Well Connected
to stay strong in business, wheelock whitney advises: tap into your
community connections. // INTERvIEWED BY ELIzABETh MILLARD
Start locally: When I first came to Minneapolis from St. Cloud, I was young and
carefree and ambitious, but I didn’t know
much about the area or the people here. So
I decided to do some work for the United
Way. When I was 30, that was the most
significant nonprofit agency in the Twin
Cities, and by dedicating myself to community involvement through the agency, I
got the attention of local business leaders,
who were also involved with the organization. I worked every year in the fundraising campaign and gradually got more and
more responsibility until I became general chairman for a United Way campaign.
That was a springboard for me to work
with people I would have otherwise never
met in the business community, and I think
that’s probably still true today. It’s a wonderful way to meet a lot of people at a lot of
different levels of business.
on the board of directors, and then was
chairman for awhile. This, I feel, helped
to inspire a sense of public service, and led
me to think about politics.
Understand service: I firmly believe that
public service is a noble cause, and that
politics is still about that sense of public
service. I think most people believe it’s
a dirty business and not a noble effort,
but even though there are bad people in
politics—as there are in any profession—
our country and our democracy depend
on people who serve. I spent three terms
as mayor of Wayzata, and when I tried to
go further, I got my ears pinned back. But
that didn’t stop me from staying involved
in politics. It’s something you never get out
of your system.
that would be a slap in the face to the state,
and it’s looking pretty bleak on that front.
But in general, I believe that people in the
business community should be thinking
about what makes this state competitive
and attractive, and professional sports is a
big part of that, as are all the arts, theater
and music that thrive here.
Feed your spirit: I’ve always had an interest in spirituality, I didn’t go to church
just because I was told to do it at a young
age. When I got older, I became part of the
Wayzata Community Church, and met a lot
of wonderful people, and ended up kind of
getting promoted, I guess you could say.
I ran the annual fundraising drive, and
worked my way up to being a trustee, then
recognize larger community need: I’m a
huge believer in the fact that professional
sports is an important ingredient in making
up the quality of life for people in any state.
When I was a young salesman, they didn’t
have any professional teams here, so I became involved in an effort to bring major
league baseball to the state. Then I ended
up being involved with other professional
sports efforts. It’s very bothersome to me
that we might lose the Vikings, I feel like
if you want change, create it: Philanthropy, politics and sports, as well as business,
have all been a major part of my life, and
I think if you want to be successful, if you
want to be in this community, you have to
decide that you want to be part of important things. Get into the fray, don’t just sit
on the sidelines and criticize everyone who
doesn’t do it right; volunteer to try and
make your community a better place to
live and to work. Some young people talk
about changing the world, and they talk
about the environment and foreign policy,
and doing things far beyond their abilities.
I say, why not do something in your neighborhood where you can make a difference,
and then maybe in your state, and in your
country. I started with my community, and
kept on meeting people everywhere I went,
and I kept trying to be effective at whatever
I did, and that’s what I think has given me
a very happy life.
