Your Western Planner Roots May Go Deeper than you Think
by Stan Steadman
Back in the day
Back in the late 1970s, I was working for the State of Montana to expand local planning capability in 17 rural counties of the Eastern part of the state in order to respond to new state land use planning laws. Grants were made available to initiate the hiring of planners where there were none, and I consulted with county commissioners on how to accomplish this task.
It was during this time that the fictional but based-on-fact character of WP Legend Lester the Western Planner was born out of some of the situations I witnessed where planners became "extinguished in the field of planning" not long after being hired. You see, with a limited supply of planners looking for jobs in the area, we had to extend the search well beyond the region. Among those planners hired were some who failed to gain acceptance in rather short order for very unique and even humorous reasons.
Lester lives!
Examples among those I was closely familiar with was the case of the planner from New Jersey whose county commissioners cited the reasons as including his avoidance of interacting with local people which they illustrated by saying he didn't walk downtown sidewalks, sticking exclusively to allies. Or there was the new graduate from the University of Michigan who invoked a strategy of community involvement to win local hearts by volunteering to be a high school wrestling coach and firefighter. He even took evening calls when residents needed help in removing marauding skunks from their yards. The problem was he didn't leave time in his schedule to do any planning. Both were booted out the door after a few months.
Then there was the female planner who saw to it that all the planning commissioners were females who shared her hardline views of limiting land development. In this case, while she had built a political base, she left on her own accord after an unidentified arsonist set fire to her apartment.
Some unique advice
I could go on, but these are enough examples to beg the question, "What tips would you, who are time-tested rural Western Planners, share with a new recruit to kick off a positive career?" With so many planners who have flourished in this environment, I am sure there is lots of great advice out there.
But here's an idea you may not have thought of. Not that it may get a planner off the hook for ill-fated situations like those above, but may open some doors in the first place or cause an employer to take a pause before letting an employee go. It is an idea I have now tested with positive and fun results (there are many more interesting stories I could tell, but will save them for another day). Even some of you established planners may have fun trying it.
One of my hobbies over the years has been genealogical research. During these years I have seen some amazing technological advances. One recently developed technology in the free FamilySearch.org program allows you to not only unveil your deceased ancestors and cousins, but also to identify which of these are famous for one reason or another. I found that among my own famous cousins are such luminaries as George Washington, King Henry VIII, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Davey Crockett, Jesse James, and Shirley Temple!
Now, how does this apply to enhancing job prospects? Why not research, study, and then humbly share your knowledge and relationship connections with founders or other key players in the history of your potential or current community of employment? The results can be astounding!
Had I done these things back in the days I worked in Montana, I could have shared names and stories of my famous cousins (some quite close and others rather distant) who were connected to places where I worked or did projects including frontiersman John Bozeman, founder of Bozeman, MT; Northern Pacific Railway President Frederick Billings for whom Billings, MT, was named; and showman Buffalo Bill Cody, a founder and developer of Cody, WY.
Can you imagine a potential employer asking the question, "So, why would you like to come to work in Cody?" And your response including, "Plus, I know I would feel comfortable working in this community founded by my cousin Buffalo Bill Cody!"
Give it a try
What do you think? I hope I have shared something that can be helpful and fun. The program I use to do this is FamilySearch.org and it’s free. Drop me a text at 907-953-8244. I would love to help you get set up—takes 10 minutes or so to access and implement the "Famous Relative" tool, and then you may want to try the "Picture My Heritage" (See the attached picture), "My Family Tree" and other free, complementary programs and tools.
