Walt Fricke brings extensive executive and leadership experience to the VAC. As founding president and executive director of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, Fricke spent years wielding significant funding from GMAC-RFC and the support of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders to address the growing national foreclosure problem.
Prior to heading up the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, Fricke held senior-level executive positions at GMAC-RFC, including chairman and CEO of Residential Money Centers and executive vice president of the Residential Capital Group.
Fricke is a decorated former Army aviator , having flown hundreds of combat missions as an Army helicopter pilot with the 68th Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam. He received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with the Silver Star (and palm), two Bronze Stars, 21 air medals and a Purple Heart. His vision for the VAC flows from his experience of having spent six months in the hospital after being medivaced out of Vietnam in 1968.
He is an instrument-rated commercial airplane and helicopter pilot with multi-engine land and sea ratings.
Fricke flies as Lead or #3 in the “Salute to the Armed Forces” Trojan Horsemen flight demonstration team, which performs in airshows around the U.S. in support of the VAC.