Eckert had fourteen solar panels installed on his house, and as he explained the process of the installation, he also shared a rather interesting tip on how he paid for the solar panels. “In keeping with the idea of saving money, I actually had him [Perkins] put it on my credit card so I could get the mileage [airplane],” he explains. “I had the money, then paid off the credit card right away,” Eckert remarks. Not only was Eckert’s solar panel installation the start of saving money on his monthly utility bill, but it also proved to be an effective means of accruing airline miles for future travel.
Now that Eckert found himself with extra money in his pocket from the artificial turf and solar panel installation, he thought about what he could do next to save even more money each month, and that’s when he decided to save money on his water bill by getting rain barrels. “There’s a $75 rebate for each rain barrel, up to four,” he says, adding, “I could only fit two.” How does he like using rain barrels? “It’s been wonderful,” he says.
While Eckert’s lawn doesn’t need to be watered any longer, he has a stunning array of beautiful plants and flowers adorning his front porch and flower beds. Water collected in the two rain barrels is used inside and outside. He says, “I have a sensor on my sprinkler that allows, if it rains, for it to not turn on.” Everything is watered from underground, and I have little risers that go up to my hanging baskets. Right now I think it’s two minutes twice a week is how often I water [outdoor plants].”
Have all of the out-of-pocket expenses Eckert has made in order to save money in the long-run paid off yet? Eckert says, “Good question!” He explains that based on his usage and the number of solar panels he had installed, the solar panels will be self-sustaining, meaning that his original investment will be paid for, within eight years. “I’ve only had them for about a year,” he acknowledges so it’s still too soon to say yes just yet, “but that isn’t really why I did it. It’s just an amazing thing to do, and it’s nice to be able to turn on a heater or something without groaning, ‘I’m going to have to pay for this massive electric bill.’ It’s a smart thing to do. It saves the environment. I haven’t run into any issues with it.” Eckert describes how his solar panel system is made up of microinverters, which means that each panel has its own inverter. If an inverter on one specific solar panel stops working, the rest of the solar panels will still be able to continue working without an interruption in power or having to shut down the system.
While it’s certainly nice knowing he’s saving money and helping Mother Earth, Eckert isn’t content to just bask in his own savings. He enjoys bestowing his wealth of information about environmentally friendly and cost efficient upgrades that people can make to their own homes to anyone who asks. “In this investment club I belong to, I brought a solar expert in one time to let people ask questions if they wanted. I haven’t been able to get the Amazing Synthetic Greens guy in because he’s been so busy. I also tell people to check out water barrels,” Eckert says.
Eckert’s nickname of “Mr. Green” could also refer to how he helps people save money in ways that don’t even have anything to do with saving the environment. He encourages people to see if they are owed money by checking out the California State Controller’s Office Unclaimed Property website as well as the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. He also advises people and businesses of San Diego to check with the San Diego Auditor and Controller as another way of checking to see if they are owed any money. “If you haven’t claimed it, it goes away,” Eckert says, reminding people to take the time to investigate any money that they might be owed. “My one daughter got back $1,200,” he exclaims. “I’ve posted that advice on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn multiple times,” he says.
Are there any environmental changes Eckert would like to see here in Coronado? “I would love to see underground utilities,” he answers, but then quickly acknowledges, “I’m a realist enough to know that would cost a lot of money, but aesthetically that would be nice. Other than that, I’m pretty happy. I hear people talk about the McMansions and how we’ve got too many condos. I’m just one of those people who says, ‘If you make it, and people want to buy it, that’s the market.’ If people don’t buy it, the next person is going to say, ‘I’m not going to build that kind of house because it took that last guy two years to sell it.’ ”
Eckert finds that his home has been a great source of interest to the people of Coronado, and sometimes people knock on his door not only to come by and say hello, but also to ask about his solar panels, artificial turf, or rain barrels. “I see a lot of people walk by, and they’ll reach down and touch the grass,” he laughs. “When little leaves fall, and are on the grass, it looks really natural.”
Is there anything about having artificial turf that Eckert doesn’t like? His only complaints, and minor ones at that, are, “It can get a little warm, and obviously it’s not real grass, but my dog lays on it just fine. Some of the trees drop these little things that almost look like small acorns. You don’t want to have debris ground into it.” What does he do to prevent debris from becoming embedded in the synthetic grass? “I rake it every once in a while or sometimes I’ll use the leaf blower,” he responds.
Does Eckert have any advice for local residents about how they can be more green even if they aren’t ready to spend money on environmental home upgrades? “I ride my bike pretty much everywhere,” Eckert says with a great sense of pride. “I have four bikes right now, and I’ve given away a bunch because I can’t fit them all in my garage.” Describing electric bikes as being “neat,” Eckert says he prefers traditional bikes because he enjoys the exercise they provide. Eckert even incorporates Chicago Title advertising in his bike rides around Coronado as he displays the clever pun “Pedaling my Title Insurance All Over Town” on a mini-billboard that hangs on his bike basket.
What is Eckert most proud of: his impressive years as a naval aviator, his successful second career at Chicago Title, or being known around the Crown City as the guy who saves the environment as well as money? The answer is quite simply none of the above. It is Eckert’s role as father of six to Jennifer Eckert, Stephen Eckert, Bryan Eckert, Kati Eckert, Danielle Eckert, and Matt Smith that makes him grin from ear to ear. “Five of them have college degrees. Three of them have master’s degrees. I have a Navy SEAL. I have a minister. I have a Vanderbilt cheer coach. I’m very happy with that.” It is evident that it is his three grandchildren who especially bring delight to Eckert’s life because he becomes especially animated as he talks about them and how special it is to watch his own children now in the role of parents. Eckert values the time he gets to spend with his family and Suzanne tremendously.
Eckert is also proud of the friends he calls family here in Coronado, the community he chose to call home. He has hosted the Christmas parade a number of times, “did the outside portion of the school’s telethon for probably about 17 years,” and “loves concerts in the park.”
Overall, Eckert is about giving of himself and giving back to the community. He has a lesson he likes to share with everyone called “The Magic of the Three Squeezes,” which can be seen by clicking the link below. Like everything about Fred Eckert, this too comes from the heart, and its profound message will make you stop and think about those you love. Fred Eckert might be known as “Mr. Green” because of the environmentally friendly home improvements he makes as well as his sage advice on how to save money, but, perhaps Coronado needs another nickname for him too, one that emphasizes the kindness of his character and the positive spirit he encompasses. He says, “I feel very blessed. The worst day I’ve ever had in my life is probably better than 95% of the world.”
