ELP 2011 Community Leadership - February 11, 2011

Presented by Walter J. Humann:

Mr. Humann came to speak with us on community leadership and regionalism. Prior to this discussion many of us were not familiar with Mr. Humann and what he does in the community. He’s been working to better the Dallas area for over 30 years. Although he heads his own firm, WJH Corporation, it’s clear his passion is public service. Publicly unaffiliated with any political party, he creates a structurally sound bridge that brings opposing political leaders in the area together to get work done. When he was younger, he was fortunate enough to be nominated and accepted into the White House Fellows Program. While most of the graduating fellows stay in Washington, developing careers up there, Mr. Humann was driven to come back home to help Dallas on many facets. His mantra being, “your rights are my responsibility.” He was influential in bringing the DART system to the Dallas area, he provided great leadership and advice when planning and following through with the updates to Highway 75, one of the major North/South arteries of the area and he played a key role in the founding and development of the Jubilee Community Center in South Dallas. He continues to lead the charge to better develop the South Dallas area for its residents. What stands out most is how genuine, honest, humble, and selfless he is in his civic duty. The fact that he has no desire to run for any political office stands as a testament to his desire to just see success in the public projects he pursues in the region. He talked of sometimes drilling dry wells (working extremely hard on a project only to not get to the goal). These come up in life from time to time and it’s a matter of accepting that not everything one does will go as planned but one should never give up. Walt Humann does not give up. It is clear from how he has lead his life, he is a civic leader who gets things done. We are all fortunate to have such a person working for us in Dallas. On a final note, the best advice I feel he gave to us in his inspiring presentation is a single response to several questions. “How would you approach… “or “What do you recommend… “His response was “just do it”. And while that may seem on the surface as a simplified sometimes overused phrase he’s right. If one wants something done, do it, pursue it to the best of your abilities, seek out all opportunities to reach your goal, be driven and believe in what you do, for yourself and for the common good.   

Zach.Wideman
Perkins+Will