Leonard Wojtysiak

Candidate for Regional Director

Mid America Region

What is your vision for the AVA?

To be a well run and efficient organization.

Why do you want to serve on the AVA Executive Council?

To be an active member of the Mid-America Region and the AVA.

What are the major challenges facing the AVA and what would you do about them?

The growth of our organization is number one. I feel that we need to market to our “audience” which is Americans not Germans. So we need to drop German words etc. and use words that Americans can relate to. Being proud of our heritage is one thing but marketing is a completely different game!

Automating our organization is number two. We have done some good work and made some really bad moves in trying to get computerized. I want to stop the “bleeding” before it gets any worse and start working from the ground up in a logical, systematic program to correct the current system.

The third thing is to put fun back into walking. I have seen examples of this at different walks and it is surprising to see the difference it makes to me and other walkers. We need to have more of these “fun” walks.

What specific professional and volunteer expertise would you bring to the Council?

I have a four-year Accounting degree, a four-year Business Administration degree, a four-year Computer Science and Masters in Computer Science. I have worked ten years in seismic research, ten years in logistics, and twelve years in the computer field as a Project Manager installing hardware & software plus training users to complete the total implementation package. I’m currently President of the Illinois Trekkers and Secretary of the Illinois State Association.

What have been your most significant volkssport contributions in the past 5 years?

Doing volunteer work at local, state, regional, and headquarters level.