October 6, 2025 • 50 mins
What if the story of a city could be read through the choices of one family—what they built, what they preserved, and where they chose to lean in? We sit down with Skip Oppenheimer, chairman and CEO of Oppenheimer Companies, to trace Boise’s evolution from a pioneer outpost to a dynamic regional hub, and to examine how business, philanthropy, and policy intersect when leaders commit to the long game.
Skip opens with deep roots—his great‑grandfather’s department stores and his parents’ cross‑continental romance—then maps how he and his brother Doug turned a regional operation into a diversified food enterprise. From private‑label frozen desserts and True Whip to a national food service buying group and logistics, he shares how shared infrastructure, long partnerships, and patient strategy kept independents competitive and growth resilient. The conversation shifts downtown, where we unpack the coalition that revitalized Boise’s core: anchor tenants, visionary redevelopment leaders, credible urban planners, and a commitment to local subs. We also get inside The Arthur—named for Skip’s father—to see how thoughtful design, cultural fit, and national‑local collaboration can elevate multifamily living without losing a city’s character.
Healthcare takes center stage with an honest look at system strain: rising costs, value‑based care that hasn’t delivered broad savings, and the challenge of recruiting physicians amid cultural and legal headwinds. Yet there’s real hope in the caliber of local leadership, clinical excellence, and systems sized for both capability and humanity. Education rounds out the arc: literacy as a non‑negotiable, go‑on pathways that include trades and certificates, the outsized returns of early childhood, and the steady, nonpartisan role of Idaho Business for Education and Launch in aligning students with opportunity.
This is a playbook for builders and neighbors: cultivate partnerships that last, back institutions that outlive cycles, and show up long enough to see compounding effects. If you care about how places thrive—and how business can be a force for public good—this conversation will stay with you. If it resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more candid leadership stories, and leave a review to help others find the show.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Today on the Ever Onward Podcast, we have a good
friend, an icon in Idaho, trulyone of the best human beings
I've ever known in my life.
I consider this guy a friend, amentor, a leader, Skip
Oppenheimer.
Skip is the chairman and CEO ofOppenheimer Companies.
He literally has led and is aleader of almost every effort
(00:21):
that's gone on in the state ofIdaho for years.
He's the current chair of theSt.
Luke's Health Plan.
He's the founding chair andboard member of the Idaho
Business for Education.
He's the president of the FrankChurch Institute at BSU.
He's a former uh member of theFederal Reserve Bank San
Francisco Board of Directors.
And again, uh just anunbelievable guy.
(00:43):
I can't wait to catch up withSkip and hear all about
everything he's got going on.
Uh Skip Oppenheimer.
Skip, thank you so much fordoing this.
We've been trying for a while toget you on.
It's an honor.
(01:04):
Absolute honor to have you on.
Uh can't wait to talk to you.
Um, we're just getting caught uphere a little bit.
You've been good?
SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
Yeah, everything's been good.
No complaints.
Health is good, the kids aregood, grandkids are good.
So, and Esther's doing a lot ofartwork and having having a good
time.
So nothing, nothing to complainabout.
SPEAKER_02 (01:24):
I was trying to think as I was getting ready for
this, the the first time I metyou.
It's a long time ago.
Skip, we're getting old.
That happens, right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:34):
Did you have to bring that up?
SPEAKER_02 (01:35):
I mean, that's a horrible place to start with a
friend, but but I just uh I Iyou know you think of Idaho, uh,
you know, for me, the last 25years and everything significant
I've ever been involved in ortried to do or whatever, it's
it's always revolved aroundsomething you're doing,
education, infrastructure, um,the community.
(01:57):
You name the nonprofit, uh,Skip.
You've you've then been there.
And then I've also like even uh,you know, we're we're in similar
businesses, you have the wholefood thing we'll get into, but
just development.
I just I think the world of youuh as a friend and mentor.
So thanks for coming on today.
And this will be fun.
SPEAKER_01 (02:12):
No, I appreciate it.
Well, it's a two-way street,Tommy.
And I you've done so much inover these years and made talk
about an impact.
You've done a huge amount.
Oh, we live in an incredibleplace.
SPEAKER_02 (02:23):
Um, I don't know that I've ever really heard a
lot of things we have a lot ofbusiness people listen to this,
but mostly um we try to inspirepeople to to be their best
selves, and and some of thatcomes through storytelling.
Um, and I don't know that I'veever kind of asked uh a lot of
your growing up story.
Can we just we start there?
SPEAKER_01 (02:41):
Sure.
Yeah.
So I was born here in Boise, anduh my dad was from New York
City, and my mother was fromBoise.
Her family was a very much of apioneer family.
Her great or her grandfather, mygreat-grandfather, my brother
Doug and I, great-grandfatherNathan Falk came here in the
(03:05):
1860s as a 15-year-old kid, andthis happened a lot around the
country, uh, ended up, I think,ultimately was trying to get to
California, but ended up in umIdaho City, where there were
really like 10,000 people.
It was a big mining city boom upthere, right?
In those days, now, as we allknow, ghost town.
(03:26):
But um they ended up justpeddling stuff, selling wares to
the miners.
And I guess turned out to beagain, 15-year-old kid, whose
brother had already arrived herewith 17, started selling stuff,
were pretty good at it,ultimately built a department
store in Boise, downtown at 8thand Maine, ultimately.
(03:48):
And uh as happened in a lot ofcities around the country, these
kind of independent departmentstores would would evolve and
and do well.
They ultimately ended up withfour or five department stores
in this general area.
What was the name of thedepartment store?
Fawkes, F-A-L-K-S.
And uh ultimately they soldthose in the 50s, but that was
(04:12):
kind of the genesis of mymother's family here.
My mother had moved to New Yorkbefore World War II to work.
Her older sister had moved toNew York City, met my dad at a
dinner party of some familyfriends, and uh I saw this
actually in her diary.
(04:33):
They only talked for like fiveor ten minutes, and it was
apparently a large dining roomtable, and he was at one end in
his uniform, and she was at theother end.
And uh she said in her diary, Ifinally met the man I want to
marry.
Wow.
But then they they saw eachother off and off for a few
years, and then ultimately gotserious, decided they were going
(04:53):
to get married, but then theWorld War II happened, she ended
up working and decided to jointhe Red Cross, ended up outside
of London at a rest home.
Our dad ended up in the OSSultimately in London, and uh
they ended up after the warcoming back and getting married
in New York City, and then hehad worked for Bloomingdales,
(05:16):
and he came out with my motherafter they got married to work
in the Fox department store.
So that's how the family gothere.
He became a huge lover of Boise,even though she he was born and
raised in New York City inManhattan.
So he ended up uh doing that,and when the stores were sold,
(05:38):
they ended up going around theworld, and that was a big deal
in those days for about fourmonths, and kind of left Doug
with our aunt in New York whenhe was like eight months old.
My mother used to say, you know,in the more modern times, she
probably would be arrested forchild neglect or something.
But she ended up leaving Dougwith our aunt, and he Doug
(05:59):
became very close to them, andwe ended up with our
grandparents here for fourmonths, and then dad got
ultimately into the the uh foodbusiness as a national broker
for various firms, and that'show the food side started.
I came back here in 72 and uhended up joining the business.
(06:24):
But as a child, uh we grew up inthe north end.
It's kind of idyllic, North 23rdbetween Brumbach and Eastman.
Wow, ended up having uh a greattime there, and other than three
years where we did move back toNew York after the stores were
sold, and my parents took thattrip, pretty much grew up here
through high school.
(06:44):
And it was great.
We had one of thoseneighborhoods where actually
Lisa Growe, who's the CEO of, asyou well know, of Ido Power, her
mother was the oldest kind ofteenage teenager in the
neighborhood, and she was thebabysitter, Barbara Ballard.
Wow.
Everybody thought, you know,Barbara Ballard was like the
(07:06):
greatest thing that ever anyeverybody had ever known in
their lives.
She babysat for everybody, andso Lisa's mother was our
babysitter.
Um, but anyway, it was a great,kind of a great way to grow up,
as as I think a lot of kids findstill here in Boise.
SPEAKER_02 (07:22):
What an incredible story.
So you've seen it change.
unknown (07:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:26):
You've watched it, you've been part of it, you've
built it, you've uh we'll getinto some of that.
But uh so the the food business,I don't know that a lot of
people know that part of whatyou that part of your empire.
And uh, and when you have likeyou have a lot going on here.
Yeah.
But talk about the food side ofit.
SPEAKER_01 (07:44):
Yeah, I would I don't think I I don't know if
I'd say it was an empire, butthe food side is um several
different aspects of the foodbusiness.
And again, Doug and I have beenpartners in that business for
probably over 50 years.
Um, it's now involved in four orfive different areas of the food
industry.
One is manufacturing.
(08:04):
We make frozen desserts at aplant we have in outside of
Dayton, Ohio, Troy, Ohio.
It's mostly store brandproducts.
So if you go to Albertsons orKroger or Fred Meyer, which is
part of Kroger, that store brandprobably would be us.
Uh we started with no customersand and over the years, was over
(08:25):
the last 25 years have been ableto build up that business.
We also have True Whip TRU,which is the only all-natural
whip topping that you'd see inthe stores.
The rest of the business doesn'thave much retail presence.
It's food service.
There's a food service buyinggroup that we started and owned
that supplies independent foodservice distributors with pretty
(08:46):
much anything a restaurant or aschool district or a hospital
would buy.
There are about 150 membersaround the country.
And we provide them not onlywith buying power and products
to compete with the largercorporate distributors, but we
also provide them with a lot ofservices to kind of be their
little back office corporatestuff.
So marketing support, they cansend their financials in and
(09:09):
model them against othernon-competing distributors, um,
incentive trips, training fortheir distributor sales reps and
their purchasing people, thatkind of thing.
And then uh we're in the potatobusiness, which is really where
it started with Dad, withproducts co-packed under a brand
that we own, Food Service,called Interstate.
(09:32):
Okay.
And then we have a logisticsdivision that's in trucking uh
to not only service our owndivisions, but also now more and
more third party.
SPEAKER_02 (09:42):
Hey, when your friends are the Simplots, that
may not sound like an empire toyou, but it's an empire.
unknown (09:46):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:47):
That's a big deal.
SPEAKER_01 (09:48):
Yeah, Simplot is an empire.
I would I would go along withthat part.
SPEAKER_02 (09:52):
That's that's great.
And so uh that's awesome.
And and uh talk a little bit.
I I I'm gonna go all over theplace with you.
I've been been waiting for this.
Uh talk about your relationshipwith Doug.
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
Yeah, Doug and I, you know, as I think we all
know, the brothers can be thatcan be a really good thing or
not a really good thing, andfamily businesses can be a good
thing or not really a goodthing.
We've just been very lucky.
Um Doug and I have always beenreally close.
We um are really best friendsoutside of the business.
We hang out together, we go onvacations with Mary and Esther
(10:27):
together.
So we've always just had areally good relationship.
He's he's just a great guy.
We we have somewhat differentstyles, but we really kind of
think alike.
I'm about to say something andhe'll say it, kind of kind of
thing.
And uh, you know, it's justadded a really another kind of
meaningful dimension to being inbusiness because if you're in
(10:50):
business with your brother andit does work, it just adds
another level of of kind ofmeaning and and enjoyment really
of the process.
He's as we all know, he's got anincredible sense of humor, so he
keeps it fun.
And uh so we just had a greattime.
It's been very uh we feel verygrateful for that.
SPEAKER_02 (11:08):
Do your strengths and weaknesses complement each
other?
And uh has that been a naturalfit or uh I think it really has
kind of a natural fit.
SPEAKER_01 (11:16):
It it uh again, we we have similar instincts,
similar values, similar ways ofapproaching things, but we also
approach them in different ways,and I think that's always
healthy.
And we, you know, we we like wedon't ever make a decision
really without talking to eachother and thinking it through.
(11:37):
And so it's kind of a nice thingbecause you don't have the
weight of the world on yourshoulders.
We don't we have an internalboard of the operating heads of
each division, and we look atthat as sort of a diversified
group to look at what we'redoing and help us kind of design
and create the strategy, but wedon't really have an outside
board, but we do have somesuccession going on, you know.
(11:59):
People who we've had the goodfortune also of just having a
lot of people who've been withus a long time, but some of them
are now retired.
So we've had uh the nextgeneration come along uh in the
company, and that's been good.
Doug and I have been, you know,working on our own succession
strategy, and uh, you know,somebody asked me once in a
(12:20):
talk, you know, what is yoursuccession strategy?
This was quite a few years ago.
So our first choice is don'tdie.
Since that looks less and lesslikely, we ended up uh, you
know, Andrew, who's Doug's oneof Doug's So that looks less and
less likely.
Doug's uh one of Doug's kids,Andrew's in the business and
(12:42):
been with us for like six, sevenyears, done a great job.
And then Matt, our youngest son,has had a quite successful
career in the in the businessworld on his own, and he's look
very interested in also gettinginvolved around what he's doing
now.
So the idea is that Matt couldbecome potentially kind of the
chairman, and Andrew could behopefully the the senior level
(13:04):
on in the business executive,and they get along real well
too, which is a lucky thing.
So we've been meeting quarterly,kind of working through all of
that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
As you said that, I was just thinking of a funny
story.
I I I I hadn't ever been askedthat before, but I was recently
by a by an employee that's nolonger here, by the way.
It's kind of funny and wasn'trelated to this, but after I got
to know this person, I'm youknow, one day we're sitting
there talking and and and shelooked at me and said, Um,
what's your succession plan?
And I honestly I I I I said,What are you talking about?
(13:36):
I mean, it's just like it I'venever been caught so flat footed
in my life.
Like, oh and uh anyway, uh yeah,I like I like your response.
Well, first don't I?
Um that's great.
Um well I I've I've reallyenjoyed watching the two of you
um as I've been in your officesand uh I think of your office
and all the pictures you haveand the history, and it's it's
(13:59):
rich.
Way too rich for a podcast likethis.
We're not gonna get into it, buttalk a little bit about the
development now, because that'salso how I know you.
Uh you've been very involved indowntown and everywhere else.
And and talk talk through theevolution of downtown Boise and
your part you played in that.
SPEAKER_01 (14:14):
Yeah, well, that's been quite a, as we all know,
quite an evolution.
The the real estate side, thefood business is a national
firm, really kind of NorthAmerican, including Canada.
The real estate we've kind ofdone selectively is much around,
pretty much around southernIdaho.
And and certainly in Boise.
(14:36):
We when I first moved back herein the early 70s, Boise's
downtown was this kind ofbombed-out pit, so to speak.
There were, you know, the famousarticle that I can't remember if
it was the Atlantic or Harper'sthat said boy on the cover,
Boise, the city that destroyeditself, or something like that.
Um there Mountain, then MountainBell was really interested in
(15:00):
trying to help revitalizedowntown.
And a guy named Chuck Hall wasthe head of the Idaho Mountain
Bell uh division, and a great,really great guy, very civic
minded.
And they were interested indoing a building.
So the first one we got involvedin was doing that, and we we had
(15:22):
I had worked for three months inbetween business school years at
Citibank and knew enough to bejust probably really dangerous.
There was another guy, a fellowwho recently, in the last year
or so, passed away, JohnRunstead, who had just moved
back to Seattle and was workingfor Howard S.
Wright Construction, and theywere in Student Boise.
(15:45):
We all met, and he was, I couldtell, a lot more knowledgeable
than I was.
He'd worked for Kaba CabinForbes for five years, and
that'd be my three months atCitibank.
And I as I recall my assignmentduring the three months at
Citibank, it was to study theREIT market, the real estate
investment trust market.
Yeah.
(16:05):
And I think what I'm prettypositive my recommendation was
to go deeper into the REITmarket, which turned out to be
about four months before thecomplete collapse of the REIT
market.
But they actually offered me ajob for some reason.
But I decided to come out here.
And uh so, John, we formed a50-50 joint venture, and um we
(16:29):
went ahead with the project withMountain Bell as a major tenant.
They took about 100,000 squarefeet, and uh we ended up
building the building, and as wewere just getting it started,
Simplot, whose headquarters inthose days was where Fork is in
that building.
And Jack and Scott and and thewhole group was interested in
(16:50):
being part of this as a place tomove their headquarters because
their current building was partof that urban renewal area and
was going to be uh bought by theurban renewal district.
So they came in as a partner,and and we're all still
partners, we've been partnersfor 52 years, I think.
And they've been literally notexaggerating, just a wonderful
(17:12):
partners.
Everybody's contributed ideasand through all these years
together.
So um that was the first projectin the downtown for of for the
urban renewal project.
And I remember standing on theflatbelt on 9th Street at the
groundbreaking, looking around,and behind me was this
completely leveled four-blockarea, which is now where the
(17:33):
convention center, Wells Fargo,US Bank is, and of course, your
big piece of that, and uhClearwater and that that whole
project.
And uh just thinking to myself,uh God, I hope we know what
we're doing.
But we ended up doing that, andthen it really went from there.
But our focus has been primarilydowntowns, yeah.
(17:56):
And we did Wells Fargo here, wedid some work for first security
over the years, and including aremodel of that building that's
now the Mountain West Bank.
Then recently we did the Arthur,which is named after our dad
apartment and moved into more ofthe multifamily area, uh, and
did some projects in other likein Caldwell working.
SPEAKER_02 (18:17):
Yeah, big big project in Caldwell, uh Idol
Falls, the building there isbeautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (18:21):
Yeah.
And pretty much public-private.
We like working with the citieswe're involved with.
We're doing a project up in uhSun Valley that's a fairly
good-sized residential projectbetween Bellevue and Haley on
the east side of 75.
So, but a lot of our focus hasbeen on downtown, so we like
that.
SPEAKER_02 (18:42):
Um, I do.
So before we before we go on, II think uh we're doing some work
in Reno, downtown Reno now.
So we've brought some of thosefolks over and for visits and
put them up and kind of andSkip, you get pretty nostalgic.
You think about 20 even so weentered the stage 25 20 years
ago, right?
But even in the last 20 years,what's happened, but before that
(19:04):
was the real significant change.
But I'm just so proud of walk.
I mean, you walk around, you goto dinner down there, you you
walk those streets.
Uh just this uh they had um Iwent and gave a talk uh this
week for Greenville, SouthCarolina, had a whole
contingency in town, and I wentand talked to talked to them.
And it it just you look around,but it it's it was the community
really with a vision comingtogether.
(19:25):
And then I was gonna bring thisup.
Uh Dirk Kim Thorn, we had alittle dinner for him a couple
weeks ago.
Um, and and uh he was veryinvolved.
He tells a story of sitting onan on a uh telephone pole that
was down, and he was sitting onit with Chuck Winter, and they
were looking around at they callit Little Beirut or something is
what they called it.
Yeah, it was not, you know, wewe've had some good fortune, but
(19:48):
we've had some really goodvision and leadership from both
civic leaders and entrepreneurslike yourself that took a chance
on Boise.
SPEAKER_01 (19:54):
Yeah, no question about it.
And Dirk was very instrumentalwhen he was mayor of kind of
bringing the people together andfinally where the mall was going
to be got decided, and then hiskind of bringing people together
around a vision.
Another unsung hero, I think, isPete O'Neill, passed away
several years ago.
And Pete was a good friend ofmine and somebody I have a lot
(20:15):
of respect for and learned a lotfrom, but he was the chairman of
the redevelopment agencies, youknow, and and uh we were about
to start Wells Fargo Center andthen was called First Interstate
Center, and he came in with BobLowry.
Bob was had been the the managerof Bogus Basin and Pete had
worked with him.
(20:36):
Bob didn't know anything aboutreal estate, but Bob was one of
those bigger than life, we canget things done kind of person.
So Pete brought him in asexecutive director of the
redevelopment agency.
They came by the office one dayand said, you know, we got to
talk.
So we got he's they said we gotsome good news, we got some bad
news.
What do you want to hear first?
I said the bad news.
So the bad news is we've got aabout nine months of work that's
(21:01):
gonna slow your project downnine months.
And uh, but do you want to hearthe good news?
And I said, Well, no, not notreally, because the bad news is
gonna kill any good news.
Doesn't matter what you say.
Because first interstate wasthen in the what is now the key
bank building, and theirlandlord, who's out of San
Francisco, has made it clearthat they won't extend the
(21:23):
lease, and we have to get itdone, you know, way before the
nine more months.
So Pete said, Well, let's JimKern was the president, Dave
Edson was the executive vicepresident, Dave's now back here.
And uh and has a daughter who'sgot that LED dance, yeah, which
is really quite quite something.
(21:44):
We went over and talked to Jim.
We went to San Francisco, wetalked to the landlord.
Turned out the landlord said,actually, I don't have any other
prospects, so we can I was beinga little, it was kind of
bluster.
And so we were able to postponeit.
And then, but Pete and Bobreally, and the agency then, but
under their leadership, createdthe whole master plan.
(22:05):
They brought in Rudat, theybrought in the AIA, American
Institute of Architects, theybrought in Zimmer Gonzel Fraska,
kind of laid out the whole eightblocks.
Yeah.
And the the good news that theyemphasized was, you know, if we
can get through this, we willhave some downtown that
everybody will be enormouslyproud of, and it'll be so much
(22:27):
better for you and anybody elsethat does anything downtown.
But he was a visionary thatreally saw that.
It was.
I you know a lot to do with it.
SPEAKER_02 (22:34):
I I've never talked about this actually publicly,
but um, one of my most cherishedlunch meetings that I'll
remember my whole life was I methim down at Spurwing Country
Club, Pete, and what wassupposed to be an hour-long
lunch uh turned into two and ahalf hours, and I just sat
there, just me and him, and I II just kept asking question
(22:55):
after question and story afterstory.
It was it was just incredible.
He he was such a uh dynamic butkind, just a one one of a kind.
SPEAKER_01 (23:06):
No, I agree.
He was a big mentor to me andand good friend, as I said.
But he, you know, there's a lotof those kind of people that you
you don't really hear that muchabout that had such a profound
it's because they're so humble.
SPEAKER_02 (23:20):
I mean, just humbly led and just got it done.
And I I I was sitting there withhim watching like, you need to
write a book.
And you were like in the middleof all this, but hey, I I do
want to spend a little time.
I've it's been really fun towatch um just because the times
were in the Arthur.
Uh so talk a little bit aboutthe name and then the project.
It's absolutely gorgeous.
Um, Skip.
It's it's unbelievable indowntown Boise, and you guys are
(23:43):
exceeding all expectations, andit it's uh we were ripe and
ready for it, and it tooksomeone like you to pull it off.
But talk about that, the thebeautiful Arthur downtown.
SPEAKER_01 (23:52):
Well, thank you.
Yeah, it's been a that was agreat process.
We ended up, you know, thinkingthat one of the things that
maybe there was a need for waskind of a somewhat of a next
level of of quality and designand scale for multifamily.
And uh we had kind of looked atdifferent options.
(24:14):
One was for condos, but condoswere a little hard to finance in
the at the time we were lookingat it because of some of the
legal challenges that sometimeswe're we're being landlords were
being faced with.
But we ended up uh uh meetingthrough a uh mutual friend, the
(24:35):
Weiss family and the Ponskyfamily who were out of
Cleveland.
And Maury Weiss was the still isthe chairman of American
Greeting Cards.
He and the Ponsky family havebeen friends forever.
They had developed some reallywe went, Doug and I and Jeremy
Malone and had looked at a bunchof their projects, really liked
(24:58):
the projects, and so they wereinterested in expanding outside
and and diversifying outside ofthose markets, which was
primarily Cleveland and Chicago.
And it was a good cultural fit.
We've had knock on wood, goodluck with partnerships, and uh a
lot of these partnerships we'vehad gone on for, like I
(25:19):
mentioned, one cap was 50 years.
We have uh Dwayne Stickle andand the Drown family.
We've got Overland Park withthem for over, I think, close to
50 years.
Um we've we've had really we hadSafeco as a partner in Wells
Fargo for 25 years until theygot out of the real estate
equity side of the business andultimately sold the company.
(25:40):
But um we just felt like thesefolks would be really good for
Boise, really good partners.
So we ended up doing this withthem, and uh they've been
tremendous to work with.
And they brought in powerconstruction and SCB architects,
(26:01):
both of whom are large firms outof Chicago.
Well, you wonder how's thatgonna play in Boise, Idaho?
But we met them and we reallyfelt like they could fit in
really well, and as you knowbetter than anybody, you know,
85-90% of the work is done bylocal subs, so they got to get
along.
We kind of brought powertogether with McElvain, who we'd
(26:21):
done a lot with and think theworld of.
And uh, so they seemed to justmesh with the local
subcommunity.
And now, like seems to alwayshappen these days in Boise.
Out of the six people that movedhere full-time for the job, I
think four of them really don'twant to leave.
SPEAKER_02 (26:41):
They they stick.
Yeah, and and you named it afteryour father, I think.
SPEAKER_01 (26:45):
Named it after our dad.
We just thought it would be anice thing to do.
And dad was always a hugesupporter of downtown and Boise
and a huge supporter of Boise,period.
So we we went through, you know,the marketing firm and the
branding firm, and the and we wesort of started out with the
idea of Arthur, but then wetested it with our partners and
(27:07):
did all those kind of market,you know, process kind of
things.
And uh we ended up coming backas a group with the Arthur being
the name, or Arthur being thename.
So we think dad would be wouldbe happy, and we think dad would
be even happier when we get itall leased up.
SPEAKER_02 (27:28):
Well, it's it's uh it's amazing.
Uh, I'm just so happy for youguys, just so pleased, and it
it's beautiful.
Beautiful.
I have so many things to talk toyou about.
I I think of uh you and foreveryone listening to this
today.
I mean, we just spent howeverlong talking to literally one of
the pillars of the businesscommunity on food services and
(27:49):
this whole thing and thendevelopment.
But but Skip, you're reallyknown for being the guy that
that makes it all happen in thein the nonprofit world on things
that really matter.
So a couple of them that uh thatare near and dear to me too.
Healthcare and education.
We just spent a little bit oftime on those.
Uh you have been part of the St.
(28:10):
Luke's Health System Boardforever.
You're current current chair,right?
SPEAKER_01 (28:12):
Current chair of the health now the health plan.
Right?
SPEAKER_02 (28:16):
The new health plan.
But just in the interest oftime, I mean, it I I think, man,
Skip, I I I'm worried.
I just think of, you know, I wasI I figured think of when I
graduated from medical school,what I learned in medical
school, residency, you know,came here in the 90s, and how
(28:36):
healthcare has just been turnedon its head.
I think of really well-intended,smart people trying to guide
this thing throughout the years,and you always just wanting to
say, yeah, that's gonna work.
That's gonna work.
That's a great idea, that'sgonna work.
And now I look back as I getolder and I'm like, boy, this is
(28:57):
tough.
Um, this is tough.
And I and I and so I w I wonder,I can't wait to ask you the
future of just healthcare inthis country and what we're up
against and and uh the cost.
Uh the real the real explosionin cost, uh, we saw it happening
right before our eyes, but therewas a time, you know, in the old
(29:18):
Dahlberg days, and and you know,you think of um uh medicine was
super entrepreneurial when Iwent into it and came out.
It just was.
I mean, I became an ER doc,which was tied to the hospital,
but you had a bunch of smallbusiness owners essentially that
were very passionate aboutpatients and care, and they were
their patients.
I think of J.W.
Smith, like one of the stories Ilove telling, because I had the
(29:40):
I had the privilege as an ER docfor whatever reason at the
night, uh Catherine Albertsonwould come into the ER at
nighttime, and I I took care ofher so many times.
And and J uh uh uh Dr.
Smith was a cardiologist, but hewas her primary care doctor.
And I like telling the storybecause it wouldn't matter what
time of night it was.
I would call.
(30:00):
And it wasn't just because itwas her, because he did this
with every patient he had.
It wouldn't matter.
But he would be there likewithin 10 minutes.
He lived by the hospital.
And you had this caring, loving,and I love telling the story
because that was healthcarethen.
Whether it was Catherine oranybody else, he was there
caring for him.
And I'll see you tomorrow in myoffice.
And I I like telling that storybecause of the stark contrast.
(30:21):
So you had largelyentrepreneurial people that love
people and love patients andwere very connected to their
patients.
And you look at that now thenand compare it to healthcare in
the world today, they do notlook sound, feel anything like
they used to.
Um, and man, I'm I worry aboutit.
(30:43):
I don't I don't know.
And the cost of it, uh, youknow, you just think about the
whole thing.
Where do we where does it gofrom here?
SPEAKER_01 (30:50):
Yeah.
Well, again, I think you'd beI'd like to hear more of your
answer because you're much moreof an expert than I am and have
been in it at a profoundlydifferent level.
But I mean, I I think, you know,on one level, when I think about
health care, and I lookedinitially, let's say, just in
(31:12):
this valley, we're, you know,very lucky, I think, to have the
two, you know, particularly withthe two major hospital systems,
uh St.
Luke's and St.
Als, just the quality of care,the quality of physicians, the
on most every metric, it's it'suh the quality level the is is
(31:34):
really high on an and and reallycompare comparable to national
well-recognized names in thehealth system world.
So we're we're lucky on thatlevel.
But to your point, I I feel thesame way you do.
It's on on both the kind of carein terms of that personal
(31:57):
attention that's delivered, it'sjust not what it used to be.
And I Jim and Mary Smith arealso really good friends of
ours, and you know, he's awonderful example of that.
I think it's uh it's verydifferent.
I think the the basic questionis just sustainability.
The only thing more and morepeople seem to agree on is in
(32:19):
the US that the system is broke.
And so the question is where toyour question really, how where
does it go from here?
You know, this whole idea ofoutcomes-based medicine, you
know, getting paid based onquality, based on outcomes
versus based on how many thatwhat the volume of care is, how
(32:41):
many back surgeries I do, or howmany whatever.
I think there is going to bemore and more direction and
trend in in the outcomes-basedand population health, where
your healthcare systems areresponsible for a population's
health, and it and and thereimbursement's gonna be how
well they maintain that healthcare and the and the health of
(33:03):
that population that they serve.
But I think it's gonna it'sgonna take more than even that.
I I think, I mean, I look atjust what you said, the cost of
care is unsustainable, what'sgone up over 50 percent in the
last 10 years.
The the whole uh quality for thekind of investment that's made
is is not sustainable.
(33:24):
It's not what it should be.
So I think we're gonna have tosee some pretty radical change
at some point.
SPEAKER_02 (33:30):
Yeah, I don't I don't pretend to have any
answers.
I really don't, but I I willtell you a couple of pivotal
moments for me.
Um I think about fundamentally,you know, uh insurance was
created, and it would it's beena great thing to have insurance
for people.
But you think of how theinsurance market has made things
(33:52):
happen.
I think about big legislation, Ithink about like Obamacare.
I remember the night it passedbecause I was working a shift
and when you know Bidenwhispered in Obama's ears, it's
a big F and ill.
And and I don't know that itwent far enough.
I mean, you you could think ofbecause I you could just say,
okay, now there's more federalinvolvement, but probably that's
(34:15):
not always a good thing if it ifthey're not listening to
industry.
Um so I look at you know PBMsand big pharmaceutical companies
and just the way business tookover medicine.
And, you know, I don't I don'tI'm not one of those guys that
believes that there was somegrand scheme, that there were
bad people that were trying totake advantage of the American
(34:35):
people.
And I don't think that, but Ithink that corporations and
money and layers of bureaucracycertainly make things fatter,
and uh so I don't know.
And and then and then you getdown, I do go back, and I and I
and I talk about this a lotbecause I love the guy, but I go
back to Mitt Romney's plan.
You know, you I I still keep acopy of that if he would have
won his first hundred days, andyou go back and read what he
(34:58):
would have done with healthcare,and you know, I don't think
you'd ever turn back that clockbecause now you got years and
years of of what we've done.
And then and then the last thingI'll hit on, and again, I have
no answers, is the wholevalue-based care thing all
sounded great, right?
It sounded and it still soundsokay to me, but I think now
(35:18):
you're in it and you're in themiddle of it, and it's just not
happening, and you're a decadeinto it, and you're like, it's
not bringing down costs.
And so to me, is it it do wejust keep switching the way we
reimburse?
Um and uh I just don't know.
I but but it's it's a it it'sgonna be the problem of our
time.
I know that.
SPEAKER_01 (35:39):
No question about it.
And you know, again, locally,how do how do you attract and
retain physicians in this state?
I mean, that's fundamental toeverything.
And I think, you know, with someof the legislation and you know,
do I really want to practice inIdaho if I'm an OBGYN?
SPEAKER_02 (35:56):
Look at OBGN's fleeing right and left.
I the other thing is you talk, Ithis comes up, but like you take
uh Dr.
Smith or family practice docfrom 20 years ago and what they
would do, and and now you know,the connection of doctors to
patients and their productivityper patient.
And I mean you start thinkingabout all of the things and how
do we even attract them and andthe debt they're coming out of
(36:19):
school with, and and it there'sjust if you look for what are
all the challenges, Skip, therethere's no short that it's
they're everywhere.
Yeah, and you're just sayingthere's just a lot of so
hopefully we get leadershipsomewhere from someone that
says, hey, we're gonna try towe're gonna try to fix this.
SPEAKER_01 (36:35):
Well, and I think that's what it's gonna take
somebody with a lot of courageand with with the sort of
political leadership skills tokind of get people together
because it's it's it's it's notsustainable the way it is.
And somebody like you know, likethe the Romney plan, something
that has sort of an appeal, andthen enough people gathered
(37:00):
around that to kind of move thekind of the the the play the the
uh pieces on the on the puzzleto fundamentally change our
approach.
I think it's gonna take prettyfundamental change because as
you say, it's it's not workingthe way it is, and it's gonna
take some pretty fundamentalchanges.
SPEAKER_02 (37:21):
I I will I want to go back to something very
positive because with all thatsaid, um I think of our health
systems, the people that runthem, the way they run them, the
way they care, the way I meanyou look at our we're we're
we're blessed beyond measure,and you only need to have what
I've had in the last few years,you know, go need some of this
(37:42):
care.
We have world-class care, thebest of the best, and and and
you, and you're just sograteful.
Um I'm I'm getting old enoughnow, and it's funny because back
when I used to go in the ER andhave a problem going to the
hospital, everyone still knewwho I was, and now they don't
have any idea.
Uh so so I I'm I'm now a trueconsumer.
Before I was kind of a uh, youknow, I had I was there with,
(38:04):
but but it's it's uh I'm justthankful we have that.
And and and so it's not theproviders.
Another thing I was gonna askyou is I I I now go to lunch
with some of my old partners,and just the I think COVID uh
changed a lot of things, butjust the it it it fatigued our
providers at every level somuch.
So you've got all these triplewhammies of how people were
(38:26):
treated, and just you know, theperception of doctors is not, I
mean, you used to be, hey, I'drather be a developer now,
right?
SPEAKER_01 (38:34):
Yeah, I I hear you.
No, but I think you're you'reonto something important.
I think when you look at thepeople that are in a lot of the
leadership positions, even herespecifically here locally, um,
the Chris Ross and the peoplethat are leading these
organizations, I mean,everybody's trying to do the
right thing.
Yeah.
And people are truly committedto trying to make this better.
(38:59):
And I think that alone is kindof fundamental to any kind of
change.
And the providers, I mean, wehave some of the best
physicians, as you know, betterthan anybody in the world,
really, and in a lot of casesright here in the Treasure
Valley, because everybody livesliving in the Treasure Valley
that's here, and that bodeswell.
(39:21):
And I think that's truenationally.
I mean, we have amazinglytalented physicians, amazingly
talented administrators.
It's just they're caught up in asystem that's not working, and
that it's gonna take somebody tobreak that open.
But we got the fund if we didn'thave the fundamentals right,
then the right people in theright seats, so to speak, then
it would be a lot even evenharder.
SPEAKER_02 (39:41):
Yeah, and I'll always bet on America.
We'll figure this out, but uhboy, we uh anyway.
I listen, before we leave this,Skip, I I thank you for really a
lifelong commitment to beingpart of healthcare solutions.
I mean, it's been part of yourlegacy.
You've been there leading,guiding, directing passionately.
(40:01):
It's a big deal, it's a big partof your uh of who you are.
SPEAKER_01 (40:04):
Well, I've been lucky to have the opportunity
really to be involved.
And I the people like we werejust talking about the the
institutions, the impact oneverybody.
Yeah.
Everybody, as you know, I mean,that are on these boards too, be
beyond the providers, beyond thethe staff, beyond the
administration of these systemsand these healthcare providers,
(40:27):
it's it's amazing thecommitment, like the it's a
different level of commitment, Ithink, on these healthcare
boards because it affectseverybody.
It it affects me, it affects myfriends, my family, everybody.
And I think there's just apassion for that work that is
pretty impressive.
SPEAKER_02 (40:46):
I would the other way I'd say it is it it takes
the supreme meaning of the wordneighbor, right?
You're well said, you're theneighbor that also has the
privilege, honor, burden, maybeeven of saying, hey, I'm gonna,
I'm I'm gonna go try to fix theand then you know, St.
Luke's community-owned board.
(41:06):
I mean, you're you're theneighbor there representing the
community on all things frombirth to cancer to you know,
hospital.
I mean, it it it runs the wholegamut.
SPEAKER_01 (41:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (41:17):
And and in and in in in your neighbor's time of
greatness need, that's wherewe're going.
SPEAKER_01 (41:22):
Yeah.
No, and I think, you know, justspeaking to St.
Luke's, which is what I'm mostfamiliar with, I mean, they're
big and and people see them as abig organization, they're the
largest non-governmentalemployer.
But but as systems go, they'renot that big.
(41:42):
And when you look around thecountry, they're still they're
big enough to do reallyimportant work, but they're not
so big that they're just acomplete bureaucracy.
Now, that doesn't, you know,explain away every healthcare
system's problem of how do youget in to see a doc, how do you
get more physicians, how do youget the best customer service
(42:03):
you can find.
You know, those are all thingseverybody's working on.
But it's still a scale that'smanageable.
Yeah.
And I think that also bodeswell.
It's not and and again, everypenny that's generated goes back
into the community.
SPEAKER_02 (42:18):
Yeah.
Every time we talk about St.
Luke's, I get I get prettynostalgic pretty quick because
for me, I mean, you remember theold ER before the remodel, just
that you had those two hallwaysand you had Ed Dahlberg and Gary
Fletcher.
I'm telling you, Skip, at leastonce a week, sometimes two times
(42:38):
a week, they would come down andplop down in a chair with me,
sit and just chat, chit, chat.
They knew the name of my kids,they knew when their birthdays
were.
It was it was the most friend.
I mean, I just loved those guys.
Yeah.
I loved and and and so some ofit is as things get big and
times change, you know, webecome the old guys sitting on
(42:59):
our lawn chair in our front yardwith our grand Torino and
saying, Man, I miss the olddays.
SPEAKER_01 (43:04):
But um well, they've had great leadership.
Yeah.
I mean, when you think about howmany organizations anywhere of
any kind, you know, have hadbasically in the last 90 years
four CEOs.
Gil Gilbertson was a fabulous,kind of iconic figure, the head
of the American HospitalAssociation.
Then you had uh Ed Albert for 20plus years, who was an amazing
(43:26):
leader and the right person atthe right time who sort of
created the vision of thehospital system for St.
Luke's.
And then David Pate came in, whowas a visionary genius and kind
of helped take that platformthat Ed and Gil had put together
and take it to a whole notherlevel.
And now Chris, who kind ofconnects really well with
(43:48):
everybody, pulling people backinto feeling like we're all in
this together.
So it's been amazing leadership.
SPEAKER_02 (43:54):
Great, great people, great human beings, great
neighbors.
Um, can we switch to education?
This is going by way too fast.
So I want to make sure we hit atleast education.
Uh another thing for you, uhSkip, you start Idaho Business
for Education.
You've been involved in everyway and kind of every major
education initiative.
Uh, it's your passion.
Um huge successes over theyears.
(44:16):
How are you feeling about Idahoand education and commitment
right now?
SPEAKER_01 (44:20):
Well, I'm I'm I'm feeling concerned just when I
look at just all the things weall try to think are important,
I think, which is you know thereading, literacy, a lot of
things the governor hasmentioned about that literacy
reading.
(44:40):
I think that's something that weneed to continue.
And it is improving.
So we're making, I think, someprogress.
Uh, the go-on rate, and thego-on rate doesn't have to be a
four-year university, it can beCollege of Western Idaho,
College of Eastern Idaho,College of Northern.
It can be um, you know, atwo-year associate degree, it
(45:02):
can be getting a certificate andbeing a great, you know,
plumber, electrician, uh,welder.
I mean, there's all kinds ofopportunity, but you got to go
on to something beyond highschool often.
And I worry still about, I thinkwe all do, about the go-on rate
in the state.
Yeah.
Um, but I'm optimistic we'llcontinue to work that and figure
(45:25):
it out.
I think the business communityhas really taken a role through
IBE and other organizations totry to influence the quality of
education and support, not justhere's the problem, but how do
we help?
And I think that'll continue tohopefully bear fruit.
Um, but it's it's the totalcliche, but it is the future.
(45:50):
And if we don't get that right,good luck for the future of the
state and and beyond.
I think early childhoodeducation is really important.
Everything you ever see or readthose first five years, or 80%
of brain development.
And how do we continue to givekids an opportunity in those
early years to really maximizetheir potential?
(46:12):
Because everything sort ofpoints to if you don't get that
right, it's it you don't oftenkids just don't catch up.
So I think we got a lot ofopportunity.
Launch, big deal.
Launch is a very big deal, andthat's been a big success.
I mean, that has worked verywell.
And that's the kind ofinitiatives we just all need to
get behind.
unknown (46:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (46:33):
Well, I uh I really appreciate those efforts because
I think, you know, uh you'vebeen at it for decades,
literally.
And and and sometimes it takesthat steady, constant leadership
from business community to kindof help, as you know, you think
of how many state schoolsuperintendents and governors
(46:55):
and legislators and you knowpeople come and go, but you've
been there that steady hand.
And I I think it's with yourwhole leadership team, it's it's
it's been really significant,uh, Skip.
So I know you get told this allthe time, but it means a lot to
to have leaders like you asexamples and mentors uh going
through this.
SPEAKER_01 (47:13):
Well, I appreciate that.
I you know, there's been a lotof people, including you, who
who have been really vitallyinvolved in this whole education
thing.
And IBE originated, actually,back to Dirk Kimpthorne.
He was thinking about forming anadvisory group, and and he and I
talked, and you know, the theproblem with that was just to
(47:36):
your point, this isn't gonna bean overnight thing.
This is gonna take years.
And if you have an advisorygroup for one governor, then
they're gone when the governor'sgone.
And we kind of talked aboutwould it be better to set up
something that would besustainable independent of any
one governor?
And so, and then the AlbertsonFoundation felt that was a
really good idea, and they werevery encouraging and supported
(48:00):
it.
We met there, we we've initiallygot the thing started there, and
then when um Rich was in, andthen and then particularly then
Butch really picked up the ballon the importance of this and
really supported how businesscan be helpful.
And it's just been a continuumfrom there.
(48:21):
So it's incredible.
SPEAKER_02 (48:23):
Well, I know you have a a wedding at your house
tonight, and we've gone almostan hour.
So uh I do will you take thelast word?
Any advice you'd give youngbusiness?
We have a lot of business folksthat listen to this that are in
the state that uh what whatadvice or uh counsel would you
give us?
SPEAKER_01 (48:40):
Yeah.
Well, and I think you've walkedthis talk as much as anybody I
know, Tommy, but I think justthe idea of uh, and I hope this
continues, it it's kind of apart of the secret sauce, I
think, of this state and manystates, but certainly Idaho and
and this valley.
And that's just to get involved.
(49:00):
I I think there's somethingspecial about the way people get
engaged here, as you well know.
I mean, you talk to new peoplewho move here and they go, God,
it's so welcoming.
I mean, people want me involved.
You don't have to live here for,you know, 85 years, you know,
your family or something.
And I think that engagement andjust getting involved, I
(49:21):
personally have, you know,again, kind of a cliche, but
I've learned so much from beinginvolved, much more than I think
I've probably ever contributed,and met people, gotten, you
know, to know them in a you knowgood personal friendship way.
I just but uh but trying to justjump in and make a difference,
and again, in a smaller,although we've we're growing,
(49:43):
still relatively speaking,smaller community.
I think you know, Boise, youknow, Nampa, Cowell, Meridian,
uh, this whole valley, just jumpin and and get engaged and make
a difference.
I worry a little bit sometimesabout the tech community.
Can how do we get them moreengaged because they're some of
the smartest people around?
And how do we get that youngergeneration feeling like, hey, I
(50:05):
can make a difference and it'sworth my time to do so?
And I've got a lot of otherthings on my plate from my
family to the business to theall the things that they're
doing.
But how do we just continue andencourage that kind of thing?
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (50:20):
Hey, well, uh I I love you, uh Skip.
You're you're one of a kind.
I I just look up to you in somany ways.
And um thank you for I mean, youare the example uh of this
community and and uh you andEsther, so thank you very much.
Well, thank you.
It's been a pleasure having youon.
SPEAKER_01 (50:37):
I appreciate it.
It's a two way street.
I have a huge amount of respectfor you.
So thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER_02 (50:41):
Thanks.
Thanks, everybody.
Today on the Ever Onward Podcast, we have a good
friend, an icon in Idaho, trulyone of the best human beings
I've ever known in my life.
I consider this guy a friend, amentor, a leader, Skip
Oppenheimer.
Skip is the chairman and CEO ofOppenheimer Companies.
He literally has led and is aleader of almost every effort
(00:21):
that's gone on in the state ofIdaho for years.
He's the current chair of theSt.
Luke's Health Plan.
He's the founding chair andboard member of the Idaho
Business for Education.
He's the president of the FrankChurch Institute at BSU.
He's a former uh member of theFederal Reserve Bank San
Francisco Board of Directors.
And again, uh just anunbelievable guy.
(00:43):
I can't wait to catch up withSkip and hear all about
everything he's got going on.
Uh Skip Oppenheimer.
Skip, thank you so much fordoing this.
We've been trying for a while toget you on.
It's an honor.
(01:04):
Absolute honor to have you on.
Uh can't wait to talk to you.
Um, we're just getting caught uphere a little bit.
You've been good?
SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
Yeah, everything's been good.
No complaints.
Health is good, the kids aregood, grandkids are good.
So, and Esther's doing a lot ofartwork and having having a good
time.
So nothing, nothing to complainabout.
SPEAKER_02 (01:24):
I was trying to think as I was getting ready for
this, the the first time I metyou.
It's a long time ago.
Skip, we're getting old.
That happens, right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:34):
Did you have to bring that up?
SPEAKER_02 (01:35):
I mean, that's a horrible place to start with a
friend, but but I just uh I Iyou know you think of Idaho, uh,
you know, for me, the last 25years and everything significant
I've ever been involved in ortried to do or whatever, it's
it's always revolved aroundsomething you're doing,
education, infrastructure, um,the community.
(01:57):
You name the nonprofit, uh,Skip.
You've you've then been there.
And then I've also like even uh,you know, we're we're in similar
businesses, you have the wholefood thing we'll get into, but
just development.
I just I think the world of youuh as a friend and mentor.
So thanks for coming on today.
And this will be fun.
SPEAKER_01 (02:12):
No, I appreciate it.
Well, it's a two-way street,Tommy.
And I you've done so much inover these years and made talk
about an impact.
You've done a huge amount.
Oh, we live in an incredibleplace.
SPEAKER_02 (02:23):
Um, I don't know that I've ever really heard a
lot of things we have a lot ofbusiness people listen to this,
but mostly um we try to inspirepeople to to be their best
selves, and and some of thatcomes through storytelling.
Um, and I don't know that I'veever kind of asked uh a lot of
your growing up story.
Can we just we start there?
SPEAKER_01 (02:41):
Sure.
Yeah.
So I was born here in Boise, anduh my dad was from New York
City, and my mother was fromBoise.
Her family was a very much of apioneer family.
Her great or her grandfather, mygreat-grandfather, my brother
Doug and I, great-grandfatherNathan Falk came here in the
(03:05):
1860s as a 15-year-old kid, andthis happened a lot around the
country, uh, ended up, I think,ultimately was trying to get to
California, but ended up in umIdaho City, where there were
really like 10,000 people.
It was a big mining city boom upthere, right?
In those days, now, as we allknow, ghost town.
(03:26):
But um they ended up justpeddling stuff, selling wares to
the miners.
And I guess turned out to beagain, 15-year-old kid, whose
brother had already arrived herewith 17, started selling stuff,
were pretty good at it,ultimately built a department
store in Boise, downtown at 8thand Maine, ultimately.
(03:48):
And uh as happened in a lot ofcities around the country, these
kind of independent departmentstores would would evolve and
and do well.
They ultimately ended up withfour or five department stores
in this general area.
What was the name of thedepartment store?
Fawkes, F-A-L-K-S.
And uh ultimately they soldthose in the 50s, but that was
(04:12):
kind of the genesis of mymother's family here.
My mother had moved to New Yorkbefore World War II to work.
Her older sister had moved toNew York City, met my dad at a
dinner party of some familyfriends, and uh I saw this
actually in her diary.
(04:33):
They only talked for like fiveor ten minutes, and it was
apparently a large dining roomtable, and he was at one end in
his uniform, and she was at theother end.
And uh she said in her diary, Ifinally met the man I want to
marry.
Wow.
But then they they saw eachother off and off for a few
years, and then ultimately gotserious, decided they were going
(04:53):
to get married, but then theWorld War II happened, she ended
up working and decided to jointhe Red Cross, ended up outside
of London at a rest home.
Our dad ended up in the OSSultimately in London, and uh
they ended up after the warcoming back and getting married
in New York City, and then hehad worked for Bloomingdales,
(05:16):
and he came out with my motherafter they got married to work
in the Fox department store.
So that's how the family gothere.
He became a huge lover of Boise,even though she he was born and
raised in New York City inManhattan.
So he ended up uh doing that,and when the stores were sold,
(05:38):
they ended up going around theworld, and that was a big deal
in those days for about fourmonths, and kind of left Doug
with our aunt in New York whenhe was like eight months old.
My mother used to say, you know,in the more modern times, she
probably would be arrested forchild neglect or something.
But she ended up leaving Dougwith our aunt, and he Doug
(05:59):
became very close to them, andwe ended up with our
grandparents here for fourmonths, and then dad got
ultimately into the the uh foodbusiness as a national broker
for various firms, and that'show the food side started.
I came back here in 72 and uhended up joining the business.
(06:24):
But as a child, uh we grew up inthe north end.
It's kind of idyllic, North 23rdbetween Brumbach and Eastman.
Wow, ended up having uh a greattime there, and other than three
years where we did move back toNew York after the stores were
sold, and my parents took thattrip, pretty much grew up here
through high school.
(06:44):
And it was great.
We had one of thoseneighborhoods where actually
Lisa Growe, who's the CEO of, asyou well know, of Ido Power, her
mother was the oldest kind ofteenage teenager in the
neighborhood, and she was thebabysitter, Barbara Ballard.
Wow.
Everybody thought, you know,Barbara Ballard was like the
(07:06):
greatest thing that ever anyeverybody had ever known in
their lives.
She babysat for everybody, andso Lisa's mother was our
babysitter.
Um, but anyway, it was a great,kind of a great way to grow up,
as as I think a lot of kids findstill here in Boise.
SPEAKER_02 (07:22):
What an incredible story.
So you've seen it change.
unknown (07:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:26):
You've watched it, you've been part of it, you've
built it, you've uh we'll getinto some of that.
But uh so the the food business,I don't know that a lot of
people know that part of whatyou that part of your empire.
And uh, and when you have likeyou have a lot going on here.
Yeah.
But talk about the food side ofit.
SPEAKER_01 (07:44):
Yeah, I would I don't think I I don't know if
I'd say it was an empire, butthe food side is um several
different aspects of the foodbusiness.
And again, Doug and I have beenpartners in that business for
probably over 50 years.
Um, it's now involved in four orfive different areas of the food
industry.
One is manufacturing.
(08:04):
We make frozen desserts at aplant we have in outside of
Dayton, Ohio, Troy, Ohio.
It's mostly store brandproducts.
So if you go to Albertsons orKroger or Fred Meyer, which is
part of Kroger, that store brandprobably would be us.
Uh we started with no customersand and over the years, was over
(08:25):
the last 25 years have been ableto build up that business.
We also have True Whip TRU,which is the only all-natural
whip topping that you'd see inthe stores.
The rest of the business doesn'thave much retail presence.
It's food service.
There's a food service buyinggroup that we started and owned
that supplies independent foodservice distributors with pretty
(08:46):
much anything a restaurant or aschool district or a hospital
would buy.
There are about 150 membersaround the country.
And we provide them not onlywith buying power and products
to compete with the largercorporate distributors, but we
also provide them with a lot ofservices to kind of be their
little back office corporatestuff.
So marketing support, they cansend their financials in and
(09:09):
model them against othernon-competing distributors, um,
incentive trips, training fortheir distributor sales reps and
their purchasing people, thatkind of thing.
And then uh we're in the potatobusiness, which is really where
it started with Dad, withproducts co-packed under a brand
that we own, Food Service,called Interstate.
(09:32):
Okay.
And then we have a logisticsdivision that's in trucking uh
to not only service our owndivisions, but also now more and
more third party.
SPEAKER_02 (09:42):
Hey, when your friends are the Simplots, that
may not sound like an empire toyou, but it's an empire.
unknown (09:46):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (09:47):
That's a big deal.
SPEAKER_01 (09:48):
Yeah, Simplot is an empire.
I would I would go along withthat part.
SPEAKER_02 (09:52):
That's that's great.
And so uh that's awesome.
And and uh talk a little bit.
I I I'm gonna go all over theplace with you.
I've been been waiting for this.
Uh talk about your relationshipwith Doug.
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
Yeah, Doug and I, you know, as I think we all
know, the brothers can be thatcan be a really good thing or
not a really good thing, andfamily businesses can be a good
thing or not really a goodthing.
We've just been very lucky.
Um Doug and I have always beenreally close.
We um are really best friendsoutside of the business.
We hang out together, we go onvacations with Mary and Esther
(10:27):
together.
So we've always just had areally good relationship.
He's he's just a great guy.
We we have somewhat differentstyles, but we really kind of
think alike.
I'm about to say something andhe'll say it, kind of kind of
thing.
And uh, you know, it's justadded a really another kind of
meaningful dimension to being inbusiness because if you're in
(10:50):
business with your brother andit does work, it just adds
another level of of kind ofmeaning and and enjoyment really
of the process.
He's as we all know, he's got anincredible sense of humor, so he
keeps it fun.
And uh so we just had a greattime.
It's been very uh we feel verygrateful for that.
SPEAKER_02 (11:08):
Do your strengths and weaknesses complement each
other?
And uh has that been a naturalfit or uh I think it really has
kind of a natural fit.
SPEAKER_01 (11:16):
It it uh again, we we have similar instincts,
similar values, similar ways ofapproaching things, but we also
approach them in different ways,and I think that's always
healthy.
And we, you know, we we like wedon't ever make a decision
really without talking to eachother and thinking it through.
(11:37):
And so it's kind of a nice thingbecause you don't have the
weight of the world on yourshoulders.
We don't we have an internalboard of the operating heads of
each division, and we look atthat as sort of a diversified
group to look at what we'redoing and help us kind of design
and create the strategy, but wedon't really have an outside
board, but we do have somesuccession going on, you know.
(11:59):
People who we've had the goodfortune also of just having a
lot of people who've been withus a long time, but some of them
are now retired.
So we've had uh the nextgeneration come along uh in the
company, and that's been good.
Doug and I have been, you know,working on our own succession
strategy, and uh, you know,somebody asked me once in a
(12:20):
talk, you know, what is yoursuccession strategy?
This was quite a few years ago.
So our first choice is don'tdie.
Since that looks less and lesslikely, we ended up uh, you
know, Andrew, who's Doug's oneof Doug's So that looks less and
less likely.
Doug's uh one of Doug's kids,Andrew's in the business and
(12:42):
been with us for like six, sevenyears, done a great job.
And then Matt, our youngest son,has had a quite successful
career in the in the businessworld on his own, and he's look
very interested in also gettinginvolved around what he's doing
now.
So the idea is that Matt couldbecome potentially kind of the
chairman, and Andrew could behopefully the the senior level
(13:04):
on in the business executive,and they get along real well
too, which is a lucky thing.
So we've been meeting quarterly,kind of working through all of
that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
As you said that, I was just thinking of a funny
story.
I I I I hadn't ever been askedthat before, but I was recently
by a by an employee that's nolonger here, by the way.
It's kind of funny and wasn'trelated to this, but after I got
to know this person, I'm youknow, one day we're sitting
there talking and and and shelooked at me and said, Um,
what's your succession plan?
And I honestly I I I I said,What are you talking about?
(13:36):
I mean, it's just like it I'venever been caught so flat footed
in my life.
Like, oh and uh anyway, uh yeah,I like I like your response.
Well, first don't I?
Um that's great.
Um well I I've I've reallyenjoyed watching the two of you
um as I've been in your officesand uh I think of your office
and all the pictures you haveand the history, and it's it's
(13:59):
rich.
Way too rich for a podcast likethis.
We're not gonna get into it, buttalk a little bit about the
development now, because that'salso how I know you.
Uh you've been very involved indowntown and everywhere else.
And and talk talk through theevolution of downtown Boise and
your part you played in that.
SPEAKER_01 (14:14):
Yeah, well, that's been quite a, as we all know,
quite an evolution.
The the real estate side, thefood business is a national
firm, really kind of NorthAmerican, including Canada.
The real estate we've kind ofdone selectively is much around,
pretty much around southernIdaho.
And and certainly in Boise.
(14:36):
We when I first moved back herein the early 70s, Boise's
downtown was this kind ofbombed-out pit, so to speak.
There were, you know, the famousarticle that I can't remember if
it was the Atlantic or Harper'sthat said boy on the cover,
Boise, the city that destroyeditself, or something like that.
Um there Mountain, then MountainBell was really interested in
(15:00):
trying to help revitalizedowntown.
And a guy named Chuck Hall wasthe head of the Idaho Mountain
Bell uh division, and a great,really great guy, very civic
minded.
And they were interested indoing a building.
So the first one we got involvedin was doing that, and we we had
(15:22):
I had worked for three months inbetween business school years at
Citibank and knew enough to bejust probably really dangerous.
There was another guy, a fellowwho recently, in the last year
or so, passed away, JohnRunstead, who had just moved
back to Seattle and was workingfor Howard S.
Wright Construction, and theywere in Student Boise.
(15:45):
We all met, and he was, I couldtell, a lot more knowledgeable
than I was.
He'd worked for Kaba CabinForbes for five years, and
that'd be my three months atCitibank.
And I as I recall my assignmentduring the three months at
Citibank, it was to study theREIT market, the real estate
investment trust market.
Yeah.
(16:05):
And I think what I'm prettypositive my recommendation was
to go deeper into the REITmarket, which turned out to be
about four months before thecomplete collapse of the REIT
market.
But they actually offered me ajob for some reason.
But I decided to come out here.
And uh so, John, we formed a50-50 joint venture, and um we
(16:29):
went ahead with the project withMountain Bell as a major tenant.
They took about 100,000 squarefeet, and uh we ended up
building the building, and as wewere just getting it started,
Simplot, whose headquarters inthose days was where Fork is in
that building.
And Jack and Scott and and thewhole group was interested in
(16:50):
being part of this as a place tomove their headquarters because
their current building was partof that urban renewal area and
was going to be uh bought by theurban renewal district.
So they came in as a partner,and and we're all still
partners, we've been partnersfor 52 years, I think.
And they've been literally notexaggerating, just a wonderful
(17:12):
partners.
Everybody's contributed ideasand through all these years
together.
So um that was the first projectin the downtown for of for the
urban renewal project.
And I remember standing on theflatbelt on 9th Street at the
groundbreaking, looking around,and behind me was this
completely leveled four-blockarea, which is now where the
(17:33):
convention center, Wells Fargo,US Bank is, and of course, your
big piece of that, and uhClearwater and that that whole
project.
And uh just thinking to myself,uh God, I hope we know what
we're doing.
But we ended up doing that, andthen it really went from there.
But our focus has been primarilydowntowns, yeah.
(17:56):
And we did Wells Fargo here, wedid some work for first security
over the years, and including aremodel of that building that's
now the Mountain West Bank.
Then recently we did the Arthur,which is named after our dad
apartment and moved into more ofthe multifamily area, uh, and
did some projects in other likein Caldwell working.
SPEAKER_02 (18:17):
Yeah, big big project in Caldwell, uh Idol
Falls, the building there isbeautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (18:21):
Yeah.
And pretty much public-private.
We like working with the citieswe're involved with.
We're doing a project up in uhSun Valley that's a fairly
good-sized residential projectbetween Bellevue and Haley on
the east side of 75.
So, but a lot of our focus hasbeen on downtown, so we like
that.
SPEAKER_02 (18:42):
Um, I do.
So before we before we go on, II think uh we're doing some work
in Reno, downtown Reno now.
So we've brought some of thosefolks over and for visits and
put them up and kind of andSkip, you get pretty nostalgic.
You think about 20 even so weentered the stage 25 20 years
ago, right?
But even in the last 20 years,what's happened, but before that
(19:04):
was the real significant change.
But I'm just so proud of walk.
I mean, you walk around, you goto dinner down there, you you
walk those streets.
Uh just this uh they had um Iwent and gave a talk uh this
week for Greenville, SouthCarolina, had a whole
contingency in town, and I wentand talked to talked to them.
And it it just you look around,but it it's it was the community
really with a vision comingtogether.
(19:25):
And then I was gonna bring thisup.
Uh Dirk Kim Thorn, we had alittle dinner for him a couple
weeks ago.
Um, and and uh he was veryinvolved.
He tells a story of sitting onan on a uh telephone pole that
was down, and he was sitting onit with Chuck Winter, and they
were looking around at they callit Little Beirut or something is
what they called it.
Yeah, it was not, you know, wewe've had some good fortune, but
(19:48):
we've had some really goodvision and leadership from both
civic leaders and entrepreneurslike yourself that took a chance
on Boise.
SPEAKER_01 (19:54):
Yeah, no question about it.
And Dirk was very instrumentalwhen he was mayor of kind of
bringing the people together andfinally where the mall was going
to be got decided, and then hiskind of bringing people together
around a vision.
Another unsung hero, I think, isPete O'Neill, passed away
several years ago.
And Pete was a good friend ofmine and somebody I have a lot
(20:15):
of respect for and learned a lotfrom, but he was the chairman of
the redevelopment agencies, youknow, and and uh we were about
to start Wells Fargo Center andthen was called First Interstate
Center, and he came in with BobLowry.
Bob was had been the the managerof Bogus Basin and Pete had
worked with him.
(20:36):
Bob didn't know anything aboutreal estate, but Bob was one of
those bigger than life, we canget things done kind of person.
So Pete brought him in asexecutive director of the
redevelopment agency.
They came by the office one dayand said, you know, we got to
talk.
So we got he's they said we gotsome good news, we got some bad
news.
What do you want to hear first?
I said the bad news.
So the bad news is we've got aabout nine months of work that's
(21:01):
gonna slow your project downnine months.
And uh, but do you want to hearthe good news?
And I said, Well, no, not notreally, because the bad news is
gonna kill any good news.
Doesn't matter what you say.
Because first interstate wasthen in the what is now the key
bank building, and theirlandlord, who's out of San
Francisco, has made it clearthat they won't extend the
(21:23):
lease, and we have to get itdone, you know, way before the
nine more months.
So Pete said, Well, let's JimKern was the president, Dave
Edson was the executive vicepresident, Dave's now back here.
And uh and has a daughter who'sgot that LED dance, yeah, which
is really quite quite something.
(21:44):
We went over and talked to Jim.
We went to San Francisco, wetalked to the landlord.
Turned out the landlord said,actually, I don't have any other
prospects, so we can I was beinga little, it was kind of
bluster.
And so we were able to postponeit.
And then, but Pete and Bobreally, and the agency then, but
under their leadership, createdthe whole master plan.
(22:05):
They brought in Rudat, theybrought in the AIA, American
Institute of Architects, theybrought in Zimmer Gonzel Fraska,
kind of laid out the whole eightblocks.
Yeah.
And the the good news that theyemphasized was, you know, if we
can get through this, we willhave some downtown that
everybody will be enormouslyproud of, and it'll be so much
(22:27):
better for you and anybody elsethat does anything downtown.
But he was a visionary thatreally saw that.
It was.
I you know a lot to do with it.
SPEAKER_02 (22:34):
I I've never talked about this actually publicly,
but um, one of my most cherishedlunch meetings that I'll
remember my whole life was I methim down at Spurwing Country
Club, Pete, and what wassupposed to be an hour-long
lunch uh turned into two and ahalf hours, and I just sat
there, just me and him, and I II just kept asking question
(22:55):
after question and story afterstory.
It was it was just incredible.
He he was such a uh dynamic butkind, just a one one of a kind.
SPEAKER_01 (23:06):
No, I agree.
He was a big mentor to me andand good friend, as I said.
But he, you know, there's a lotof those kind of people that you
you don't really hear that muchabout that had such a profound
it's because they're so humble.
SPEAKER_02 (23:20):
I mean, just humbly led and just got it done.
And I I I was sitting there withhim watching like, you need to
write a book.
And you were like in the middleof all this, but hey, I I do
want to spend a little time.
I've it's been really fun towatch um just because the times
were in the Arthur.
Uh so talk a little bit aboutthe name and then the project.
It's absolutely gorgeous.
Um, Skip.
It's it's unbelievable indowntown Boise, and you guys are
(23:43):
exceeding all expectations, andit it's uh we were ripe and
ready for it, and it tooksomeone like you to pull it off.
But talk about that, the thebeautiful Arthur downtown.
SPEAKER_01 (23:52):
Well, thank you.
Yeah, it's been a that was agreat process.
We ended up, you know, thinkingthat one of the things that
maybe there was a need for waskind of a somewhat of a next
level of of quality and designand scale for multifamily.
And uh we had kind of looked atdifferent options.
(24:14):
One was for condos, but condoswere a little hard to finance in
the at the time we were lookingat it because of some of the
legal challenges that sometimeswe're we're being landlords were
being faced with.
But we ended up uh uh meetingthrough a uh mutual friend, the
(24:35):
Weiss family and the Ponskyfamily who were out of
Cleveland.
And Maury Weiss was the still isthe chairman of American
Greeting Cards.
He and the Ponsky family havebeen friends forever.
They had developed some reallywe went, Doug and I and Jeremy
Malone and had looked at a bunchof their projects, really liked
(24:58):
the projects, and so they wereinterested in expanding outside
and and diversifying outside ofthose markets, which was
primarily Cleveland and Chicago.
And it was a good cultural fit.
We've had knock on wood, goodluck with partnerships, and uh a
lot of these partnerships we'vehad gone on for, like I
(25:19):
mentioned, one cap was 50 years.
We have uh Dwayne Stickle andand the Drown family.
We've got Overland Park withthem for over, I think, close to
50 years.
Um we've we've had really we hadSafeco as a partner in Wells
Fargo for 25 years until theygot out of the real estate
equity side of the business andultimately sold the company.
(25:40):
But um we just felt like thesefolks would be really good for
Boise, really good partners.
So we ended up doing this withthem, and uh they've been
tremendous to work with.
And they brought in powerconstruction and SCB architects,
(26:01):
both of whom are large firms outof Chicago.
Well, you wonder how's thatgonna play in Boise, Idaho?
But we met them and we reallyfelt like they could fit in
really well, and as you knowbetter than anybody, you know,
85-90% of the work is done bylocal subs, so they got to get
along.
We kind of brought powertogether with McElvain, who we'd
(26:21):
done a lot with and think theworld of.
And uh, so they seemed to justmesh with the local
subcommunity.
And now, like seems to alwayshappen these days in Boise.
Out of the six people that movedhere full-time for the job, I
think four of them really don'twant to leave.
SPEAKER_02 (26:41):
They they stick.
Yeah, and and you named it afteryour father, I think.
SPEAKER_01 (26:45):
Named it after our dad.
We just thought it would be anice thing to do.
And dad was always a hugesupporter of downtown and Boise
and a huge supporter of Boise,period.
So we we went through, you know,the marketing firm and the
branding firm, and the and we wesort of started out with the
idea of Arthur, but then wetested it with our partners and
(27:07):
did all those kind of market,you know, process kind of
things.
And uh we ended up coming backas a group with the Arthur being
the name, or Arthur being thename.
So we think dad would be wouldbe happy, and we think dad would
be even happier when we get itall leased up.
SPEAKER_02 (27:28):
Well, it's it's uh it's amazing.
Uh, I'm just so happy for youguys, just so pleased, and it
it's beautiful.
Beautiful.
I have so many things to talk toyou about.
I I think of uh you and foreveryone listening to this
today.
I mean, we just spent howeverlong talking to literally one of
the pillars of the businesscommunity on food services and
(27:49):
this whole thing and thendevelopment.
But but Skip, you're reallyknown for being the guy that
that makes it all happen in thein the nonprofit world on things
that really matter.
So a couple of them that uh thatare near and dear to me too.
Healthcare and education.
We just spent a little bit oftime on those.
Uh you have been part of the St.
(28:10):
Luke's Health System Boardforever.
You're current current chair,right?
SPEAKER_01 (28:12):
Current chair of the health now the health plan.
Right?
SPEAKER_02 (28:16):
The new health plan.
But just in the interest oftime, I mean, it I I think, man,
Skip, I I I'm worried.
I just think of, you know, I wasI I figured think of when I
graduated from medical school,what I learned in medical
school, residency, you know,came here in the 90s, and how
(28:36):
healthcare has just been turnedon its head.
I think of really well-intended,smart people trying to guide
this thing throughout the years,and you always just wanting to
say, yeah, that's gonna work.
That's gonna work.
That's a great idea, that'sgonna work.
And now I look back as I getolder and I'm like, boy, this is
(28:57):
tough.
Um, this is tough.
And I and I and so I w I wonder,I can't wait to ask you the
future of just healthcare inthis country and what we're up
against and and uh the cost.
Uh the real the real explosionin cost, uh, we saw it happening
right before our eyes, but therewas a time, you know, in the old
(29:18):
Dahlberg days, and and you know,you think of um uh medicine was
super entrepreneurial when Iwent into it and came out.
It just was.
I mean, I became an ER doc,which was tied to the hospital,
but you had a bunch of smallbusiness owners essentially that
were very passionate aboutpatients and care, and they were
their patients.
I think of J.W.
Smith, like one of the stories Ilove telling, because I had the
(29:40):
I had the privilege as an ER docfor whatever reason at the
night, uh Catherine Albertsonwould come into the ER at
nighttime, and I I took care ofher so many times.
And and J uh uh uh Dr.
Smith was a cardiologist, but hewas her primary care doctor.
And I like telling the storybecause it wouldn't matter what
time of night it was.
I would call.
(30:00):
And it wasn't just because itwas her, because he did this
with every patient he had.
It wouldn't matter.
But he would be there likewithin 10 minutes.
He lived by the hospital.
And you had this caring, loving,and I love telling the story
because that was healthcarethen.
Whether it was Catherine oranybody else, he was there
caring for him.
And I'll see you tomorrow in myoffice.
And I I like telling that storybecause of the stark contrast.
(30:21):
So you had largelyentrepreneurial people that love
people and love patients andwere very connected to their
patients.
And you look at that now thenand compare it to healthcare in
the world today, they do notlook sound, feel anything like
they used to.
Um, and man, I'm I worry aboutit.
(30:43):
I don't I don't know.
And the cost of it, uh, youknow, you just think about the
whole thing.
Where do we where does it gofrom here?
SPEAKER_01 (30:50):
Yeah.
Well, again, I think you'd beI'd like to hear more of your
answer because you're much moreof an expert than I am and have
been in it at a profoundlydifferent level.
But I mean, I I think, you know,on one level, when I think about
health care, and I lookedinitially, let's say, just in
(31:12):
this valley, we're, you know,very lucky, I think, to have the
two, you know, particularly withthe two major hospital systems,
uh St.
Luke's and St.
Als, just the quality of care,the quality of physicians, the
on most every metric, it's it'suh the quality level the is is
(31:34):
really high on an and and reallycompare comparable to national
well-recognized names in thehealth system world.
So we're we're lucky on thatlevel.
But to your point, I I feel thesame way you do.
It's on on both the kind of carein terms of that personal
(31:57):
attention that's delivered, it'sjust not what it used to be.
And I Jim and Mary Smith arealso really good friends of
ours, and you know, he's awonderful example of that.
I think it's uh it's verydifferent.
I think the the basic questionis just sustainability.
The only thing more and morepeople seem to agree on is in
(32:19):
the US that the system is broke.
And so the question is where toyour question really, how where
does it go from here?
You know, this whole idea ofoutcomes-based medicine, you
know, getting paid based onquality, based on outcomes
versus based on how many thatwhat the volume of care is, how
(32:41):
many back surgeries I do, or howmany whatever.
I think there is going to bemore and more direction and
trend in in the outcomes-basedand population health, where
your healthcare systems areresponsible for a population's
health, and it and and thereimbursement's gonna be how
well they maintain that healthcare and the and the health of
(33:03):
that population that they serve.
But I think it's gonna it'sgonna take more than even that.
I I think, I mean, I look atjust what you said, the cost of
care is unsustainable, what'sgone up over 50 percent in the
last 10 years.
The the whole uh quality for thekind of investment that's made
is is not sustainable.
(33:24):
It's not what it should be.
So I think we're gonna have tosee some pretty radical change
at some point.
SPEAKER_02 (33:30):
Yeah, I don't I don't pretend to have any
answers.
I really don't, but I I willtell you a couple of pivotal
moments for me.
Um I think about fundamentally,you know, uh insurance was
created, and it would it's beena great thing to have insurance
for people.
But you think of how theinsurance market has made things
(33:52):
happen.
I think about big legislation, Ithink about like Obamacare.
I remember the night it passedbecause I was working a shift
and when you know Bidenwhispered in Obama's ears, it's
a big F and ill.
And and I don't know that itwent far enough.
I mean, you you could think ofbecause I you could just say,
okay, now there's more federalinvolvement, but probably that's
(34:15):
not always a good thing if it ifthey're not listening to
industry.
Um so I look at you know PBMsand big pharmaceutical companies
and just the way business tookover medicine.
And, you know, I don't I don'tI'm not one of those guys that
believes that there was somegrand scheme, that there were
bad people that were trying totake advantage of the American
(34:35):
people.
And I don't think that, but Ithink that corporations and
money and layers of bureaucracycertainly make things fatter,
and uh so I don't know.
And and then and then you getdown, I do go back, and I and I
and I talk about this a lotbecause I love the guy, but I go
back to Mitt Romney's plan.
You know, you I I still keep acopy of that if he would have
won his first hundred days, andyou go back and read what he
(34:58):
would have done with healthcare,and you know, I don't think
you'd ever turn back that clockbecause now you got years and
years of of what we've done.
And then and then the last thingI'll hit on, and again, I have
no answers, is the wholevalue-based care thing all
sounded great, right?
It sounded and it still soundsokay to me, but I think now
(35:18):
you're in it and you're in themiddle of it, and it's just not
happening, and you're a decadeinto it, and you're like, it's
not bringing down costs.
And so to me, is it it do wejust keep switching the way we
reimburse?
Um and uh I just don't know.
I but but it's it's a it it'sgonna be the problem of our
time.
I know that.
SPEAKER_01 (35:39):
No question about it.
And you know, again, locally,how do how do you attract and
retain physicians in this state?
I mean, that's fundamental toeverything.
And I think, you know, with someof the legislation and you know,
do I really want to practice inIdaho if I'm an OBGYN?
SPEAKER_02 (35:56):
Look at OBGN's fleeing right and left.
I the other thing is you talk, Ithis comes up, but like you take
uh Dr.
Smith or family practice docfrom 20 years ago and what they
would do, and and now you know,the connection of doctors to
patients and their productivityper patient.
And I mean you start thinkingabout all of the things and how
do we even attract them and andthe debt they're coming out of
(36:19):
school with, and and it there'sjust if you look for what are
all the challenges, Skip, therethere's no short that it's
they're everywhere.
Yeah, and you're just sayingthere's just a lot of so
hopefully we get leadershipsomewhere from someone that
says, hey, we're gonna try towe're gonna try to fix this.
SPEAKER_01 (36:35):
Well, and I think that's what it's gonna take
somebody with a lot of courageand with with the sort of
political leadership skills tokind of get people together
because it's it's it's it's notsustainable the way it is.
And somebody like you know, likethe the Romney plan, something
that has sort of an appeal, andthen enough people gathered
(37:00):
around that to kind of move thekind of the the the play the the
uh pieces on the on the puzzleto fundamentally change our
approach.
I think it's gonna take prettyfundamental change because as
you say, it's it's not workingthe way it is, and it's gonna
take some pretty fundamentalchanges.
SPEAKER_02 (37:21):
I I will I want to go back to something very
positive because with all thatsaid, um I think of our health
systems, the people that runthem, the way they run them, the
way they care, the way I meanyou look at our we're we're
we're blessed beyond measure,and you only need to have what
I've had in the last few years,you know, go need some of this
(37:42):
care.
We have world-class care, thebest of the best, and and and
you, and you're just sograteful.
Um I'm I'm getting old enoughnow, and it's funny because back
when I used to go in the ER andhave a problem going to the
hospital, everyone still knewwho I was, and now they don't
have any idea.
Uh so so I I'm I'm now a trueconsumer.
Before I was kind of a uh, youknow, I had I was there with,
(38:04):
but but it's it's uh I'm justthankful we have that.
And and and so it's not theproviders.
Another thing I was gonna askyou is I I I now go to lunch
with some of my old partners,and just the I think COVID uh
changed a lot of things, butjust the it it it fatigued our
providers at every level somuch.
So you've got all these triplewhammies of how people were
(38:26):
treated, and just you know, theperception of doctors is not, I
mean, you used to be, hey, I'drather be a developer now,
right?
SPEAKER_01 (38:34):
Yeah, I I hear you.
No, but I think you're you'reonto something important.
I think when you look at thepeople that are in a lot of the
leadership positions, even herespecifically here locally, um,
the Chris Ross and the peoplethat are leading these
organizations, I mean,everybody's trying to do the
right thing.
Yeah.
And people are truly committedto trying to make this better.
(38:59):
And I think that alone is kindof fundamental to any kind of
change.
And the providers, I mean, wehave some of the best
physicians, as you know, betterthan anybody in the world,
really, and in a lot of casesright here in the Treasure
Valley, because everybody livesliving in the Treasure Valley
that's here, and that bodeswell.
(39:21):
And I think that's truenationally.
I mean, we have amazinglytalented physicians, amazingly
talented administrators.
It's just they're caught up in asystem that's not working, and
that it's gonna take somebody tobreak that open.
But we got the fund if we didn'thave the fundamentals right,
then the right people in theright seats, so to speak, then
it would be a lot even evenharder.
SPEAKER_02 (39:41):
Yeah, and I'll always bet on America.
We'll figure this out, but uhboy, we uh anyway.
I listen, before we leave this,Skip, I I thank you for really a
lifelong commitment to beingpart of healthcare solutions.
I mean, it's been part of yourlegacy.
You've been there leading,guiding, directing passionately.
(40:01):
It's a big deal, it's a big partof your uh of who you are.
SPEAKER_01 (40:04):
Well, I've been lucky to have the opportunity
really to be involved.
And I the people like we werejust talking about the the
institutions, the impact oneverybody.
Yeah.
Everybody, as you know, I mean,that are on these boards too, be
beyond the providers, beyond thethe staff, beyond the
administration of these systemsand these healthcare providers,
(40:27):
it's it's amazing thecommitment, like the it's a
different level of commitment, Ithink, on these healthcare
boards because it affectseverybody.
It it affects me, it affects myfriends, my family, everybody.
And I think there's just apassion for that work that is
pretty impressive.
SPEAKER_02 (40:46):
I would the other way I'd say it is it it takes
the supreme meaning of the wordneighbor, right?
You're well said, you're theneighbor that also has the
privilege, honor, burden, maybeeven of saying, hey, I'm gonna,
I'm I'm gonna go try to fix theand then you know, St.
Luke's community-owned board.
(41:06):
I mean, you're you're theneighbor there representing the
community on all things frombirth to cancer to you know,
hospital.
I mean, it it it runs the wholegamut.
SPEAKER_01 (41:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (41:17):
And and in and in in in your neighbor's time of
greatness need, that's wherewe're going.
SPEAKER_01 (41:22):
Yeah.
No, and I think, you know, justspeaking to St.
Luke's, which is what I'm mostfamiliar with, I mean, they're
big and and people see them as abig organization, they're the
largest non-governmentalemployer.
But but as systems go, they'renot that big.
(41:42):
And when you look around thecountry, they're still they're
big enough to do reallyimportant work, but they're not
so big that they're just acomplete bureaucracy.
Now, that doesn't, you know,explain away every healthcare
system's problem of how do youget in to see a doc, how do you
get more physicians, how do youget the best customer service
(42:03):
you can find.
You know, those are all thingseverybody's working on.
But it's still a scale that'smanageable.
Yeah.
And I think that also bodeswell.
It's not and and again, everypenny that's generated goes back
into the community.
SPEAKER_02 (42:18):
Yeah.
Every time we talk about St.
Luke's, I get I get prettynostalgic pretty quick because
for me, I mean, you remember theold ER before the remodel, just
that you had those two hallwaysand you had Ed Dahlberg and Gary
Fletcher.
I'm telling you, Skip, at leastonce a week, sometimes two times
(42:38):
a week, they would come down andplop down in a chair with me,
sit and just chat, chit, chat.
They knew the name of my kids,they knew when their birthdays
were.
It was it was the most friend.
I mean, I just loved those guys.
Yeah.
I loved and and and so some ofit is as things get big and
times change, you know, webecome the old guys sitting on
(42:59):
our lawn chair in our front yardwith our grand Torino and
saying, Man, I miss the olddays.
SPEAKER_01 (43:04):
But um well, they've had great leadership.
Yeah.
I mean, when you think about howmany organizations anywhere of
any kind, you know, have hadbasically in the last 90 years
four CEOs.
Gil Gilbertson was a fabulous,kind of iconic figure, the head
of the American HospitalAssociation.
Then you had uh Ed Albert for 20plus years, who was an amazing
(43:26):
leader and the right person atthe right time who sort of
created the vision of thehospital system for St.
Luke's.
And then David Pate came in, whowas a visionary genius and kind
of helped take that platformthat Ed and Gil had put together
and take it to a whole notherlevel.
And now Chris, who kind ofconnects really well with
(43:48):
everybody, pulling people backinto feeling like we're all in
this together.
So it's been amazing leadership.
SPEAKER_02 (43:54):
Great, great people, great human beings, great
neighbors.
Um, can we switch to education?
This is going by way too fast.
So I want to make sure we hit atleast education.
Uh another thing for you, uhSkip, you start Idaho Business
for Education.
You've been involved in everyway and kind of every major
education initiative.
Uh, it's your passion.
Um huge successes over theyears.
(44:16):
How are you feeling about Idahoand education and commitment
right now?
SPEAKER_01 (44:20):
Well, I'm I'm I'm feeling concerned just when I
look at just all the things weall try to think are important,
I think, which is you know thereading, literacy, a lot of
things the governor hasmentioned about that literacy
reading.
(44:40):
I think that's something that weneed to continue.
And it is improving.
So we're making, I think, someprogress.
Uh, the go-on rate, and thego-on rate doesn't have to be a
four-year university, it can beCollege of Western Idaho,
College of Eastern Idaho,College of Northern.
It can be um, you know, atwo-year associate degree, it
(45:02):
can be getting a certificate andbeing a great, you know,
plumber, electrician, uh,welder.
I mean, there's all kinds ofopportunity, but you got to go
on to something beyond highschool often.
And I worry still about, I thinkwe all do, about the go-on rate
in the state.
Yeah.
Um, but I'm optimistic we'llcontinue to work that and figure
(45:25):
it out.
I think the business communityhas really taken a role through
IBE and other organizations totry to influence the quality of
education and support, not justhere's the problem, but how do
we help?
And I think that'll continue tohopefully bear fruit.
Um, but it's it's the totalcliche, but it is the future.
(45:50):
And if we don't get that right,good luck for the future of the
state and and beyond.
I think early childhoodeducation is really important.
Everything you ever see or readthose first five years, or 80%
of brain development.
And how do we continue to givekids an opportunity in those
early years to really maximizetheir potential?
(46:12):
Because everything sort ofpoints to if you don't get that
right, it's it you don't oftenkids just don't catch up.
So I think we got a lot ofopportunity.
Launch, big deal.
Launch is a very big deal, andthat's been a big success.
I mean, that has worked verywell.
And that's the kind ofinitiatives we just all need to
get behind.
unknown (46:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (46:33):
Well, I uh I really appreciate those efforts because
I think, you know, uh you'vebeen at it for decades,
literally.
And and and sometimes it takesthat steady, constant leadership
from business community to kindof help, as you know, you think
of how many state schoolsuperintendents and governors
(46:55):
and legislators and you knowpeople come and go, but you've
been there that steady hand.
And I I think it's with yourwhole leadership team, it's it's
it's been really significant,uh, Skip.
So I know you get told this allthe time, but it means a lot to
to have leaders like you asexamples and mentors uh going
through this.
SPEAKER_01 (47:13):
Well, I appreciate that.
I you know, there's been a lotof people, including you, who
who have been really vitallyinvolved in this whole education
thing.
And IBE originated, actually,back to Dirk Kimpthorne.
He was thinking about forming anadvisory group, and and he and I
talked, and you know, the theproblem with that was just to
(47:36):
your point, this isn't gonna bean overnight thing.
This is gonna take years.
And if you have an advisorygroup for one governor, then
they're gone when the governor'sgone.
And we kind of talked aboutwould it be better to set up
something that would besustainable independent of any
one governor?
And so, and then the AlbertsonFoundation felt that was a
really good idea, and they werevery encouraging and supported
(48:00):
it.
We met there, we we've initiallygot the thing started there, and
then when um Rich was in, andthen and then particularly then
Butch really picked up the ballon the importance of this and
really supported how businesscan be helpful.
And it's just been a continuumfrom there.
(48:21):
So it's incredible.
SPEAKER_02 (48:23):
Well, I know you have a a wedding at your house
tonight, and we've gone almostan hour.
So uh I do will you take thelast word?
Any advice you'd give youngbusiness?
We have a lot of business folksthat listen to this that are in
the state that uh what whatadvice or uh counsel would you
give us?
SPEAKER_01 (48:40):
Yeah.
Well, and I think you've walkedthis talk as much as anybody I
know, Tommy, but I think justthe idea of uh, and I hope this
continues, it it's kind of apart of the secret sauce, I
think, of this state and manystates, but certainly Idaho and
and this valley.
And that's just to get involved.
(49:00):
I I think there's somethingspecial about the way people get
engaged here, as you well know.
I mean, you talk to new peoplewho move here and they go, God,
it's so welcoming.
I mean, people want me involved.
You don't have to live here for,you know, 85 years, you know,
your family or something.
And I think that engagement andjust getting involved, I
(49:21):
personally have, you know,again, kind of a cliche, but
I've learned so much from beinginvolved, much more than I think
I've probably ever contributed,and met people, gotten, you
know, to know them in a you knowgood personal friendship way.
I just but uh but trying to justjump in and make a difference,
and again, in a smaller,although we've we're growing,
(49:43):
still relatively speaking,smaller community.
I think you know, Boise, youknow, Nampa, Cowell, Meridian,
uh, this whole valley, just jumpin and and get engaged and make
a difference.
I worry a little bit sometimesabout the tech community.
Can how do we get them moreengaged because they're some of
the smartest people around?
And how do we get that youngergeneration feeling like, hey, I
(50:05):
can make a difference and it'sworth my time to do so?
And I've got a lot of otherthings on my plate from my
family to the business to theall the things that they're
doing.
But how do we just continue andencourage that kind of thing?
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (50:20):
Hey, well, uh I I love you, uh Skip.
You're you're one of a kind.
I I just look up to you in somany ways.
And um thank you for I mean, youare the example uh of this
community and and uh you andEsther, so thank you very much.
Well, thank you.
It's been a pleasure having youon.
SPEAKER_01 (50:37):
I appreciate it.
It's a two way street.
I have a huge amount of respectfor you.
So thanks for having me on.
SPEAKER_02 (50:41):
Thanks.
Thanks, everybody.
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