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Saturday, June 27, 2009
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Johnsons believe in giving back AWARD IN PHILANTHROPY Associate Editor The concepts of charity and giving back to their community take a variety of forms for Arnie and Jo Ann Johnson of Lake Shore, this year's winners of the Award in Philanthropy.
It can be as complex as a substantial contribution of dollars or as simple as fresh baked goods from the oven.
On July 9, the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation will present the award to the Johnsons, who built Universal Pensions Inc., from a small Baxter- based business with three employees in 1974 to a 500-employee firm when they sold it in 2001.
Along the way, the Johnsons, both the products of hardscrabble early days on the Iron Range, have contributed their time and financial resources to everything from the Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corp. to Project Haiti.
Jo Ann Johnson's reaction to news of their award was that everyone should be doing what they can for the less fortunate. She questioned why that was worth an award. Giving what you could when a need was recognized is how they were raised.
"You don't have much and what you have you shared with other people," she explained. "Everybody should be doing something."
Whether it's baking cookies for workers at their home or lending a sympathetic ear to someone who's hurting, Jo Ann Johnson said she hates to see suffering and loves to make people happy, if she can.
"She is an excellent listener," Arnie Johnson said.
If you go
Arnie and Jo Ann Johnson will receive the fifth annual Award in Philanthropy from the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation on July 9.
Reception is at 5:30 p.m. and dinner is at 6:30 p.m. July 9 at Grand View Lodge and Conference Center.
Tickets are $30 per person and must be purchased by July 1. They may be purchased online at CommunityGiving.org or by calling (877) 253-4380.
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"I'm heart-driven and I'm spirit-driven," Jo Ann Johnson said.
The couple said their charitable giving is not rigidly budgeted and can be spontaneous if they're moved by a particular plight. When they saw needy children in Haiti they didn't coolly calculate the possibility of a gift for Project Haiti.
"We just jumped in and did it," he said.
Jo Ann Johnson said "I will be done" is the philosophy of too many people as opposed to "thy will be done," from the Lord's Prayer.
"It's got to come from the heart," she said of giving.
Married for more than 50 years, they both find it hard to understand people who are blessed with wealth and who don't feel compelled to share it. Jo Ann Johnson noted the age-old advice that "you can't take it with you." Arnie Johnson said he has jokingly asked friends if they're saving their money for the government to take after they die.
Mike Burton, affiliate coordinator with the foundation, noted the Johnsons' 30-year track record of lending a credible voice to nonprofits in the Brainerd area.
"The Johnsons are a vital part of our community," he said in a statement. "This area owes them more than anyone could ever know. They are exactly the kind of people BLACF had in mind when creating the Award in Philanthropy. We are pleased to honor them with this award."
Arnie Johnson continues to be fully engaged in the business world. The Johnsons own outright or substantial shares of five key businesses, including Minnesota Thermal Sciences and Integrated Retirement Initiatives. He also has invested in several other businesses.
A longtime booster of the Brainerd lakes area, Arnie Johnson has served on Bremer Bank's board of directors for 27 years and has held similar posts with the College of St. Scholastica, the Minnesota Initiative Foundation, the Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corp. (which Arnie Johnson helped found), the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, In-Fisherman and the Central Lakes College Foundation.
Jo Ann Johnson continues to serve on the YMCA Foundation Board.
Other organizations the Johnsons support include Project Haiti, a mission in Uganda, Teen Challenge, PORT, Bridges of Hope, Youth Investment, Timber Bay, the women's shelter and Timberwood Church of Nisswa.
They are the parents of adult daughters, Joan and Vicky, and are the grandparents of nine.
Through their giving, the Johnsons said they've sincerely tried to help promote and develop the Brainerd lakes area through the use of contributions, advice or even motivation. When they sold Universal Pensions Inc. they stipulated that new owners could not move the business for 10 years, Arnie Johnson said.
Everyone can play a role in giving back to their community, Arnie Johnson said, whether it's helping in a soup line or writing a check.
"God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well," he said.
The idea of tenacity- being committed to a goal even through adversity - is one the Johnsons said they've adopted in charitable giving as well as in the business world. To them it means going forward with a positive attitude.
"I do not let obstacles get in my way. I either go over them, around them or through them," Arnie Johnson said.
MIKE O'ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860. O'Rourke's wife is vice president/senior counsel with Integrated Retirement Initiatives.
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