A Calling to Serve

Jerry Bentz, New Ulm, BCLP 1993
Retired Brown County, Chief Administrative Officer

Vision, Values & Public Servants
If we measured community leadership simply in terms of quantity, Jerry Bentz would likely win hands down. During his long career in public service, he has been involved directly or indirectly in all eight dimensions of healthy community promoted by BCLP. He spent ten years as Chief Administrative Officer for Brown County, prior to which he’d served as its treasurer and Executive Director of the Housing & Redevelopment Authority and Economic Partners, Inc. Jerry has been very active in leadership roles through his church, the Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School and the local Chamber of Commerce. He as served as president or chair of numerous state professional associations as well as the Minnesota Valley Council of Governments, Bridging Brown County, and Parents in Partnerships Kids X-Cel Center. And he has 31 years of service behind him with the U.S. Army in active duty, National Guard and the Reserve.

Jerry definitely passes the test for “doing,” but what stokes his fires for commitment? “A calling to serve.” Jerry sees his decision to enlist in the Army in 1955 as a concrete expression of that sense of calling, which is the basis for all choices he has subsequently made to put his talent and skills at the disposal of the community and other organizations. “I think a leader has to be somewhat of a visionary — able to see the big picture — where the community needs to progress to meet its future.”

But vision requires having the necessary will and tools to make something a reality. As Brown County Administrator, Jerry focused on how to improve public services for his constituents. “Assessing needs is often the easy part. Building consensus among the stakeholders is another. I think it is crucial to get all the people to the table for face-to-face honest discussion of what’s going on. If there is a group disagreeing with an idea or proposal, I want them at the table rather than at the café or coffee shop. How else are we going to be able to respond to people’s questions and concerns?”

Respect Inclusiveness: Get Everyone to the Table
When it comes to listening to all voices, Jerry cites an example of a person who came to every county board budget meeting with a prepared text of complaint. When working with others to build a joint law enforcement center, he insisted that individual be put on the planning committee. The first thing Jerry had the committee do was tour the existing facility. The chronic complainer not only bought into the project that eventually produced a state-of-the art law enforcement center, but also became an active project supporter in the community. “There is a temptation to leave people from the opposition on the sidelines. The so-called experts are always in the bleachers. I believe we have to get them on the floor. I never disregard critics but try to get them to be part of the solution.”

An inclusive process like this takes time. If consulting with everyone is truly valued, a community leader must be patient. Because change and innovation take time, patience needs to be matched by keeping the process engaging — keeping it moving — doing a lot of one-on-one talking. Jerry credits his military training for preparing him to lead a process that both respects the time required for a task and meets timelines set for getting it done. “This entails keeping an idea in front of people, getting them to the table, not letting things get stuck.”

Jerry was the first chair of Bridging Brown County, an organization established in 2000 through the leadership of local BCLP alums, to get all municipalities to work together to create a unified county plan to present to the legislature. His advice was put to the test, but patience and persistence paid off. The organization now conducts workshops in a different community each year. “Legislators from the area come out to learn from us what the issues are. Every governmental entity is involved — city counselors, managers/administrators, and mayors; school boards and superintendents; township supervisors and officers; and county commissioners and the administrator. Bridging Brown County has been a way for the legislature to get accurate information and have a point of contact with local government.”

Re-Frame Issues, Focus on Results
The way Jerry goes about the work of community leadership gives a clue of how he seeks to increase community involvement. His “formula” starts by describing a need to people. Once that’s established, he asks: “How do we do something about it? People need to know the community needs them. You also have to focus on results. Sometimes we spend so much time looking at the problem, we don’t look at the results of potential action: What will things be like when we have made it right?” That goes back to Jerry’s emphasis on vision and the need to situate action against the bigger picture of community health and vitality. When people can see results, and how their efforts contribute to achieving them, they are more inclined to take ownership for what has to be done.

A recent issue in New Ulm called forth this wisdom. A Super Wal-Mart is coming to town. As in many other small towns across the country, there has been opposition. Rumors fly about the dire impact on local mainstreet businesses. For Jerry, this is a time when the need for seeing the bigger picture is more urgent than ever. “Rather than being paralyzed by a siege mentality, people need to identify a way to take advantage of something that is going to happen.” He proposed that people look at ways to redefine the niche local businesses have that Wal-Mart does not and make maximum use of the traffic the new store will generate. For him, the question is not one of surviving the arrival of this new business, but how the whole community will thrive as a result? This re-framing of the dilemma enables people to act, not react. And, for Jerry, it is about taking action together — from a spirit of shared dialogue — that is at the heart of effective community leadership.