Roger Warehime honored with posthumous award at Minnesota utilities conference

It’s been over four months since the death of Roger Warehime shocked the Owatonna community, but the celebrated utility man is still earning accolades from his peers.

In recognition of his contributions, the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association introduced the Roger Warehime Leadership Award during its recent summer conference. MMUA named Warehime himself the inaugural recipient. The award will recognize utility professionals who exhibit the high standard of leadership Warehime was known for.

Warehime worked at Owatonna Public Utilities for more than 20 years, serving as general manager from 2018 until his unexpected passing earlier this year. His wife Kristin and son Jacob accepted the award on his behalf.

“I’m proud for him and I’m proud of him. He would be just touched if he knew people thought that much of him and that they wanted to give him this honor. That would make him feel great,” Kristin told the People’s Press.

In addition to his career at OPU, Roger was heavily involved at MMUA. At the time of his death, he was secretary/treasurer of the organization’s board.

Accepting the award on Roger’s behalf was a “bittersweet” experience, Kristin said. Kristin and Roger attended the event together several times over the years. While keenly aware of his absence this time, attending the conference was like stepping back into his world. Hearing the familiar lingo of utilities professionals once again was comforting, though unexpectedly emotional for her.

Karleen Kos, CEO of the MMUA, remembered Roger as a thoughtful, humble leader.

“A lot of what he did that was extraordinary, you can’t really capture in a textbook,” Kos said. “The way that he behaved toward the people that he led and how he created culture within the organization was exemplary, and so what we wanted to capture was a way of recognizing, honoring and promoting that type of leadership.”

Kos said the award will be handed out only when someone demonstrates “exceptional leadership consistent with his example.”

Municipal utilities often represent smaller communities, and have to work with fewer resources than large corporations. Kos said leaders in these organizations are more accountable to the people they serve. She remarked that leaders like Roger have to be prepared to take questions from someone at the grocery store, unlike the decision-makers at nationwide utility companies.

Lessons in leadership

During the conference, Kristin participated in a panel discussion with some of the people who knew Roger best, sharing what everyone can learn about leadership from his example. She offered a clear takeaway from the session — stay curious, listen to others and don’t assume you know the answer just because you’re in a leadership role.

“Take the time to think about things. Don’t rush into the decision making. Consider many perspectives, not just your own,” she said.

She said Roger believed strongly that people with minority opinions should be heard, and that sharing a perspective that others may not have considered is brave and important.

Attendees also heard from Christian Fenstermacher, Roger’s successor as OPU general manager. Fenstermacher, who stepped into the role earlier this summer, worked with Roger for six years and counted him as a mentor. Fenstermacher said the opportunity to develop his own leadership style under Roger’s guidance was one of the key things that attracted him to Owatonna.

“He turned out to be one of the best mentors I could’ve possibly hoped for,” said Fenstermacher.

Fenstermacher said the greatest lesson he learned from Roger was to never assume one has the full picture. Instead, constantly ask questions of everyone involved, whether that be customers, field crews or other business leaders. He was glad to see MMUA recognize Roger’s commitment to leadership development, noting how many people his former boss mentored.

“He impacted so many people in not only our community down here in Owatonna, but also throughout the entire state, even nationally,” he said.

Fenstermacher said Roger’s death took a toll on the staff at OPU, but the organization “never missed a beat” operationally thanks to his forward-thinking and the legacy he left behind. He also shared that OPU is working on a way to honor Roger’s memory, and he anticipates announcing more later this year.

Matt Gillard, Roger’s longtime friend and peer in the Owatonna business community, also participated in the discussion. Gillard highlighted Roger’s contributions to Foremost Brewing Cooperative, a venture they partnered in, taking the diverse ideas of 18 founders and forging one coherent vision that everyone agreed on.

He was moved by the kind words of Roger’s associates in the utilities industry.

“It was just evident that he was respected in the larger utility world by everybody,” Gillard said. “I knew him so well here, but they knew him too. They knew him in a different way than I did.”

Gillard said he’s still saddened when he shows up to events in town, almost expecting to see Roger there. The two had a number of common interests and ran into each other frequently. He marveled at how Roger balanced so many commitments, from family and work to the many boards he volunteered on. Gillard wondered aloud what Roger would’ve accomplished in the community if he’d had the chance to retire.

Perspective and doubt

If there’s one lesson he’d like people to take from Roger’s example, it’s learning to see the other side of an issue or argument. Gillard said he and Roger often had different opinions, but they enjoyed discussing them. In memory of his friend, Gillard wrote a quote from one of Roger’s articles on a chalkboard outside his office: “Cultivate curiosity rather than conviction when engaging with those who disagree with us.”

Rather than insisting other people are wrong, Gillard said, he always tried to understand why they thought the way they did.

Along with all the praise heaped upon Roger, Kristin said it’s important to remember that he experienced self-doubt like anyone else. She wants people to know that even accomplished leaders like him can struggle with imposter syndrome.

“There definitely were situations where Roger doubted himself, where he maybe struggled to come to a decision or find the course of action through the difficulty, whatever that is. I think sometimes we just see the leader from the outside, and we think they’ve got it all together and they always know what to do. We don’t recognize that behind that calm facade there can be a lot of self-doubt.”

She’s honored that people recognize him for leaving a lasting impact on the community he loved. Kristin noted that she and Roger weren’t originally from Owatonna, but it truly became their home over the 22 years they shared there.