What do you do at NDSC?
I am not big on titles. While my business card title says Executive Director, I think of my title and responsibility as “in charge of all things necessary to fulfill the mission of the NDSC…including those things people don’t want to do”. Ultimately my responsibility is managing the NDSC’s business as a whole, including board governance, financial performance and viability, organization and strategy, and operations. My background is in finance and accounting. I started in 1989 with the International accounting firm, KPMG Peat Marwick, in Minneapolis after college (University of North Dakota – Bachelors of Accountancy degree), then moved back to Bismarck to start a family in 1991. I worked in the public accounting sector for several years before embarking the next step of my career in the private sector. I worked at Cloverdale Foods Company as a divisional controller, then Hedahls Auto Parts and Odyssey Research as their CFO, and now settling upon the awesome organization of the NDSC since January of 2007.
Why is NDSC’s mission to prevent injuries and save lives important to you?
I don’t have a specific incident that has motivated me to be a part of the NDSC other than a career transition. But once I started this job, I have been captivated by the feeling of doing something special for community and society. What we do is special and I am extremely proud to be a part of the NDSC.
What are your hobbies?
Golfing and hunting. I played every sport imaginable growing up and have continued the life sports of golfing and hunting to challenge me and fulfill my sports affliction.
Name one really interesting thing about yourself.
I enjoy reading a good fictional mystery novel. It is a great way to escape the daily grind of work and life in general. My wife would probably say it’s interesting, or maybe weird in her estimation, but I like mellow female singers considering I am fairly aggressive, intense person.
What other talents do you have?
My hobby job is announcing high school sporting events on the radio. I have been doing mainly color commentary for almost 25 years for high school basketball and football. During that time, I have covered over 1,000 games.
If you could travel anywhere, where would it be and why?
Ireland to golf. In addition to the tremendous natural beauty of Ireland’s landscape, they have some of the most historic and spectacular golf courses on the planet.
Favorite singer/band/song?
Currently Luke Combs, but I also love Bon Jovi, Pink, Brandi Carlile, Lady Gaga and mellow, meaningful music. I don’t have an all-time favorite song.
Biggest pet peeve?
Over-posting on social media.
What animal most closely matches your personality?
Probably an elephant. I am fairly large-sized, deliberate, and confident. And while I can have a temper on occasion, I usually am pretty slow to anger. I think of myself as very committed, intelligent, and am a good communicator.
What is your biggest strength and your biggest weakness?
I would say caring is my biggest strength. Whether it’s caring for people or caring about results, it’s driven me to be the person I am today.
For my biggest weakness, I would say probably being too competitive. It’s definitely one of the reasons why I have had success in my life, but it has caused me to leave people in my wake at times. I have worked on having situational awareness to help lessen the damage being too competitive can cause.
What store would you pick to max out your credit card?
It would be a sporting goods store that carried golf and hunting equipment. Ideally it would be a golf shop and a hunting store considering one store wouldn’t cover the best of both hobbies, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be Scheels.
What is your favorite movie, book and TV show?
My favorite book is the ‘Prey’ series written by John Sanford. I love mysteries, specifically in the fiction section and Sanford is from Minnesota, so there are plenty of references to the Minnesota area I am familiar with, which makes it even easier to connect with.
My favorite movie is ‘Good Will Hunting’. I have watched it probably 100 times when you combine all the pieces of the movies I have watched in 15, 30, and 60 minute blocks. It addresses so many important issues and the acting of Matt Damon and Robin Williams is amazing.
My current most favorite TV show/series is ‘Yellowstone’. I am a big Kevin Costner fan and the series is set in Montana which makes it even better.
