Bob Willis, a resident of Two Harbors, was recently hired to fill a new position at Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center as the human resources director. A longtime visitor and fan of Cook County with his wife, Marilynn, Willis was more than happy to be offered the position. He comes to the job with a lot of experience, enthusiasm, and optimism.
Robert “Bob” Willis, a native of Boston, was recently hired as Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center’s first ever Human Resources director. Willis began work on Monday, January 18.
When asked how he matriculated to Minnesota, Willis, who still retains some of that native Bostonian accent, laughed and said, “Well, I met my wife, Marilynn when I was serving in the military. She’s from Silver Bay. After we got married I took her to Boston and she said there was no way she was going to live there, so we moved to Minnesota and I began going to college at UMD on the G.I. Bill.”
Willis graduated UMD with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration and concentration in human resources management. From 1989 to 1997 he was director of human resources and industrial relations for Oglebay Norton Taconite Company in Eveleth. During that time he started and completed a Masters in human resource management at St. Scholastica.
Next he worked two years in Sauk Rapids for Bauerly Companies before spending seven years in Baudette as human resources manager for Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. He spent one year in Grinnell, Iowa as manager for safety and human resources then two years in his wife’s hometown of Silver Bay doing similar work for Northshore Mining. From 2010 to 2014 he was at Essentia Health in Duluth, employed as the employee and labor relations specialist. The last two years he has been owner of Situational Solutions Management Consulting.
When asked what was appealing about his move to Cook County, Willis replied, “Everything. My wife and I spend summers up here at the campground. We never tire of the shops and restaurants. As for me, I love to fish and hunt, rifle and bow. I also like to ice fish. Ice fishing is one of my great hobbies. I also carve wood. I think I converted well to a Minnesotan.”
Willis said he is looking forward to working with the staff. “Because this is a smaller organization you get to know people on a first name basis, you get to be close to everyone, it’s not like a giant corporation where you don’t get to know the employees. Here you get to know them and have a deep appreciation for what they do.”
Bob and Marilynn are empty nesters; their son and daughter are grown and have moved away. “We built a new house in Two Harbors seven years ago. For now I am going to commute to work. There is no prettier drive than the North Shore. While I was in Atlanta for work I picked up a travel magazine and in it was an article about the scenic North Shore drive from Duluth to the Canadian border. It talked about how beautiful the drive was, I couldn’t agree more.”
On one of the couple’s vacations Willis said, “We were 1,000 miles from here when we spotted a Sven & Ole’s bumper sticker on a vehicle. It made us feel like home.”
When he was in the military in Korea, Willis learned Tang-Soo-Do, eventually earning a Master Level in the martial art, which is close to Taekwondo, “but broader in its nature and scope,” he said, adding he spent nearly a quarter century as a Tang-Soo-Do instructor.
“I have a lot of good memories from teaching Tang-Soo-Do. What I liked about it is I could help people to be the best they could be. I really enjoyed helping people reach their full potential.”
That is a goal Willis has for staff at the care center and hospital. With more than 20 years designing, planning and building human resource programs, managing labor and employee relations as well as setting up and implementing training and development and safety and loss control programs and total quality management systems, Willis feels well poised to take on the duties and responsibilities of his job.
“Although I am brand new to the hospital, the people I have met have been very friendly, kind and caring. Because this is a new position we will find our way together as a team. Kimber Wraalstad [hospital director] is our leader and we will follow her direction, her vision. This organization is already a success, I will try to fit in and work to make it even better.”
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