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Door County’s Most Underutilized Asset

Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau conducts its count of Americans and definitively tells us one thing we already know about Door County. The population of our community is among the oldest around.

The median age of a resident of Door County is 49 years old. The median age in Wisconsin is 38 years, and in the entire United States its 37 years.

Perhaps even more striking is this statistic. While in both Wisconsin and the U.S. as a whole about 19 percent of citizens are age 60 or older, in Door County that number is 32 percent. We also should keep in mind that these statistics are based on the 27,785 people who were residing in Door County on April 1, 2010 – the official census day. Excluded from the statistics is our immense second-homeowner population. If those seasonal residents were included, it would almost certainly raise our median age even higher.

Many of the folks around here consider this an immense problem. We’ve all heard about the “brain drain.” It’s the phenomenon when the most talented young people leave a community to obtain an education, but they never return home and bring that knowledge with them – leaving just an aging population behind.

I don’t mean to diminish the challenges Door County faces by having a population that is more senior than most. After all, my wife and I have six kids, so no one can accuse us of not trying to do something about it! But in all the discussions about Door County’s future, I think we sometimes overlook the rising tide of wisdom and experience that characterizes our particular aging population.

Like every community, we have a terrific population of local retirees who built successful businesses here. But what makes us different from most other communities is the number of enormously talented folks who have chosen to call Door County home in the latter half of their lives.

This is no average group of older adults.

Think about your own circle of friends. I’ll bet you can name several former corporate chief executives and successful entrepreneurs that retired to our community. At least part of the year, Door County is home to former university presidents, attorneys who have argued before the highest courts in the land, chief financial officers who accounted for huge sums of money, and investment professionals who have conquered the markets. We have senior executives from most every type of business and a tremendous number of former educators who now call Door County home.

There are few communities of our size that can boast of such an incredible collection of talented, educated, and highly accomplished people.

Imagine if we could engage more of this wisdom for the betterment of Door County. Most people who have achieved a high level of success are not only willing, but often energized by the opportunity to share their wisdom with those following in their footsteps.

Our young entrepreneurs could benefit immensely from the wisdom of someone who has successfully traveled down that path. There probably are few challenges faced by our local businesspeople that couldn’t be overcome if they had the counsel of someone with a lifetime of business experience.

Even the charitable world could benefit from this knowledge. Charities often look at these successful older adults purely as a source of donations both now and through their estate plans. Certainly those contributions are important, and I hope everyone gives back to sustain the community we love. But writing a check is just one of the ways you can give back.

If a charity wants to grow in Door County, think of the lessons and ideas that can be drawn from a board member who has served on several fundraising campaigns in much larger communities. Consider the legal or accounting expertise that could be engaged by local non-profits, as well as the incredible business acumen that might help guide their decision-making.

The “brain drain” is a real and meaningful concern for Door County, just as it is for Marinette County, Florence County, the Upper Peninsula, and many other small communities in the Midwest. But unless I’m mistaken, there aren’t many former CEOs who choose to retire to Rhinelander.

We in Door County are blessed with an abundance of caring retired people who have a lifetime of experience, and more than a little free time on their hands. We have to create new and better mechanisms to engage this tremendous resource – not only in the world of charity, but into Door County as a whole. We need to create new entry points into civic life.

The collective wisdom of Door County’s older adults is perhaps the most underutilized asset we have. We’d be wise to put it to use.