MAILED: May 22, 2001
EAU CLAIRE—The
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Entrepreneur Program class of 2001
recently selected Leland Christenson II as this year’s Entrepreneur of the
Year. He was honored at the 2001 Entrepreneur Program Celebration Banquet held
May 14 at Fanny Hill Dinner Theatre.
Christenson
was selected after speaking to the class during the spring semester and
impressing students with his business savvy.
A
1977 graduate of Eleva-Strum High School, Christenson received a bachelor of
science degree from UW-Eau Claire in 1981 and later returned for two years of
postgraduate classes.
In 1986
Christenson started Strum Hide, a company that bought and sold deer hides. Four
years later Strum Hide expanded to become North American Fly, Ltd., an “S”
corporation that is now the largest collector and exporter of deer hides in the
world. The hides are exported to companies in a number of countries, including
Italy, China, Korea and Africa, where they are used in the manufacture of
clothing and other leather goods. The company also manufactures, imports and
exports fly-fishing materials, which are sold to fishing distributors such as
Cabella’s, and to retailers, including Wal-Mart and K-Mart. It is one of the
top two such companies in the world.
In
1992 Christenson purchased several farms in southern Eau Claire County and
converted them into a fish farm and wild game sanctuary. The fish farm, which is
part of a volunteer Department of Natural Resources co-operative fish-rearing
program, raises many different species of fish, including trout, walleye,
bluegill, crappie, perch and bass, and also sells fish to private individuals
for ponds.
Christenson
was rewarded for his wildlife conservation efforts in 1999 when he received the
Federal Government Wildlife Habitat Award. As might be expected, his hobbies
include hunting, fishing and designing wildlife trails and habitat.
With his
extensive business experience, Christenson has a lot of valuable advice to
share. He advises prospective entrepreneurs to get an education and learn as
much as possible about market trends and the types of business opportunities
available. He suggests finding niche markets where entrepreneurs can excel and
notes that the markets should be diverse with opportunities to pursue foreign
markets and spread out risks. Above all, Christenson tells students and
prospective entrepreneurs, they must have a positive attitude and believe they
will succeed, “because there is always room at the top.”
-30-
NW
[Administrative Offices]
[News Bureau]
Janice B. Wisner
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 201
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu
Updated: May 22, 2001
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