WERTHEIM: DEDICATED TO SERVICE
The Award of Distinction was started in 1990, and was named for Robert Wertheim after his passing in 2013. He served on the Albuquerque Museum Foundation Board of Directors from 2008 until his death and was deeply committed to the Museum and to raising money to fund the Only in Albuquerque exhibition. He was an advocate for the Museum and a dedicated member of the community. His daughter Helen recounts that Wertheim was part of a generation of business leaders who were committed to working closely together to improve the state. “My father loved New Mexico, and wanted to make our state the best it could be,” says Helen Wertheim. Part of the expression of that love was raising funds to develop an exhibition that brings the history of Albuquerque alive.

As a member of the fundraising committee for Only in Albuquerque, Wertheim inspired fellow committee members to raise twice the money of the original goal. “It was the interactive map (in Only in Albuquerque) that excited him,” Helen says. “He had a vision of kids on their hands and knees pointing to places in Albuquerque they know. He wanted to see it through.” Even though Wertheim battled cancer in the last year of his life, he never missed a committee or board meeting. In the days before his passing he made phone calls to raise money for the exhibition. “That made an enormous impact on me,” Helen says.

Robert Wertheim was the founder of Charter Bank, a recipient of the Individual Ethics in Business award, and a community leader with a deep love for New Mexico. Wertheim served on many boards, including Accion New Mexico, the University of New Mexico Anderson School Alumni Council, and Presbyterian Healthcare Services. He grew up in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and graduated from UNM with a business degree.