To Make Life Better for Others

Bill Hansen, Cook County, BCLP 2001
Owner/operator, Sawbill Outfitters

Modeling Community Leadership
Finding Bill Hansen is relatively simple. Turn north off Highway 61 in Tofte onto the Sawbill Trail, and drive until you hit water. Bill is owner and operator of Sawbill Outfitters, a company established in 1957 by his parents Frank and Mary Alice. The business serves as the launching point for thousands of people each summer seeking to explore the pristine beauty of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Late in the year when crowds are gone for the season, the lush, quiet setting underscores a sense of serenity. “It is even more serene in winter,” Bill says with a smile, noting that he and his family and his parents who retired next door are the only residents at the end of the road. Before the Hansens lived on Sawbill Lake year ‘round, he kept watch over the closed and shuttered business one winter with nothing but a shortwave radio and guitar for company. Eighteen-year old Bill spent those long months becoming an accomplished musician. He also had a chance to think.

Few community leaders wake up one morning and decide to get involved. Bill’s parents were excellent role models; their dedication to the area set an example of how one lived as a neighbor. His work in the family business instilled in him a deep appreciation for the value of natural resources that are among the North Shore’s greatest assets. He also realized early in his adulthood that being at the end of the Sawbill Road, 24 miles from town, did not excuse him from the work of building and sustaining healthy community. Bill claims that as his nonstop outfitting work tapers off each fall, he finds himself eager to rev up his involvement as a citizen leader.

Being Purposeful About the Process
As Bill talks about life as an active citizen, he frequently references “doing what makes life better for others.” He is purposeful in how he apportions his time — using that criterion to decide where and how to spend his time, talent and energy. Currently, he is treasurer for the Town of Tofte and serves on the board of Cook County Higher Education, a community college without walls that is finding creative ways to span distances and offer access to lifelong learning. He is active with Breakwater Alliance, an organization looking at ways to bring down health care costs for small businesses and nonprofits. Bill is also a board member of the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, which supports business start-ups and expansions. These commitments influenced his decision to run twice for the state legislature. While unsuccessful, those efforts are another sign that life at the end of the Trail is not a retreat from area issues but a base for action.

When asked what he has learned about community leadership, Bill says without pause that it is all about process. “The longer I am involved in community life, the more I recognize that issues tend to be about the same core general concerns. Progress on these issues happens, however, when the process used to address them is good.”

He contrasts his emphasis on process — and its role in building social capital — with the typical adversarial mode of community decision-making in which efforts to cooperate turn hostile as people feel shut out and powerless. “In the end, what results is not making a good decision, but about one side winning over the other.” Bill feels the key to effective process is keeping all stakeholders engaged, helping them move toward consensus. He recounts his recent work with the Tofte Township in completing a land use plan. Over the course of a year and nine public meetings, Bill was able to help citizens come to consensus on a plan that included the voices of part-time residents so that land use wasn’t framed as an “insider vs. outsider” issue but appreciated as an issue of importance for all who live in the township and value what it offers as a way of life.

Mediating & Mobilizing
Bill’s commitment to process has much to do with what he’s learned implicitly living so close to nature and its rhythms. It also comes explicitly from what he gained participating in two mediation projects. One involved an issue close to home: what grade of road the Sawbill Trail would be. It involved managing local, state, and federal interests. Residents and environmentalists each had a stake in the outcome. As in all issues, passions rose as various proposals surfaced. Bill found the mediation process quite impressive as the facilitator kept all parties at the table and focused on issues. The eventual outcome worked for everyone and led Bill to mediation training, to learn how to replicate the process in other settings. He contrasts this experience with a failed attempt in which he and other participants tried to deal with gnarly issues surrounding use of the Boundary Waters. “That was a brutal year of high pressure, and in the end everyone left as dissatisfied as they were when they began. It was one of those adversarial things in which winning became more important than the quality of the decision.”

Bill also credits BCLP for the high value he places on process in community decision-making. It provided him an opportunity to enhance his skills, and reinforced his belief that involving all stakeholders is critical to successful community outcomes. Because he lives at the end of a long road, Bill also gained a new appreciation for the networks of relationships developed around two cohorts of BCLP alums in Cook County. These networks become built-in social capital whenever there is a need for community action.

Part of community leadership involves mobilizing others. Bill finds often that “you just need to ask people.” He recalled how the late Senator Paul Wellstone was masterful at matching people’s gifts to specific projects. “I try to emulate that. Once an issue gets identified, I start inviting people with skills and ability to get involved. I watch to see if there is a spark of interest and then follow-up later if there is.” I never push people into making a commitment to act, but let them think about it…It is all about planting seeds.”