Executive Summary

Hockey & Baseball - Or Education

Richard W. Schoenke
President and CEO of Firstar Bank of Minnesota

July 1997

The latest feel-good cause for the Twin Cities business community in general, and for St. Paul business in particular, is the return of NHL hockey to Minnesota. Businesses were quick to rally for a team and to hang the support banners high. This followed closely on the heels of businesses taking a stand with the legislature to promote a new baseball stadium.

Long before the Zamboni parade led the victory celebration or the baseball folks made their final pitch, there was a parade of another sort…a parade of business support. The business community joined together to show the governor, the media, and any other influential group that would give them an ear that these were urgent matters – delay now and it would cost us economically in the future. After all, think of the impact a new hockey team or baseball stadium would have on the Twin Cities business climate.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve got nothing against hockey or baseball per se. It just seems to me that there was a time when it was easier to rally the business community around things of greater consequence. We are facing just such an issue now – the condition of our cities’ educational system.

There is no doubt that professional sports have a tremendous impact on our youth. From the athletic shoes and Starter jackets they wear to the multi-million dollar athletes they try to emulate, we have all done a great job of selling this message: Professional sports are important. Professional sports are ‘cool.’ They are worth our time, our effort, our devotion, even our love. The Twin Cities business community supports this message. We rally…we meet… we push…we call…we pledge. We get the deal done. We buy the rights to our hockey tickets now because we need to ensure our future – we don’t want to miss that first face-off.

But what sort of a message have we sent to our kids about education? What if we used the same tactics, resources, and energy to sell them on the importance of staying in school? What kind of an economic impact might that make? We do a great job of providing lip service on the importance of education, but when was the last time as a business representative you attended a school board meeting, or met with a local principal, or attended a parents’ support group? How often have you encouraged and allowed time for your employees to volunteer in student mentoring programs? Have you ever offered to be a mentor yourself?

Certainly the Twin Cities would derive economic benefits from a new stadium or NHL hockey. Entertainment-related businesses will get a boost, and maybe St. Paul will finally capture some of the night life it covets. But consider the economic impact of educating thousands of young people for a lifetime of work and service to their communities. Just imagine what those numbers might look like. Think of the dollar impact if we kept all of our youngsters in school, off drugs, and encouraged them to be socially and economically responsible.

Today, without question, our city schools are in a state of crisis. In spite of the efforts of many dedicated and caring teachers and parents, we are not doing enough! The tremendous demands placed on our educational system to deal with crime, drugs, and unacceptable test scores are burdensome. Our schools need champions beyond Wayne Gretzky and Kirby Puckett. Our schools need the wholehearted backing of the Twin Cities business community.

Too often when business leaders speak on the topic of Twin Cities education, it is to find fault. It seems to me that there was a time when we were quicker to mobilize around a community cause – other than a baseball stadium or a NHL hockey team. Businesses understood that by coming together and providing support, we were laying the foundation for the future vitality of our community. Although some corporations have done a fine job of providing scholarships and classroom volunteers, as a whole, we in business have not come to the aid of our schools. We lack a sense of urgency – and it is an urgent matter.

The Twin Cities educational system is at a turning point. With the naming of the new superintendent in Minneapolis and the vote of confidence given with the contract renewal of the St. Paul superintendent, this is the right time for businesses to rally around our educators in much the same way we rallied for a new stadium or hockey team. Let’s show our support, offer our help, share our expertise, talk to our legislators about the issues facing our schools and find creative ways to meet the financial needs of our educational system.

It’s in our own interest as business men and women to rally around our schools and their needs now. It’s a wise and necessary investment in our future. We must have educated, responsible citizens to keep our communities healthy.

The Zambonis parade down the street – but where are they really taking us?

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