People in H&S: C. Howard Kast;

              People in H&S
C Howard Kast
If he weren't there, Denver would
sorely miss him. Not that Howard Kast
is the type who stirs up dust as he goes
about his business. He is, in fact, a
fairly quiet person compared to many a
community doer in his league. But if
anyone should try to list the handful of
people who have given the most of
themselves to the Mile High City in the
years since World War II, Howard Kast,
partner in charge of the H&S office,
would surely be in the group.
This summer when Howard takes office
as president of the Rotary Club of
Denver, he assumes only the latest of a
long list of presidencies and
chairmanships that date back almost to
the day in March 1947 when he
transferred to Denver from the Chicago
office of H&S. Behind the positions of
top responsibility he has held, however,
lay years of devoted service as active
committee member, or committee
chairman, of literally dozens of civic,
professional, charitable and religious
groups in his adopted home city. A few
examples illustrate the point.
After working on a half dozen
committees of the Colorado Society of
CPAs, he served as president of the state
society in 1959-60, and since then he has
continued to give time and attention to
state society committees. Appointed to
the Colorado State Board of Accountancy
in 1965 by Governor John Love, he was
reappointed to a second term and was
president of the state board two years
ago. In 1960-61 Howard was chairman
of the Mayor's Citizens Budget
Committee, a post in which he helped
bridge the gap between the desires of
the community for municipal services
and the fiscal realities with which
elected officials must deal. Ten years ago
Howard served as president of the
Denver Tri-County Tuberculosis Society,
and later he was chairman of his local
church board. He has been on the Board
of Directors (chairman of some) of the
Salvation Army, the Boys Clubs of
Denver, the Boy Scouts, the National
Conference of Christians and Jews, the
Chamber of Commerce, and many more.
Perhaps Howard's most important
recent accomplishment was his highly
successful chairmanship, in 1970, of the
community chest drive, called in Denver
the Mile High United Way. Basing his
work on ten years of experience in
various United Way committees, plus his
devotion to patient planning, step by
step, he directed a campaign that raised
$6,131,025, which was 100.7 per cent of
the goal. It was the first time in five
years that the United Way drive in
Denver had surpassed its goal by the
target date. The following year he was
elected president, served a two-year
term and is now Chairman of the Board.
He is now working with other community
leaders and people from social agencies
to evaluate new channels through which
United Way funds could be put to
better use.
Howard makes no secret of the methods
which he employs in public service, and
they are the same ones he uses in the
Haskins & Sells office. First, he believes
in planning. He sets realistic objectives,
then sets out to attain them. Second, he
invites participation by other people,
following the folk wisdom that "many
hands make light work'.' Third, he
thinks it most important to find out what
makes people tick, what motivates them
to action; he then looks for ways to
involve other people along the lines of
their own desires.
"I think communication is open here','
says Howard, as he considers the Denver
office and its professional staff. "We
have a lot of individual counseling in this
office. I meet regularly with our people
alone, and about four times a year I get
together with individual groups of our
staff accountants and share our common
business concerns, answer questions
and discuss whatever they want!' He
goes on to explain that at times he is
baffled by the career choices and the
motivations of some of the younger
accountants with whom he has contact.
But he has the breadth of mind to
appreciate that times change, and he
shows a compassionate understanding of
the other person's chosen way, which
may not be his own.
'What we try to do here is to create an
atmosphere of practice furtherance on
the staff!' he says. "We try to bring
everyone into the act, and this practice
furtherance work is a kind of testing
ground for developing management
skill, among other things. And we get
more ideas from some of the younger
guys and gals than from some of the
people my age.
'I suppose I may delegate more than
most partners in charge of practice
offices. But I believe in it. Here in
Denver we divide up the responsibilities,
and we rotate the jobs among
management people. For instance, staff
training, being chairman of the practice
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