Community Champion Ever since arriving in St. Cloud in 1970 Lee Hanson has worked to make St. Cloud a great place to live, work and raise a family.

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1 BUSINESS CENTRAL July August 2013 Community Champion Ever since arriving in St. Cloud in 1970 Lee Hanson has worked to make St. Cloud a great place to live, work and raise a family. By Gail Ivers In 1970 it was unethical for attorneys to carry business cards. I practiced law for 20 years before I had business cards, Lee Hanson said. Back then, the only appropriate way to promote yourself was through word-of-mouth. An attorney with Gray Plant Mooty, Hanson began his long legal career on Aug. 1, 1970, joining Lawrence Hall and George Byers in St. Cloud. I went to law school at the University of Minnesota, Hanson explained. At that time you sat alphabetically so Mike Hall was on one side and Skip Humphrey on the other. Mike and I became good friends and he suggested that I move to St. Cloud and join his dad and him at their law practice. It seemed like a good idea, so I did. Originally from Brooten, Minn., Hanson knew little about St. Cloud before his arrival. His grandparents were Norwegian immigrants. His father couldn t speak English when he started school. My uncles all spoke Norwegian, he said. That s what I grew up listening to. Hanson attended Concordia College in Moorhead planning to pursue a career in accounting. I did not intend to be a lawyer, he said. I had a business, accounting and economics degree and I intended to be an accountant. But when he was a senior a friend talked him into taking the law school entrance test. He passed and enrolled in law school at the University of Minnesota where he met Hall. Practicing Lawrence Hall and George Byers who never had a formal partnership agreement were lobbyists. Lawrence Hall was the longest serving Speaker of the Minnesota House ever, Hanson said. They would both be gone during the legislative session so Mike and I would take over their offices and pretend we were real lawyers. When Hall and Byers were in residence, the two junior attorneys shared a small office with each other and a copy machine. If one of us would have a client, which wasn t very often, the other would go to a little room in the back of the office that served as a legal library and we d pretend we were doing research on something, Hanson said with a grin. Back then everyone was a generalist, he continued. My first case was a divorce case. Hanson recalled working as an assistant city attorney for St. Cloud prosecuting drunken driving cases. Mike was the main prosecutor. Some of the tougher defense lawyers would wait for Mike to go on vacation before they would bring the case to trial because they knew I would plead the case down. They wanted their cases in front of me because Mike was tougher, he said with his self-deprecating smile.

2 Getting Down to Business One of Hanson s first commercial projects was working with the City of Becker to arrange a land acquisition so NSP, now Excel Energy, could build the Becker power plant. At the time Becker was one of the poorest cities in the country without sewer, water, or a city attorney. One of NSP s attorneys was friends with George Byers, Hanson said. He told George he needed to go down and be the city attorney for Becker so they could get the land deal done. George said I have a young lawyer who can do that. That was me. They didn t even have a City Hall. We met on a picnic table behind the fire hall. Hanson was 26 years old when he helped seal the power plant deal. Forty-five years later they re still getting along the city and the township, Hanson said. There s no fighting. It s the best collaboration I ve ever seen. Looking back Hanson considers it some of his best work. And I might add that the assessed value of the City of Becker went from $398,000 in one year to $398 million when the power plant came online. In the early days of his career, most attorneys wanted to be trial attorneys, according to Hanson. Mike Noonan [Rinke Noonan] and I were the first business attorneys in St. Cloud. When people understood that I had an accounting background that helped me. I firmly believe that accounting is the language of business, not English. Business people understand that and that helped me gain clients. That and long hours of work. When I started every lawyer worked every Saturday, Hanson said. That s what you did. I grew up on a farm and worked all the time so I kept doing it when I became a lawyer. And he didn t just work during the day. Ever since I started I ve worked hours a week, he said. You have to. If you want to be successful you need to go to night meetings, you need to be involved and you need to network. Some of Hanson s first commercial clients are well-known names in Central Minnesota, including Anderson Trucking, Bauerly Brothers (now Knife River) and Hardrives. I ve learned that businesses want the benefit of what you ve learned, Hanson said. If you don t give it to them, they ll go find someone who will. Because of his farm background, Hanson particularly enjoyed working with agri-businesses, especially if they were having some type of financial trouble. That allowed me to use my financial background and my legal background, he said, the selfdeprecating smile appearing, and let me twist bankers arms to provide money for the business. Joking aside, Hanson firmly believes that the most rewarding part of his years in law have been helping people in trouble. Many times the things you re advising your clients about is a mixture of personal, social, business, and legal, he said. And it s not all fun -- facing issues you d rather not deal with. I don t think many people learn nearly as much from their successes as from their failures. Once you work through them, though, you feel good you helped someone through a very difficult time. Keeping Local Businesses Local Today Hanson focuses his time primarily on estate planning and family business succession planning. The topic is a passion for him.

3 We were seeing our local successful businesses being bought by outside companies, Hanson said. I ve spent a lot of time in Florida and I ve seen the impact on a community that doesn t have roots and doesn t have people who will give back or care about the community s infrastructure. Hanson first had this concern brought to his attention by an elderly attorney in Chicago. He said that when a community loses its locally owned business, it loses the soul of the community. We take what we have here for granted, but it doesn t just happen. People have to care and work at it. Hanson had been watching local businesses sell to outside interests with growing concern when he was approached by long-time family friend Rick Bauerly. Rick explained how we could keep our companies locally owned by pooling our resources and forming what is commonly known as a private equity firm, Hanson explained. Bauerly s idea became what today is known as Granite Equity Partners, with Hanson as a founding partner. I consider Lee to be the spiritual founder of Granite Equity, Bauerly said. By that I mean he was a champion of the idea. He helped me think about the idea and most importantly encouraged me to take the risk of starting and growing the company. I m not sure I would have done it if he hadn t been there with his hand on my shoulder in the beginning. Granite Equities purpose, to purchase companies that enhance the vitality and prosperity of communities in Greater Minnesota, fit easily into Hanson s goals. We want to buy companies that are within a one-day drive of St. Cloud, Hanson said. We want to keep these companies locally owned and locally controlled so our educated children and grandchildren have a place to come home to and live and work at good jobs and raise families right here in Central Minnesota. Community Champion Local control has additional benefits, according to Hanson. When people live in the community they re more likely to provide paid time off for employees to volunteer and provide leadership in the community. George and Lawrence immediately involved me in the community, Hanson said. They just insisted that I become part of the town and be included. Because they were so well respected people accepted me. Hanson believes that one of the main ways he attracted clients was as a result of his charitable work early on in his career. When he was still new to St. Cloud he was encouraged to become active in the United Way and the Jaycees, bringing him life-long connections. By becoming active in those organizations I met many business leaders I wouldn t have met otherwise, he said. Those business leaders want to see a professional person giving something back to the community before they will hire you to provide professional services. Those of us who know Lee know he s a champion of youth as well as a champion of small business, Bauerly said. Some of us might say we ve worked for this non-profit or helped that group. But Lee has helped hundreds of people through his involvement in literally dozens of organizations. He s a great community champion. Hanson s list of involvement is long. In addition to the United Way and Jaycees, he has served on the board of the Boy Scouts of Central Minn. for 30 years, on the Initiative Foundation board, the St. Cloud State University Foundation board, the Minn. State Colleges & Universities Foundation board, numerous

4 committees, and was part of the team of Jaycees who incorporated the Boys and Girls Club of Central Minn. In fact, it is Hanson s signature that appears on the articles of incorporation. Everything you read then and now talks about how important it is for boys and girls to have strong male role models in their lives, Hanson said. That was important to me to try to provide some stability for these children who didn t have it in their lives. Lee gives the success that he s had away, Bauerly said, through time and talent and quite literally through donations across the community. At 69 Hanson keeps on giving with no plans for retirement. There s nothing I d rather do, he said. My law practice is where all my friends are. I d lose all my social contacts if I stopped practicing both in my office and with my clients. My younger partners do most of the merger and acquisition work now, he said, and paused for his trademark smile, but I try to maintain relationships by pouring coffee for the clients when they come in. Then on a serious note, he added, The community has been so good to my family and me, I would never call any place else home. Gail Ivers is vice president of the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce and managing editor of Business Central Magazine. Timeline 1969 Lee Hanson clerks for District Court Judge Urban Steimann, August 1, Hanson starts practicing law in St. Cloud with Lawrence and Mike Hall, and George Byers 1972 Hanson assists with the incorporation of the St. Cloud Boys Club, later rename Boys & Girls Club of Central Minnesota Hanson serves as the city attorney for the City of Becker. During this time he negotiates the annexation of township property, allowing NSP (now Excel Energy) to build the Becker power plant The law firm moves from its office on 6 th Ave. N in St. Cloud (current site of ebureau) to the Hall Building on 1 st Street N in St. Cloud 1974 Lawrence Hall passes away 1988 Hall & Byers law firm moves to their current location at 1010 W Saint Germain St Ste Hanson and his partners buy the office building from US Bank 2002 Hall & Byers merges with Gray Plant Mooty Personal Profile Lee Hanson, 69 Partner, Gray Plant Mooty Hometown: Brooten, Minnesota Education: Brooten High School, graduated 1962; Concordia College, Moorhead, graduated with a degree in Business Administration with emphasis on economics and math and a German minor; graduated from law school in 1969 from the University of Minnesota. Work History: Grew up working on the family farm in Brooten; clerked for one year for District Court Judge Urban Steimann, began practicing law with Lawrence Hall and George Byers in 1970

5 Family: wife Jan; five children: Jeff and Mark own Mason Contractors, a construction trucking firm; Craig is a commercial and real estate attorney in St. Cloud; Jeanne is a high school science teacher in Maple Lake,?? was killed in 1997 in a horse riding accident; 11 grandchildren. Hobbies: Community involvement; horseback riding; downhill skiing; flying. I m a pilot. I have a lot of clients in southern Minnesota, Iowa and central South Dakota. They re my excuse to fly. Hanson lives on a 300 acre farm and can be found riding his tractors in the summer. Advice to a new entrepreneur: Take your advice from other successful entrepreneurs. Don t take advice from people who haven t taken risks. Learn to talk to people a generation older than you. To be successful you need to have some intergenerational skills. Best advice Hanson has received: From Lawrence Hall: If you participate in community affairs you will be busy with clients. And: Good clients will bring you other good clients. Bad clients will bring you other bad clients. Fun Fact: From 1972 to 1982 Hanson went to every city council meeting for the City of Becker. BUSINESS PROFILE Gray Plant Mooty Mooty & Bennett, P.A W Saint Germain St Ste 500 St. Cloud, MN (320) Fax: (320) Number of employees in St. Cloud: 50 Business Description: A law office with attorneys practicing in the areas of corporate/business law, tax law, estate planning, probate, banking, general and commercial litigation, personal injury, construction, real estate, and family law. Offices in St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. Merger between Hall & Byers and Gray Plant Mooty: 2002 Chamber members since 1975 Fun Fact: In 1970 Lawrence Hall spoke German to one-third of his clients. SIDEBAR Cover July 13 (5) - SIDEBAR - Lee Hanson-honoree-Gray Plant Mooty Cover July 13 (6) SIDEBAR BC_Mark_Excellence_2C Hanson receives 2013 Business Central Mark of Excellence Award Lee Hanson, Gray Plant Mooty, has been a fixture in the St. Cloud business community since In May he was honored as the 2013 St. Cloud Area Business Central Mark of Excellence-Small Business Advocate of the Year. Originally from Brooten, Minn., Hanson attended law school at the University of Minnesota where he and Mike Hall were classmates. Hall was returning to St. Cloud to enter his father s law firm and encouraged Hanson to join them. With a degree in accounting as well as his legal training, Hanson has always sought out opportunities to combine the two disciplines. I kind of like it when a business is in some kind of financial trouble, Hanson said. It allows me to use my financial background, my legal background, and I get to twist the banker s arm to provide money.

6 Hanson laments the change in the business environment. There are a lot fewer businesses and business opportunities today, he said. In the 1970s to the 90s any business that got started and worked hard, made money. You could afford to make mistakes. Not so, today, according to Hanson. You can t take the kinds of risks today that you could back then. Capital was not an issue. Today if you have too much debt or too little capital and capital is tough -- you re going to fail. In the 1990s Hanson began encouraging his law partners to open an office in the Twin Cities, what he saw as the legal and financial population center of Minnesota. The result was the eventual merger of his firm, Hall & Byers, with the Twin Cities firm, Gray Plant Mooty, expanding both their services and their territory. Hanson credits much of his success to the community. And much of what is successful in the community can be traced to Hanson. He helped incorporate The Boys and Girls Club in 1972 and has sat on the board of directors for the Central Minn. Council of Boy Scouts for 30 years. He s been involved in the Initiative Foundation and served as chair of the Anderson Center for ten years. He s a founding partner of Falcon National Bank and helped start Granite Equity Partners in All of these things Hanson has done with an eye to the future. We need to keep our successful local companies, he said. We need to keep discretionary income here, we need to keep educated leaders here. We need to build the kind of place where our children and grandchildren can find good, educated, well-paid jobs. Lee Hanson was honored at the St. Cloud Area Chamber s Business Awards Luncheon in May, along with the Small Business Owner of the Year, Scott Warzecha of Netgain (see the May 2013 cover story) and the Entrepreneurial Success Award Recipient Bob Strack, Strack Companies, who will be featured in the September issue of Business Central.