As a citizen of our great city, I have offered you my services because I am uniquely qualified at this point in time to complement the work of our city council here in Surprise, Arizona. I have a proven track record as a leader. That is why I ask for your vote. Unlike my opponent, Aly Cline, a liberal establishment candidate, I have not misled or misinformed you about my background and/or professional credentials. She, on the other hand, has spoken in generalizations and hyperbole about her business and professional acumen. Ethically, that is a very questionable strategy. What does that say about her character? In my case, I have been formally educated and trained in how to salvage businesses and organizations which are in stress or crisis, and that’s what I’ve been doing for much of the past 40 years. In my opponent’s case, I am only aware of musings about her achievements. In fact, I am not even knowledgeable of any formal education or training she has undergone. From a formal perspective, I hold a B.A. degree in psychology, a master’s degree (M.A.) in human resources management, and an earned doctoral degree in business administration (D.B.A.). In the final analysis, she is a rank amateur and I am a seasoned professional. Whether it is admitted or not, our city government is heading for a financial wall. That’s when innovation, creativity, and crisis management will be of preeminent importance. This is a result of the lack of taxes from businesses. So far, we have not felt the full effects of the Chinese pandemic and contagion on our budget, but those days are ahead. Please, let me encourage you to visit my website @ wendellfountain.com and my Facebook.com/wendellfountain so that you can make that determination for yourself.
Let me give you some specific examples of the efficacy of my past work. In 1985, The chairman of the board and the president of Jacksonville University asked me if I would join the administration and create a weekend studies program for adults who had never completed their bachelor’s degrees. They had dropped out for a host of reasons. The University was experiencing some financial issues and they wanted to expand the programs offered. At first, I was reluctant because I was an established and respected, professional Team Manager with an experimental and exciting company of AT&T. After great consideration, I joined the Jacksonville University faculty and administration. The only caveat to which they agreed was that I would still be able to remain as the CEO of Fountain Associates Business Consultants, and they offered me practically no budget with which to work. As a result, I pursued nearly every free or low-cost source available in the area, which included appearing on TV and radio shows as a guest, as well as getting articles in the newspaper where I was able to inform the public about, what I called, The College of Weekend Studies. As a result, after nine months, we were able to successfully launch the College of Weekend Studies with 141 students, registered for an average of six semester hours each. The administration, for the most part, let me do the entire design on my own. It was really quite a challenge, but this is something about which I have great pride to this day.
Also, in 1985, I was contacted by the chairman of the board of a local credit union that was in dire straits. The primary sponsor of that financial institution had ceased to exist, resulting in a field of membership crisis. They had to expand the field of membership or be liquidated by the National Credit Union Administration. The organization was stagnant with no growth. My challenge was to find new sponsors who wanted to be a part of the credit union. I presented my marketing plan to the board of directors which was accepted. It included rebranding, changing the name of the organization, and the creation of a new logo, which I designed, and I needed at least one person I could train to do what I did in finding new sponsors. They accepted my proposal. After that, on certain days of the week, I took one selected employee with me to look for sponsors. After a few weeks, I was no longer needed and the employee was on her own. She did well and the credit union, First Coast Federal Credit Union, of Jacksonville, Florida grew and is still in existence today.
In 1987, I entered into a joint venture with a colleague for the purpose of providing human resources management (HRM) training for high-level officials of the Army Corps of Engineers, located throughout the U.S. This was a huge challenge because it took us more than 40 hours to just prepare our bid and proposal. Federal contracts can be difficult to obtain, and this one was no different. It took weeks before we were notified that we won the contract. We had to travel to cities and states across America and present the training which included the cities of St. Louis, Minneapolis, Portland (OR), Huntsville (AL), and many others. Since my colleague and I could only be in one place at a time, we had to provide other cities with top-notch, highly credentialed professionals for the purpose of conducting the training. Often times this became problematic for a host of reasons, but we always prevailed. The contract was actually administered out of the Tom Bevill Conference Center and Hotel of the Army Corps of Engineers in Huntsville, Alabama, located on the campus of the University of Alabama at Huntsville. In 1989, My colleague and I successfully competed again for the contract; however, this time, in addition to U.S. cities, we had to travel as far way Seoul, Korea to conduct the training.
Because of my reputation for achieving results, in the early 1990s, I was contacted by the Director of the Southern Region of the Office of Personnel Management of the Federal Government to handle a delicate situation that had developed between the Commanding Officer of a Submarine Base and the Employees. This Navy Captain/Commanding Officer had several congressional and one senatorial complaints pending against him because of his questionable behavior. First, I met with the Captain, and he wanted me to share specifics with him about my findings before they were published. Of course, ethically, I conferred that I could not do that, and he was not pleased. I spent a full week interviewing, collecting data, and working with both civilian and military personnel before I was able to determine the source of the problem. I made an appointment to meet with the Captain and present him with my published findings. He said, and I quote, “You’ve been at this for over a week, what’s the problem?” I replied, “With all due respect, sir, you are the problem.” Of course, he was not pleased with that statement, but that is what I found.
It was not until 2002, that one of my long-term hopes and dreams was finally realized–Jax Navy Federal Credit Union became VyStar Credit Union. I became a member of the board of directors in 1982, and by the mid-1980s, I began trying to build a coalition to effectuate a name and charter change which would more accurately reflect who was eligible to become a member and allow us more flexibility. The board was comprised of nine dedicated members. In fact, member number one of the credit union was on the board from 1952, and he and two others vociferously railed against making these changes. In essence, I was the prime mover in effectuating the desired changes. Though a volunteer position, all Board members were elected by the membership. It was the members’ credit union and they expected us to act in their best interest. Today, VyStar Credit Union has more than 700,000 members and $9 billion in assets. Out of 5,500 credit unions in the U.S., it is the 16th largest in the country. It is the 14th largest employer in Northeast Florida, employing more than 1,900. From 1982-2007, I served in a variety of leadership positions in this financial institution. In 2008, I was inducted into the Who’s Who in America’s Credit Unions and recognized in the Circle of Distinction. As an aside, the Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida for 2020.
I have many other examples of success and achievement, but this sprinkling of illustrations should suffice.
My biographical information can be found simply by doing a Google search of Wendell V Fountain. The bottom line is that I love writing!