Life is full of defining moments that helped shape who you are today. What’s your defining moment? 

My defining moment would be a phone call that occurred back when I was in early elementary school.
My Grandma Eileen had called our house and I happened to pick up. That led to an impromptu conversation where she made the comment that she thought I, being an unplanned child, was here for a purpose in that I was born approximately three months prior to my sister Noelle passing away. Since that conversation I have consciously and subconsciously compared my life and my choices to what my sister could have and should have been had she still been here. It drives me to give back, to hopefully make the lives of others better, and to constantly work toward being a better person so that I can maybe, just maybe, fill a small portion of Noelle’s shadow and the person she would be today.

What’s the best advice you ever received?

“Remember why you’re here.” Jerry Foxhoven told me this at the Drake Legal Clinic. Life changes, priorities change, everything changes, but never forget why you started down the path you are on. Don’t let the constant changes of life alter who you are.

What’s the best part of living in the Fort Dodge area?

The people. We can be hard on ourselves, but we also band together as one. To see the generosity and kindness from so many in our area on a day-to-day basis blows me away. There is always someone willing to step up and help out.

Who are your heroes?

I’m a little old fashioned in that I follow in the thought process of my dad that the term hero was not to be thrown about casually and instead it was to be reserved only for those truly deserving of the honor of the word. I have followed his footsteps in that regard. So instead of heroes, I’ll reference role models. I’m excluding my wife, my parents, my siblings, my extended family/in-laws and close friends as they’ll mean more to me than they’ll ever know. My role models are those who give back without hesitation. Those who, despite being incredibly busy, still find time for others and make the world a better place. I’m lucky enough to have numerous role models, but I would hate to start mentioning them as I would surely forget someone. I would be remiss if I did not mention Terry Moehnke though. The more I learn about him, the more I see all the great things he’s either involved with or had a hand in. He doesn’t do it for the recognition — he just does it to make things better. If I can follow in his footsteps, as well as my other role models, then I’ll be pretty happy with where I’m at.

What’s on your bucket list?

My above-all item is simply to be a good dad and husband. If I can do that, then that’s all that matters.
I wouldn’t mind catching a monster walleye either though.

What improvements would make your community an even better place to live?

It’s not a physical improvement, but I think we could change how we talk about our community. Especially with the rise of social media, we are quick to point out the negatives in our community. Granted, we need to identify those things so change can occur, but if we all took a moment to take a step back,
I think we’d realize that we live in a really nice place. We’re lucky to have a multitude of places to shop and eat as well as other quality-of-life items that most other towns in Iowa do not. We are a community of good people.
I think we need to remind ourselves of that from time to time.