This week’s Rotary story comes from a Rotarian who says “Family First!” He and his wife, Rosemary have two fine sons, Jason and Douglas. They both have college degrees and are gainfully employed young Spokane men. He would also like to add that they are eligible bachelors.
Late in Rosemary’s career as a senior accountant at Avista, she came to work for her husband’s company in 2019, replacing their previous CFO who had retired. Our Rotarian was the principal at The Coeur d’Alenes Company which he ran as a flat “Self-Managed Teams” company of 125 team members. He’d like to say he ran the company; however, he says it ran him from 1986 until December 31st, 2020 when they closed the sale of their business to a company that wanted to enter the Spokane-centered market. That freed him and Rosemary to retire and advance their more worldly adventures.
It is all free time now! They enjoy exploring new places in the world and have done so in 109 countries so far. They walk 10 to 15 miles a day to stay fit. He is a student of world history. He especially enjoys reading the history of places while they are there to explore.
Currently, he is reading, The Anglo-Saxons by Mark Morris. It covers the conquests of what became England by the Romans, the Saxons, the Vikings, the Danes, and the Normans. He says the book is a masterpiece.
His most worthwhile investment has been investing in people! He says he asked people who mostly had very little education and few if any skills to join his team at The Coeur d’Alenes Company. He invested his time building them into 125 highly successful self-directed team members. In turn, they helped him grow his small debt-ridden business to become debt-free and many times its former size.
Under special things we should know about him, he notes: He is a Master Mason, a 33-degree member of the Scottish Rite, a member of the Jesters, and a Shriner. He and Rosemary are members of The Eastern Star. He is a psychologist by education. He is a master debt collector.
Under Talents: He is very good at developing people. He is a visionary. He has served as President and/or Treasurer on a dozen or so non-profit boards in Spokane. He also served as Chairman of the Board of his own company’s board.
Under Past Jobs: In 1971, he began his illustrious career digging post holes for $1.50 an hour building his strength so he could buck bales of hay for $2.00 an hour. Both jobs allowed him to think about how to advance himself while he worked.
Back in 1991, he joined this magnificent club, mostly because he is a “joiner”. He had no idea what he was in for. He says he was like a deer in headlights. Back then, it was a much bigger club with over 300 mostly highly successful businesspeople. He says he learned from them, just by listening. He says he has received plenty, mostly insight, foresight, and hindsight from his membership in Club 21.
Today he is a member of Rotary’s Arch Klumpf Society. His donations promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, save mothers and children, support education, and glow local economies through various grants. We thank him for his service to both Rotary Club 21 and Rotary International!
