Letter from the Editor

Life and Times of JWN

Back in Action So, we made it home from Ghana safely. I won't give too much away because we are dedicating a future issue solely to the trip, but it was the most incredible cultural experience of my life. How so? I mixed and mingled with people that live in a completely different part of the world. One third of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Thus, I saw the most extreme poverty imaginable. On the other hand, our group's business development initiatives, traditional event attendance, and political meetings left me with a broad view of the whole populous. It was a truly unique opportunity to view the spectrum of life in a developing country. From this brief and relatively superficial stage, I would like to move on to some things that I have taken away from the trip. In due time I will provide the retrospective analysis of the engagement, but for now it is time to think about the present. What did I take away? 1) Everybody forms stereotypes. As much as we may be apt to stereotype Ghanaians, or Africans in general, we must remain questioning and curious because Ghanaians stereotype Americans as well and neither of us are 100% correct. Initially, I had no idea what to expect in terms of how I would be viewed by the Ghanaian people. I did know that they are well known for their hospitality and warm demeanor, but I did not know what they would think of me, the American. It seemed as though every person, young and old, thinks of Americans as a gateway to a better life. I pride myself on my ability to connect with individuals, but in this environment I received more contact information by doing less "work" than I ever have before. Unfortunately, they may be discouraged to know that I had enough trouble getting my own Visa. 2) People are people, no matter where they are born. We're all in this world together and we strive for the same thing; a higher quality of life. I was blessed to be born in America where I have a system which supports and provides an efficient outlet for my ambitious desires. My new Ghanaian friends aren't that lucky. By traveling to a world where people are dealt a hand worse than you can even imagine, you learn to appreciate what you have. In my case, I learned that I can use my hand to make a difference. My unique skill set and wonderful support system enabled me to travel to Ghana and I think it sent me there for a reason. (As cliche as it may sound, all things do tend to happen for a reason). Upon first reflection, the reasons that stick out to me are ones of empathy, opportunity, and global citizenship. As a result of my trip I feel a heightened sense of each of these things. 3) Everybody brings something to the table. Many people may think about a country like Ghana and say, 'What can I learn from these people?' My response would be, 'More than you think.' I am back in America; the land where people smile less, appreciate little, and stress out more. Meanwhile, Ghana and its people reminded me of the beauty of hospitality, friendship, and curiosity. These are a few of the immediate changes that have happened to me in the 'right here, right now' since my arrival back to America. I hope they can be of value to you in your own thoughts on global citizenship and humanity in general. JWN Photo Note: I also came home with a sweet African beard. It has since been shaved but it was fun while it lasted. Goin' global is where it's at, ~JWN

Ken Kamlet, Director of Legal Affairs

Ken Kamlet:

“A Card Carrying Environmentalist”

By: Joseph W. Norman

In early October, I had the pleasure of sharing a Mediterranean flatbread pizza with Ken over dinner at Uno Chicago Grill in Vestal, New York. It was an enjoyable conversation which covered a variety of topics including his family, his extensive and accomplished career practicing environmental law, and his current work with Newman Development Group. Much of our chat focused on Ken’s experience with the current Gateway Town Center development project in Geneseo which has been a source of much controversy over the last two years. This is a must read VIP Profile for those of you in or intimately attached to Geneseo. However, for all readers, it is a candid look into the life of a man who has facilitated much positive change through his passions and pursuits.

JWN: So what exactly do you do at Newman Development Group?

KK: Well, I have a couple different responsibilities. When Mark Newman identifies a site that he thinks retailers have an interest in; for example, Lowes and Geneseo. We do a lot of work for Lowes all over the country and a number of other national or big box retailers.

But, let me tell you first what I don’t do. I don’t get involved in transaction and real estate types of stuff. We attain outside real estate council to do things such as negotiate leases. Once a sight of interest is selected, I’m brought in and my job is to secure any necessary land use approvals from local governments. If there are regulatory issues from the Federal or State level, my job is to get those approvals. We often involve a team of consultants with specialized expertise in traffic engineering, wet lands, and archaeology. So that is pretty much what I do.

I don’t get brought into easy sights. They are mostly difficult ones. As my boss likes to say, ‘Every deal is an ordeal.’

JWN: Where did you grow up?

KK: I grew up in a small town called the Bronx. Went to CCNY as an undergrad and then to graduate school for a year at Duke and three years at Yale studying biochemical sciences. After that I went to law school at the University of Pennsylvania.

I’ve got a pretty diverse background. Most of my practice has been in environmental law and my combined science and law studies have stood me good stead in doing that.

One surprising thing about me is my first full time job after law school was with a public interest environmental law group called the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, DC. I was there for twelve and a half years as their pollution and toxic substance program director. I was also director of legal affairs for a number of years. I helped protect the oceans around the country from ocean dumping and ocean discharges, things of that sort. Good old acid rain and toxic chemical pollution.

JWN: What got you interested with law?

KK: I went to grad school with the intention of getting a Ph. D. and spending my career doing teaching and research. Then I woke up one day and decided that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life cooped up in a laboratory studying the esoteric sex life of some obscure fly. I wanted to do something that was a little more relevant to the real world and I ultimately hit on that with pursuing environmental law. So I went in that direction.

At law school I tried out various environmental law arenas. I did an internship with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, now they are the Department of Environmental Protection, helping the state prosecute Clean Streams Law violators. I also did a summer internship with the region three office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. I organized a canoe flotilla down the Schuykill River as part of that. I spent another summer as Mayor John Lindsay’s summer scholar. There, I worked for the Mayor’s Council on the Environment and the City Environmental Protection Administration. I got involved with trying to toughen up the city’s pre-treatment regulations of industrial discharges going into the sewage system.

What else did I do? I spent six months on an externship with the Center for Law and Social Policy in D.C. where I had the opportunity to work on some interesting phases of the Alaska Pipeline Litigation. And, I wrote a major part of the brief that ultimately prevailed in the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

In my spare time, I co-founded and headed up the Environmental Law Group at Penn. One of the things we did under a rule of the State Supreme Court was help prosecute Clean Streams Law violators. Second and third year law students were able to argue cases before magistrates.

JWN: What brought you to Vestal, New York?

KK: It is kind of a long story. After the Wildlife Federation I spent just about seven or eight years in private environmental consulting, including seven years with A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm. I was a Senior Manager and Principal in their Environmental Health and Safety Practice. And, after that I spent a number of years in private law practice in D.C. and Maryland. In both of those roles I often represented various kinds of developers including the Pyramid Companies, which is one of the biggest developers in the country.

One of the developing companies I represented was this Amius Group out of Jamestown, Pennsylvania, I believe. I did several projects with them. When the Newmans decided to launch Town Square Mall (in Vestal) in the early 90s, some Amius people introduced me to them. I got involved with the Newman’s when the real estate recession hit in the early 90s and Amius ended up backing out of the deal, but the Newmans kept me on to finish up. I have been working for them ever since.

I’m their in-house Director of Legal Affairs, so I’m on their payroll. I’m not a hired gun in the sense of somebody from the outside that is brought in. I’m part of the staff and the management team of the firm. We have in house graphics, construction and engineering, and others.

I think one of the things that endeared me to the Newmans is my environmental background and my work with the Wildlife Federation. They knew that I was someone that would help them do things correctly and not try to evade legal requirements, but rather help them efficiently and effectively do what they needed to do to be responsible business people.

JWN: Now, you’re involved with a brownfield organization correct?

KK: I’m involved with a number of brownfield organizations. I’m on the Board of Directors of the New York State Chapter of the National Brownfield Association. I’m also chair of the Brownfield Committee of the Greater Binghamton Coalition (GBC). The GBC is a public / private partnership setup between the business community and the local elected officials to promote economic development in this area, which desperately needs it.

JWN: When we met at the Greater Binghamton Chamber mixer last spring, you had a cowboy hat on. Is that a standard operation for you?

KK: Not really. Last winter was the first time I ever wore a cowboy hat. A previous girlfriend thought I would look good in one. And, it seemed functional. It was good for keeping the rain and snow off of my head.

I’m very active in the Greater Binghamton Chamber. I’m active in a number of committees with the chamber. I recently relinquished the chairmanship of the Legislative Committee, but I’m still serving on the committee though. I also serve on the Governmental Affairs Committee, the Consolidation Committee, the Recognition and Awards Committee.

JWN: With all of these activities, what do you do in your spare time?

KK: I joke that in my spare time I work for Newman Development Group since I seem to spend most of my time at the Chamber.

JWN: Please, tell me more about your experience with the development project in Geneseo…

KK: I probably should choose my words carefully but I won’t. I’ll take my lumps. I think the controversy our there is a tempest in a teapot in a lot of ways. I’ve been involved in a lot of controversial projects; some of them present really significant issues where what we’re proposing represents a major departure from where the community has gone in the past. That is not at all the case in Geneseo.

We’re proposing to build a Lowes across from a Super Wal-Mart and a Wegmans. The opposition referred to it as ‘sprawl development’ and all kinds of other pejoratives. Nothing could really be further from the truth. As a longtime card carrying environmentalist I consider it smart growth. The town board of Geneseo made the conscious and conscientious decision to concentrate commercial development in the area already characterized by concentrated commercial development.

This case does not entail having retail go anywhere it hasn’t been before. It does not entail any new infrastructure that has to be added to the area. It is not going to be radically transforming the landscape. Why the big stink over a Lowes when a Super Wal-Mart is right across the street?

Most of the arguments that have been leveled against the project are disingenuous and in my view extreme. They are make-weight arguments. The academics from the college that have chosen to spear head this effort are engaging in intellectual sophistry and seem to be engaging in debate for the sake of debate. They want some public platform. The Town Board and now Town Supervisor races seem to revolve around which side each individual is on this Lowes project and I don’t see it as a big deal.

We don’t go into a community to destroy it by being oblivious to the character of the community. We are quite sensitive about those kinds of things and we have bent over backwards in Geneseo to study every issue, whether we think it’s legitimate or not.

We have gone through a protracted Environmental Impact Statement that really was superfluous. Most of the data that was contained in a previous statement had been publicized and largely consisted of a compilation of information that had already existed. Not only had it been well ventilated, but exhaustively ventilated through two years of work with the planning board.

Let me give you an example with the traffic issue. One of the more significant potential impacts of a project like this, particularly in a small community like Geneseo, is impact on traffic. We did a very thorough traffic impact study through Fisher Associates which has a good reputation in Western New York.

On the first go around of the traffic study, the consultant relied heavily on traffic data generated by Wal-Mart in the course of the Wal-Mart development. The DOT indicated that it was adequate for this purpose but the naysayers criticized it and wanted traffic counts. So, we did traffic counts and paid for a second traffic study that included the traffic counts data. The counts indicated that the projections in the Wal-Mart study were overly conservative and the impacts were actually going to be less for our project than had been suggested based on extrapolations from the original Wal-Mart data.

We did some additional fine tuning. The naysayers raised concerns about net impact on the National Historic Landmark district of downtown Geneseo. The DOT has very specific criteria for what the study area needs to be in a standard traffic study. Generally, it is only intersections that stand to have a hundred or more additional vehicles during the peak hour of the week and that extended a fairly limited radius out from the project location. It came no where close to downtown Geneseo, but because of those concerns we did more traffic counts all the way into the village and downtown area. The result each time said there was no significant adverse impact.

The DOT, in two separate letters, signed off both on the evaluation of impacts and on the proposal of mitigation as being adequate saying there would be no significant decline in the level of service of traffic in any of the studied intersections. The town’s traffic consultant and engineer, Bill Holtoff, generated a letter and stated not once, but three separate times, that the analyses that our traffic consultant had done were fully consistent with the state of the traffic engineering art as it is practiced in Western New York.

Then we went through this exercise where the naysayers were able to persuade a narrow majority of the planning board to render a positive declaration under seeker of the State Environmental Quality Review Act obligating us to go through the whole Environmental Impact Statement exercise. As part of that process there was a scope of work, a seeker scoping document that was put together, which has a traffic section. The opponents lobbied to have 10 more additional traffic analyses done above and beyond the ones that we had already done through these two plus earlier traffic impact studies.

Bill Holtoff’s advice was sought as to if any of these needed to be done. He identified ten studies. I guess there was a longer list, maybe twice as long, that the opponents wanted to impose on us. But Holtoff after having three times advised in writing that everything we had done was totally adequate bowed to the opposition and agreed that we should do additional studies and gave us a template for how the studies should be designed. So, we went back to Fisher and gave them $100,000 more to do these ten additional studies.

Surprise, surprise. None of the studies revealed anything different from what had been shown before. And, we spent two or three planning board meetings debating whether the studies really showed what they were supposed to show or whether they were carried out properly. But, the net result is the new traffic that will be generated by the Lowes project at the proposed development site will be a relatively small proportion of the traffic generated by the Wal-Mart project and the traffic that is already on the road system.

In fact, there is so much existing traffic on the roadway that most of the visitors to the Gateway Town Center, our proposed project, will be visiting in conjunction with trips to other destinations. So, there are not even really going to be new cars on the roadway, but rather just existing traffic.

JWN: This sounds like it must be incredibly frustrating in terms of how much time and capital
has been invested in the project. I’m curious, in respect to the Newman Group, how do you manage that?

KK: There have been a few instances where we have bailed out of a project, but we don’t do that very often. We have a reputation to uphold and represent. We are not taken to turning tail and running at the slightest provocation. We have done enough projects to know what the issues are and know that any legitimate concerns can be addressed and ultimately addressed to the satisfaction of the local officials.

There is the additional factor that Lowes is a retail client that we have worked with in many, many locations around the state and the country. We are not going to let them down. I’m sure many residents and many of our opponents think that we are some greedy developer that is going to make a killing at the expense of Geneseo’s way of life. But, the fact of the matter is, the time has probably long since passed on this project - with the amount of time, effort, and expense that has been devoted to it - where we, the developing partners, are going to make anything. It is a matter of sticking with it and bringing home this project for Lowes which wants to be located here and is depending on us to get the approval that it needs. It is a very unfortunate state of affairs.

This shopping center at one point was being looked at by the county as a potential site for a solid-waste incinerator. The vigor of the opposition of this retail project seems to be significantly greater than that against a solid-waste incinerator. There seems to be no sense of proportion on the part of some people on the positions they take on things.

The most discouraging thing to me in Geneseo, or disappointing I suppose rather than discouraging, is the fact that some people seem to feel they have to be disagreeable in order to disagree. The opponents are so intense in their opposition that they have demonized those that are identified with the developer and caricatured me and everybody else associated with the project.

When I leave planning board meetings I have to walk past this gauntlet. I was there a few weeks ago and as I was heading out they said, “Have a safe drive home,” as though what they are really saying is, ‘I hope you crash and go up in a fireball or something.’ It is unfortunate. I don’t have a high degree of regard for those people, but I don’t hate them. I don’t think they are evil people, but rather seriously misguided.

As far as the project is concerned, we have really bent over backwards to scale it down and address the concerns that various people have raised, particularly legitimate concerns. We have greatly enhanced the architecture of the buildings and scaled down the project. There were originally going to be six out parcels, now there is going to be just one in addition to the Lowes. We started off with three access driveways along 20A, now we are down to one.

We developed an internal roadway system to address concerns that the County Planning Board raised about certain provisions of the Gateway Overlay District. So we have an internal roadway, kind of like a service road, that people accessing the site from 20A or Volunteer Road would enter. They don’t enter directly into the shopping center which prevents cars from stacking up and potentially interfering with traffic on 20A or Volunteer.

There were concerns raised about impact on the valley view…we were forced to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on 3D renderings and other simulations. I can’t tell you how many planning board meetings we had to go through where the opponents kept accusing us of distorting the photography. We went through an exercise where we did five different building orientations for the Lowes building. We ultimately came up with, what I think, is a very good compromise which is basically a 45 degree orientation towards the intersection of 20A and Volunteer. This minimizes the building mass that lies between 20A and whatever view there is of the valley and it also happens to be the most efficient use of the land, minimizing impacts on wetlands and various other things.

We really have gone to extraordinary lengths to try to accommodate legitimate concerns, but the illegitimate concerns keep coming, and the opponents have no interest, in my view, of making this a better project. They just want it gone.

We’re going to plod through it and we haven’t sought anybody’s recusal. We’ll continue to play the game and play by the rules as best we can and hopefully we’ll get through it.

JWN: Let’s talk more about you. How long were you in the Bronx?

KK: All the way through college. For 20 years until 1966. I lived in the West Bronx and went away to school and never lived there again. Meanwhile, my parents retired to south Florida.

JWN: What did your parents do?

KK: My dad was a, I guess you’d refer to him as a rag-picker; basically he was working with wool clippings on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the garment district. Some would refer to him as a Textile Engineer, but it was a very low tech application. My dad, his father, and several of my dad’s brothers all sorted wool, taking part in that business for 40 or 50 years. When they sold the business it became a very upscale loft area.

JWN: How many brothers and sisters do you have?

KK: I have one brother and one sister, both younger.

JWN: And, what do they do?

KK: My brother is actually an Orthodox Rabbi and my sister is a retired teacher. She taught Physical Education and Health Education. Now, she does personal training for people. My brother-in-law is also a teacher but he sold bullet proof vests on the side.

JWN: (Joking) You might want to pick one of those up…

KK: (Laughing) Yeah, maybe I should. Every time I visit Geneseo I feel like I need one.

JWN: Do you have any children?

KK: I’ve got a son and a daughter. My son is an entrepreneur. He runs a webhosting company. If you were twenty years older I would probably have to explain what that is, but you probably understand the concept. It is a company called H4Y Technologies, LLC.

My daughter has been married for a few years. She has a son. It’s my first grandson. We celebrated his first birthday recently. She just got her Masters in Nutrition and is poised on the precipice of initiating her own business for the first time. She wants to do nutrition counseling online, so my son is helping her out with that.

JWN: What are some of the other things you’re interested in?

KK: I enjoy digital photography. I like the outdoors. Why I live in this climate, I’m not sure. I like to read. I listen to books on tape. I get through a lot of books on tape on my trips to Geneseo.

JWN: What are some of your favorite reads?

KK: I like Tom Clancy, spy thrillers, detective thrillers, and sci-fi sometimes. I like Dean Koontz. I used to like Stephen King, but some of his more recent stuff I’m not crazy about.

JWN: Do you have any favorite quotes?

KK: Apart from, “Disagreeing without being disagreeable?” (Laughs) I’m not sure if some of them are particularly appropriate in this context; “None but the brave deserve the fair” and maybe “Tis better to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”

JWN: Ahhh…a little Shakespeare. Are you a fan?

KK: Absolutely.

JWN: Do you watch any sports?

KK: I have never been much of a sports fan. I was always more interested in participatory sports than spectator sports. I like handball, paddle ball, racket ball, tennis, and ping pong.

JWN: If you could meet three people in any time period, who might they be?

KK: Albert Einstein, Thomas A. Edison, and Mark Twain. Those are just three names that popped into my head.

JWN: What is your favorite candy bar?

KK: I used to be a chocoholic but I try to stay away from it now. I used to like the raspberry filled chocolates, but I rapidly move away from such things now. I can’t stay away from potato chips though. I like the unsalted or low salt Lay’s.

JWN: What are some favorite foods?

KK: Apart from the Mediterranean flatbread pizza we’re dining on right now, I like Italian food; veal pecatta, veal marsala, and pasta dishes in moderation. I like Mexican. I’m fairly versatile but I’m not crazy about much seafood other than shrimp and lobster. Never developed a taste for coffee or beer, but I have been known to drink some Pinot Grigio. I like herbal teas.

JWN: What are some goals?

KK: Well, I was 61 at my last birthday, so if I haven’t accomplished most of my goals in life by now… (Laughs) I can look back on my life and take some comfort and pride in the fact that I accomplished quite a few things that have made a real difference in a number of arenas; one of them being the Wildlife Federation. When I’m gone, I’ll be just as gone as anybody else, but while I was here I accomplished some good and did some things that made me feel good.

Editor’s Note: After I gave Ken the fabled VIP sticker he laughed and quipped, “I’ll put it right next to the Phi Beta Kappa key.”

Kenneth S. Kamlet, Esq.

Director of Legal Affairs

Newman Development Group

Vestal, New York

Phone: 607.770.0155

Email: ken@newmandevelopment.com

Letter from the Editor

Life and Times of JWN

"Makin' It Happen" On Tuesday I delivered my first keynote speech. It was an incredible experience. My message taught a few different lessons about "Makin' It Happen" for yourself. Fittingly, as I stood in front of the audience of about 160 students and faculty, I was making it happen for myself. You might ask, "How so Joseph?" Well, a few years ago I started to throw around the idea of motivational speaking as a career choice, or at least a supplemental career. Many people rebuttled, "Joe, you need to have something tragic happen or achieve something great to do that." Disappointed, I put the idea on the back burner for a while, but the fire stayed lit. I kept asking myself, "How can I make this happen?" Over the past few years I have garnered a pretty substantial amount of "real life" experiences that have been valuable to my development as an individual. Reflecting on these adventures helped me start realizing that these nay-sayers were wrong. Even at my age (21), I could add value to audiences - no matter how young or old - by sharing my personal philosophies, core values, and best practices. In short, I started to say, "Why not?" At the same time, I began to think of myself as a writer. For many years I have written, and found it relatively easy, but I never really thought of myself as a "writer." Thanks to some great advice from a few staple books (by Jeffrey Gitomer, Keith Ferrazzi, and others) and the creation of Notable and Newsworthy, I have begun a more active approach to capturing my thoughts. Now, I have a growing collection of well developed material to share at all times. For much of my life, I've been good at "mingling," but this simple step of processing my experiences has dramatically helped my ability to connect with people the first time I meet them. Why? I know more about myself and what I can offer, I have stories to relate to their experiences, and I usually have friends that can help them. My small talk abilities started to have a BIG effect on my network of friends. (Check out my article "Small Talk for a BIG Effect" for more on this topic). I was thinking and writing more, so I said to myself, "Why not go after this 'goal' and start speaking and sharing more?" So, that's what I did. I started to tell people (with conviction) about my goal to speak and they started to buy into it. All of a sudden, after sharing my vision with enough people, I got approached to speak by my friend Mary Jo Wardell and I was on my way to making it happen for myself. So, what did I teach these young impressionable minds? I taught them the power of relationships, tips to make a powerful impression (from my article here), and how to follow up so they don't lose out. In addition, I led four workshops throughout the conference on my definition of leadership; "Leadership is service." All students walked away with outlines of the material, VIP stickers, and my contact information so they could practice follow up (some impressive individuals did). Meanwhile, three students got a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket and a copy of Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Black Book of Connections. We had a lot of fun, Norman Style. NOTABLE: What does "Makin' It Happen" mean to you? 1) Figure out what you want to do. 2) Start to talk about it with conviction. People buy into passion. 3) Keep reaching out until you have your chance. KEY FACT: Do your homework and knock the cover off the ball with that first chance. If you do that, it creates a self-perpetuating turn of events which will lead to many more opportunities in the future. Thanks to my friend Kathleen Wall, one of this week's VIPs, I already have another speaking engagement in the pipeline for late November or early December in Rochester. Make it happen for yourself, ~JWN P.S. I knocked the cover off the ball. If you don't believe me, I've got a video of it. :) Also, here are a few testimonials from some of the folks that impressed me with their follow up and made the experience a rewarding one: "I did in fact learn quite a bit, both from your speech as well as the book you gave me....as far as public speaking goes, and as a person with a short attention span I know this personally, you MUST be able to maintain the attention of your audience, which you did well." - Tyler Keever, Student at OAOC "Thank you for taking the time to speak at the FBLA Fall District Meeting. My students enjoyed your presentations and spoke highly of you on the trip back to school." - Patti Hoyt, FBLA Advisor, Unatego Central Schools

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Kathleen Wall

Kathleen Wall:

“Don’t Ever Be Satisfied”

Edited and Arranged by:

Joseph W. Norman

One of the first things one notices about Kathleen Wall, Professor for the Jones School of Business at SUNY Geneseo, is her positive energy and vibrant personality. Kathleen was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and stayed local to study at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her background has taken her from a planned career in archaeology, to work as a corporate librarian, an MBA in Operations Management, over two decades of production and operation management consulting work, and now arguably her favorite occupation, professor of business at Geneseo. She urges people to, “Never be satisfied,” a piece of advice she received in passing from an 85 year old woman who worked part time at a jewelry store.

VIP: How did you get to where you are now?

Kathleen Wall (KW): Oh my word, it is the most convoluted thing you’ve ever heard in your life. How many hours do you have? (Laughing)

I went to school to be an archaeologist at the University of Wisconsin. And then, one time when I was home (home being Milwaukee), I was looking at the want ads and I didn’t see too many for archaeologists. So, I thought, “Jeez.” Then, just happenstance, I had lunch with a woman at school who was majoring in Library Science. I said, “Librarians go to school?”

So, I got a degree in library science and I went to work for a company in Milwaukee that had a corporate library. You may or may not know that most good sized corporations have a private collection. Some of them are big enough that they hire librarians. I worked for Borg Warner. They are an OEM, tier one supplier to the automobile industry. They make transmissions and really exotic things like hub caps and wheels – anything that’s on the drive train of a car. Ford is their biggest customer.

At that time, Borg Warner was doing a lot of research about automating their factories. When the engineers were working on a project or needed information, they would come to the library and say, “We need information on this, or, what has been written on this?” So, we would do searches for them. I got really interested in automation and robotics, so I started to work on an MBA. Because I was working in a manufacturing company, I knew that if I wanted to advance, I had to get out of a service position and move into a line position - something that was a direct part of the business function - which was making motor parts.

So, I majored in Operations Management at DePaul in Chicago. When I got out of school I went to my boss and said, “Well, I got my MBA now, so where in the company can I go?” I told him I wanted to work in a factory. So what he did was he sent me to all of the dirtiest, lousiest factories that Borg Warner had so I could see how rotten it was to work in a factory. He said, “To start out in operations you either have to be a line supervisor or you can get into production and inventory control; do planning, scheduling, buying raw materials.” Then I began to realize they weren’t going to put a woman in charge of operations. Borg Warner was just too traditional.

I read an article in Business Week about a man named Dennis Wisniewski who was starting a business for factory automation, right there in Naperville, Illinois. This was right down the toll way from where I was then. It was 1985. So, I wrote Dennis a letter and said, “Guess what I can do for you?” (Laughs) I went and I worked for him and he built this business focused on factory automation, particularly in aerospace. And, he channeled me towards production and inventory control. I then became a consultant for a number of firms for about 20 to 25 years.

This is interesting, the reason Dennis hired me was because he said I had a very strong liberal arts background with the library science degree. And, he said he knew people with strong liberal arts backgrounds were good problem solvers. He said, “Those are the kind of people I need in my company.” And also, he said, “My wife is a librarian and she is one of the smartest people I have ever met.” So, talk about serendipitous. The guy gave me an offer within two weeks. I just went in and chatted with him a little bit.

I worked for him for five or seven years. Then I got a chance to work for another firm for five or seven years.

When I left DePaul University with my MBA, the head of the department was a man named Dr. Earl Young. He approached me and said, “Kathleen, you’d make a great role model,” because, women did not major in operations. Most women at that time getting an MBA majored in marketing, human resources, and maybe finance. So, he said, “Why don’t you come back and teach.” So for a number of years I taught part time at DePaul University and I just loved it. What I loved about it was I thought I was bringing reality into the classroom.

You guys are getting the long version.

So, then work got to be crazy and I stopped doing consulting. Fast forward to 1993, I was put on an assignment. I was the project manager on an assignment at Gunlock around here in Wayland. One of my fantasies was always to live on a lake. Lo and behold, we as a team rented a house on Canisius Lake and commuted to Wayland every day. The project lasted about six months. After that project I told my boss, “I’m staying.”

I was living in Chicago. There was no way I’d have an opportunity to buy a house on a lake in Chicago. I was 43 years old at the time and pretty well burned out. While I was project manager in Wayland, which was very demanding, I was reporting out of an office for a firm in Los Angeles. They wanted me to sell my condo in Chicago and move to the West Coast. I don’t like LA. It is a different culture. The core values are very different there. Being a Mid-Westerner, I felt like a fish out of water there.

I really liked it here (Geneseo). I was really comfortable here. So, to be brutally honest, I was having a lot of physical problems and I knew it was all stress. In both of your classes we talk about the effects of stress. I was managing the project here, living in Chicago, reporting to a guy in LA, and just pulling my hair out. I said, “Enough is enough.” I had just had it. I sold my condo in Chicago, so I had a bunch of money. Then, I said, “Screw it. I quit.” I retired at 43.

Friends of mine were looking for somebody to house sit for them while they took an extended vacation. They lived on Canisius Lake. Well, they were acquaintances at the time, but since then they have become very dear friends. I stayed in their house for six months, contemplated my navel, and tried to figure out what I was going to do for the rest of my life.

I thought back on the experience that I had teaching. Through APICS, I had a contact at RIT and U of R so I got enough adjunct work to keep me afloat for five years. Then, I ran into a fellow that runs a consulting firm at Mendon, so I worked for him for about five years. My husband retired and I could not get enough time off. Patrick was home sitting on the lake and I was getting up putting the pantyhose on. That was not working for me! Things kept coming up and I couldn’t get the time off of work to do it. So, I quit.

Patrick looked at me and said, “Well, you’re not going to totally quit right?” He said, “Why don’t you look at SUNY Geneseo?”

Here, again, serendipity plays a part. I sent a resume in just as the current operations management teacher quit to go to another school. I wrote them a letter which said, “Do you need some help teaching operations management?” It was literally about the same day. There again, it was an APICS connection. It was 2004. January of 2004. So, here I am!

VIP: How do you like it here?

KW: I love it here! I got a Golden Key award as an honorary member. Students nominated me. This year, the Business Advisory Council gave me an award for duty above and beyond my call of duty. I just love it here. Students are great. I love the subjects that I teach. The faculty is very supportive. We’ve got the best support staff. Kathy Ackerman is unbelievable. Mary Ellen (Zuckerman: Dean of the Jones School and VIP) is the best boss I’ve ever had.

I have had maybe one bad boss. Most bosses I have had have been terrific and she has got to be the best. The woman just knows how to manage people. You can learn a lot just by watching her. She’s always pushing the envelope, but not to the point of making you feel uncomfortable. She is a great networker, looks at everything as an opportunity, and with a positive attitude. Also, she is well respected by everybody here. She is quite the lady. I admire her.

So, what’s not to like?

VIP: What classes do you teach?

KW: Right now, I teach Organizational Behavior and Business and Society. In the academic year of 2005-2006, I worked here full time (four classes). Since then, I usually teach three classes. Administration doesn’t like adjunct faculty to teach more then two or three classes. Next year I’m going to be teaching the new business writing course. I think they’re calling it Business Communications. Mary Ellen and Barbara Howard asked me to do that, so I jumped at the chance. Writing and communication is one of my soap boxes.

VIP: If you could meet five people from any time period, who would they be?

KW: Harry Truman. He’s my hero. Margaret Mead because of her anthropology background. She was one of the first women to make a mark in that field. Elizabeth Hearst. Frank Sinatra. I’m a big Sinatra fan. Lee Iacocca. I admire him a lot. And, probably John Paul II because he was Polish and my father is Polish. I’m very proud of that heritage. And, I think he was truly a saint. It would be interesting to sit down and have a conversation with him. Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo. I read about them a lot when I was young.

VIP: What is your favorite Frank Sinatra song?

KW: Not, “My Way,” for sure. “Young at Heart” maybe. One of those. A long time ago he did an album called, “Some Things I’ve Missed.” I liked all the stuff he did there. So, that takes care of my mother. (Laughs)

VIP: If you could live in any time period, when would that be?

KW: I was born twenty years too late. My father’s generation.

VIP: Why would that be?

KW: I don’t know. I’ve just always had a great affinity for people in that age bracket. The music maybe. I just really have this thing for the World War II era.

VIP: Do you have any pets?

KW: No. That was part of our prenuptial. No living animals in the house. (Laughs)

VIP: Do you have any children?

KW: No, I don’t. My husband has two sons who are grown and both of them are fathers. So, through fate I have three granddaughters. I never had any children but I have three grandchildren.

VIP: It’s like skipping all of the bad…

KW: …and getting all of the good. We have a lot of fun with them.

VIP: Where do they all live?

KW: Ashley lives on Long Island. Selden. It’s very close to Port Jefferson. The other two girls are Michael’s children and they live right around here in Gates. They are five, four and three.

VIP: What motivates you to come to work everyday?

KW: You guys! Doing stuff like this. Being the APICS advisor. Everyday is new in the classroom. You could look at the job and say, “Oh, it’s the same material over and over again.” But, it’s different students every time. Sometimes you get a bunch of blank stares and you’re like, “Oh, I’m dying up here.” It is a challenge to see if I can keep you interested or not.

The students here are great. I never wanted children. I was never one of those women who was like, “Oh, my biological clock is ticking” and all that stuff. But, I enjoy the students here so much more than I ever thought I would enjoy younger people. I really do love it. You’re very challenging. That’s what I enjoy. You keep me on my toes.

VIP: On the other hand, what are things that irk you?

KW: Students who think that they are pulling the wool over my eyes. When I get to the point where I want to say, “What do you think I was born yesterday?” Students that try to take advantage of me. It has happened maybe once or twice since I’ve been here. But, for the most part, the students are great.

One thing that bothers me the most in professional life is when somebody tells me they are going to do something and then they don’t do it. That doesn’t happen here. But, when I was a consultant for example, they are paying you to come in to help them solve a problem. You tell them, this is what has to happen. And then you come in next time and hear excuses.

You just want to say, “Stop wasting your money and my time.” I did some consulting on my own when I was teaching those five years at RIT and U of R. I had some personal clients that I had to tell that. They are paying for my expertise and then they don’t listen.

VIP: Here is the Miss America question. Iif you could change anything about the world, what would it be? Or, if you could instill one bit of knowledge into people, what would it be?

KW: Whew. “If I ruled the world…” (Singing)

I had an eighty five year old woman tell me something one time in passing. I met her at a jewelry store. She worked part time there; eighty five years old. She was dressed to the nines and as sharp as the day is long. She said to me, “Honey. Don’t ever be satisfied. Always want.” That has always stuck with me. She’s right.

I would like to see every child have the opportunity to have a good education. A core value to me is education. I believe that if somebody is educated they cannot only do well for themselves but do good things for society. It is every person doing little things that make good things happen; like my friends with the foundation, I’m sure they never thought they would help so many people. That is just one little guy. One little entrepreneur that said, “I can do something to help.” And, he did it.

One person can make a powerful impact.

VIP: If you could create a business with unlimited resources, what would it be?

KW: You just touched a cord. I have a niece that has a relatively rare syndrome called Charcot-Marie- Tooth (CMT) syndrome. It’s a version of multiple sclerosis (MS). It’s a hereditary condition and as she grows she is losing the use of her hands. If I could change anything, I would want to see a cure for that because I don’t want to see her spend her life like that. That’s a very personal thing.

VIP: Where do you see yourself in five years?

KW: Traveling and planning the next trip. I figure we’ve got ten years because my husband is ten years older then I am (she’s 57). Most people that I talk to – I have an aunt and uncle who are very active and very adventuresome and have done some great traveling. They’re 76 or 77 and it’s getting difficult for them. They went to Ireland with us and did very well. But, when we would get back to the hotel, I would say, “Auntie, you don’t have to go to dinner with us.” She would say, “Just let me rest a little bit, and then we’ll go.” So I figure we’ve got ten years.

VIP: Where would you like to travel to?

KW: I promised my husband I would make a list. He thinks it’s going to be a finite list, but it’s not. (Laughs) I want to sail the Greek Islands. I want to see the monoliths on Easter Island. I have to do that. I want to see Bali. I don’t know why, but I want to. I want to go to Sicily and do some genealogy work on my mother’s family and go to Poland to do genealogy on my father’s family.

And, my neighbor is Indian, so I want to go to India with him. The way to go anywhere is with a native. And, really a good tour of the United States. I’ve seen a lot of it, but there is plenty more to see. I think those are some of the more exotic places. Patrick struggled with Thailand; he’s going to flip when he hears Easter Island. (Laughing)

I would like to see the Inca and the Mayan ruins in Mexico. I would like to sail in Belize.

I’m going to Kenya in January. Friends of ours live there. All of my husband’s friends are guys he went to grade school with. When they get together they talk about grade school. They have been friends since they were Boy Scouts together. They all grew up at Sacred Heart Cathedral in the 10^th ward in Rochester. All went to Aquinas.

One of the guys he grew up with started a foundation to run a school for orphan boys from the slums of Nairobi. He and his wife started this foundation and they go once a year to make sure everything is copasetic. Every year they go and I always say, “David, we’re going with you next year.” Well, this year we are going to do it. Some of the time is going to be at their project. And we’re going to see some other projects that the Catholic Church is doing for kids. Then we’re going to have three days on safari. These people know everybody in Kenya. I mean everybody who is worth knowing, so I am psyched.

VIP: It sounds like you travel quite a bit…

KW: Yeah, we try to. I always have to drag my husband along. We always hear people say, “Oh, wait until retirement.” But, the way I figure it is I always see people die. They retire and then they have a heart attack, or get cancer. So, I’m not waiting! My husband’s a little torn about taking this trip but I said, “Patrick, you don’t know what’s going to happen next year.” He usually ends up loving it.

I dragged him to Thailand. We went to Ireland. That was easier because it is his home country. We went sailing in the Caribbean. After he goes, it’s “Oh, it was a trip of a lifetime. We did this and we did that…” But, to get him to go it’s like pulling the camel through the eye of a needle.

That’s my passion is to travel.

VIP: What other hobbies do you have other than traveling?

KW: We sail. We have a little day sailer on Canisius, but we don’t take that one out too much. In fact, we’re trying to sell it right now. $100. I want to sail the Greek islands. We have another set of friends that are big sailers, so we just have to convince Patrick that it is the right thing to do.

VIP: What is your favorite candy?

KW: Godiva chocolates.

VIP: What advice would you give someone coming out of college?

KW: Don’t get locked up in some traditional career. When you go to school, some people say, “Oh, I want to be a nurse, or a doctor, or a lawyer.” There are so many different things in life to do! Keep your mind open. Keep looking for opportunities.

I’ll use myself as an example. I was going to be a librarian. Well, then I liked manufacturing. Wherever the road led me; that was where I went.

If I were to put it in one sentence it would be, “Fight to be a generalist.” Avoid being a specialist because I think the world needs people who understand the broad picture. I don’t think the enrichment and the fulfillment is there. You don’t get enough exposure to things. If you fight to be a generalist, people will want to channel you forever.

Ben, Kathleen, & Joseph

Kathleen Wall

Adjunct Lecturer

SUNY Geneseo: Jones School of Business

Phone: 585.245.5366

Email: wall@geneseo.edu