Improving the Welfare Of Society: A West Point Distinguished Graduate On His Legacy Of Service, Business, And Philanthropy

Lee Anderson was born in June 1939 and grew up in Minnesota around Minneapolis and Brainerd. Both of his parents were orphaned early in life, and his father, Reuben, began a plumbing business that expanded into fire suppression and contracting. Lee was an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing, and he spent days exploring the forests around the family lake cabin in the Brainerd area. He attended the Breck School in Saint Paul, where he excelled at athletics, and his father helped save the school after noticing that work had stopped on a school expansion project. JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) at the school was instrumental in encouraging Lee to consider West Point, and Breck’s Alma Mater, which refers to “Honor, God, and Country,” was familiar when he arrived at the Academy. Lee’s father applied to West Point for his son. Lee resisted, saying, “It’s hard,” to which his father replied the Military Academy is “the greatest opportunity in your life.” Lee rose to the challenge. He remembers walking through the sallyport as “the point of no return.” During his Beast Summer, the Asian flu struck the academy, with New Cadets “falling over” and the hospital full. He did “alright” academically and enjoyed math and statistics class. He achieved the rank of Cadet Sergeant, and feels that at the time he was too immature to push himself to achieve higher Cadet rank. He played on the basketball team as a 6’7” center and during his upperclass years they attended the NIT (National Invitational Tournament) all three years, boasting winning records. When he was not on the basketball court, he was playing music during study hours on KEDT, the Cadet radio station. He was “the voice of West Point,” spinning tunes for others’ enjoyment. He was assigned to Company A1 during the period when Cadets were assigned companies by height (to make parades look uniform), with A1 and M2 being the “flankers” (tall companies) and M1 and A2 being the “runts” (short companies). He remembers Pete Dawkins as an inspirational figure, as well as being mentored by classmates, the basketball coach, and Coach Red Blaik. He was one of 50 Cadets to commission into the Air Force, inspired by his roommate, whose father was an Air Force “3 Star.” He was assigned to the 4510 Combat Crew Training Wing, where he served as the base engineering officer. He enjoyed his time in the military, but after a few years of service he was called home because his father had suffered a heart attack, and Lee needed to support the family business. He left the Air Force and began working for his father’s company, the Reuben L. Anderson – Cherne Mechanical Company. Back home, he met Penny, and in 1965 they were married. Now running the company, Lee began acquiring other businesses, and he expanded the company that started in 1926 as a family business into a multi-billion-dollar business with global reach. He focused on empowering his employees, recognizing that every employee has the ability to lead. His goal has always been to take care of his people and enable them to become invested in their company. As his company grew, he began hiring increasing numbers of West Point graduates to help him lead and he has taken advantage of the opportunity to give back, a trait inspired by his father. Lee and Penny want the organizations they support to have a plan and use their money well, and they support a wide variety of causes. His interests include supporting veterans and higher education. He is very proud to rank among the top 30 philanthropists in the country. As a big game hunter, he also supports wildlife conservation and has been recognized as a Pantheon inductee for his efforts. Lee stresses that the Honor Code is key to the Military Academy, and he always considers “is this the honorable thing to do.” In 2014, he was recognized by West Point as a Distinguished Graduate, and he wants to see more graduates get involved with their Alma Mater. Lee considers his service to be the cornerstone of his life, and he wants to be remembered as someone who contributed to the welfare of society. At the end of the interview, he reflects on West Point, describing it as the “greatest institution in this country.”