Spring Summer 2018

The Oregon Caregiver Spring/Summer 2018 www.ohca.com 24 Jack Hansen Willamette Lutheran Retirement Community RESIDENT Jack Hansen is a resident at Willamette Lutheran Retirement Community in Keizer. In this Q&A, he talks about his experience growing up in the Salem area and being a business owner. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and what brought you to the Willamette Lutheran Home? I’ve been an Oregonian all my life. I was born here, and raised here. I grew up on a farm and went to a one room school house through the eighth grade and then went to Salem High School. I got married when I was 20 years old and was married for 62 years. We raised three daughters, and, when I retired, I retired from having my own business. When we came to the Willamette Lutheran Home last fall. My wife was not in good health so we needed to be in a place where she could be taken care of. We liked this place very much. She is gone now, but this has been good for me to be here. For example, I don’t cook, and they have really good food here. This issue of The Oregon Caregiver magazine focuses on “leadership.” You’ve been a leader all your life. What do you think are the most important qualities in a leader? I always wanted to have my own business. At one point I was working for a window business, and I progressed there and was able to buy into the company and then eventually I had it on my own. Leadership is very important. A leader needs to be a person of integrity. You’ve probably heard “if someone thinks they are a leader but no one is following them, they are just taking a long walk.” I know that to be a good leader you need to be a good follower too. For myself that was not hard, to be a follower also. A leader needs to be patient and considerate, needs to be firm sometimes, needs to expect results, but also needs to be understanding and helpful. They also need to encourage those they are leading and reward them for a job well done. If they aren’t doing a good job, a good leader should talk to them and try to help them. We see a lot about millennials in the news. What advice on leadership and entrepreneurship do you have for young people today? Do you have any other advice for millennials? I have 10 grandchildren, and they are all great young people. They have good jobs and good marriages. I’ve heard on the news that people say millennials have an entitlement, but I don’t see that. I try to encourage my grandchildren in what they are doing and I’d say the same to anyone talking with young people. In addition to being a lifelong leader, you’ve also been a lifelong volunteer. Can you tell me about your most recent volunteer experiences? I care about those in need, and through my church we are able to purchase food from Marion/Polk food share and we distribute that. What is good about when you hand out food is you get to interact with people, some of whom are really down and out. I’ve really been amazed at how much food is donated by local restaurants and stores to this cause. Can you tell me about your other recent volunteer work? Yes, I served at my church whenever we have a funeral, mainly ushering and taking care of flowers but also interacting with the family of the deceased. How has Oregon changed since you grew up? What do you like about the changes? What don’t you like? It has really grown. I think Salem had around 30,000 people when I was in high school, and now it’s about 170,000. When I was in business, I liked that since we had more customers and more business. Overall too I think it has been a good thing. Salem is still a really nice city. We’ve got a little more traffic, but there are a lot of good things here.  PROFILE