‘The pinnacle of our community’

Local music icon and philanthropist David Foster made a major contribution to Eastern Connecticut State University on June 11 when he announced a $250,000 donation to the David G. Carter Jr. Endowment Fund. A day prior at Eastern’s annual President’s Leadership Luncheon and Awards ceremony, Foster received the ECSU Foundation Board of Directors Distinguished Donor Award.

As head of the Lester E. Foster and Phyllis M. Foster Foundation — named after his parents — Foster and his wife, Marilyn, have provided financial support to many Windham-area organizations over the years, including the Covenant Soup Kitchen, Windham Hospital, the Windham No Freeze Shelter, and others, in addition to their ongoing support of Eastern.

Since 2006, the Foster Family Foundation has provided more than $125,000 of funding for a variety of programs and activities at Eastern, including the Hermann Beckert Endowed Music Scholarship, the Kevin Crosbie Memorial Scholarship, the Music Series Fund and the Rugby Club. The Foundation’s most recent gift of $250,000 represents a significant addition to Foster’s past support of Eastern and its students.

“Eastern is the pinnacle of our community,” said Foster. “Knowledge is everything today. If everybody has a chance to have an education, they have a chance to better themselves.”

Preceding his life as a philanthropist, Foster developed a storied reputation as co-owner of the legendary Shaboo Inn nightclub in Mansfield, CT, and later as the band leader of The Shaboo All-Stars. Foster has continued his work in the music business as founder of Shaboo Productions, which rents musical instruments and other equipment to touring acts.

Foster began his career as a singer at age 14, developing a love of rhythm and blues. As co-owner of the Shaboo Inn, he hosted and promoted more than 3,000 shows from 1971-82, showcasing a “Who’s Who” of famous musical acts, including B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Tom Petty, Dire Straits, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Elvis Costello, The Police and many more. Many of the acts that performed at the Shaboo Inn are now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1979, Foster assembled a group of musicians to form the Shaboo All-Stars. The All-Stars became the house band at the Mohegan Sun as “David Foster and the Mohegan Sun All-Stars” until Foster’s retirement from the band in 2019.

The Shaboo All-Stars regrouped at the Shaboo Stage in Foster’s hometown of Willimantic for the June 11 donation announcement. David and the All-Stars performed again on Oct. 15 at Eastern for a benefit concert in support of the Crosbie Scholarship, featuring Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.

“I like to do my philanthropy through music,” said Foster. “The music shines a light and includes everyone that goes to the event. The audience is a part of it. They love it.”

“Music is David’s life,” said Kenneth DeLisa, vice president of institutional advancement at Eastern. “He has a passion for singing; entertaining audiences brings him joy. He owns a business that benefits musicians and enables them to create the sounds that inspire and entertain their audiences. And he is the driving force behind a charitable endowment that will provide basic needs, improved health care and educational opportunities for countless individuals for generations to come.”

In addition to announcing his $250,000 gift to Eastern at the June 11 event, Foster presented checks to the Windham No Freeze Shelter and the Covenant Soup Kitchen to help them buy a new building and pay off their mortgages, respectively. Among the many other local organizations benefitting from Foster’s philanthropy are the YMCA, Windham Area Interfaith Ministry and Horizons, among others.

Among his many accolades, Foster was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award in 2012 by the Connecticut Blues Society, was Willimantic’s Citizen of the Year in 2019 and was inducted into the Mohegan Sun Hall of Fame in 2015. He also received the 2015 Distinguished Friend of Education Award from the Connecticut Association of Schools.

Speaking to his motivation as a philanthropist, Foster said, “I’ve already received my gift. That’s why my giving is in honor of other people. I thank God and my wife for keeping me here. Every day I can breathe and be with the people I love. That means the world to me.”

The Lester E. Foster and Phyllis M. Foster Foundation was created in 2003 to support Willimantic and Mansfield organizations. In addition to the recent major gifts supporting Eastern, the Covenant Soup Kitchen and the Windham No Freeze Shelter, the Lester and Phyllis Foster Oncology and Infusion Center at Windham Hospital was named in 2018 as a result of Foster and his band helping to raise $250,000 in private funding.

“To see David’s generous support for people in our community with pressing needs makes me grateful that Eastern can be part of his legacy,” said DeLisa. “His parents would be very proud of him.”