Joe Leventhal (class of 1991), the subject of our first article of the series, was one I couldn’t resist—mainly because Joe wrote it himself. If you know him, you may remember Joe’s amazing sense of humor.
In his own words…
Some days, the better question to ask is “What have I done now?”
Normally, I wouldn’t respond to a “send news” inquiry, but I figured that with the amount of homework I didn’t turn in – in Judy Foust’s class, I maybe owe her this.
The first self-interview question that popped into my head was “How have you changed?” That is an easy one. I’m significantly older, stouter, and grayer than I was 34 years ago. I still have no filter, still get in trouble for running my mouth, and still don’t care. Unfortunately for my wife Catherine, my 3 children (Marianna, 19; Benjamin, 16; Emily, 14) have inherited that attitude.
After leaving MHS, I admittedly had no real direction. I spent 8 years at 2 universities and changed majors 9 times with a degree in none of them. After building Café Matisse in the late 90’s with Peter and Jenny Kuhr, I went off to the world of hospitality management and despised most of it. I was a chef, a hotel manager, a restaurant manager, and entirely not happy about it.
My wife of 25 years, that I met at Stout (in the Den actually) was, and is, happy and successful still in that industry, and I dutifully followed her finally landing in Fond du Lac, WI.
After some job jumping, a customer in a restaurant that I managed told me she was looking for a manager for her Debt Collection Agency. I hated what I was doing, figured it couldn’t be any worse, so in May of ’08, I started at Professional Collectors Corp and fell in love with my job – so much so I purchased the agency in 2016.
I quickly became active in the state association and was on the board–ending with a Presidency–for 10 years. In my final year, I formed a group of agency owners and we developed the GLCCA–Great Lakes Credit and Collection Association, combining the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois state associations.
Through the people I met, I have had the opportunity to purchase 4 other Wisconsin agencies in Kenosha, Janesville, Fort Atkinson, and Baraboo.
During all this chaos, while raising 3 children, I found the time to be President of the Fond du Lac Humane Society, on the board for the local Habitat for Humanity, and thanks to my father’s influence as to the importance of mental health, I currently have a seat on the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Fond du Lac board.
Knowing that my mother also subscribes to Menomonie News Net, I have included a photo that is sure to cause her grief…some people never grow up.
Judy Foust is a retired longtime 7th Grade Reading Specialist at Menomonie Middle School. She can be contacted with information or to request an interview at [email protected]
