Kim Ratz

Meet Kim Ratz ...

Dad was a minister and outstanding speaker; mom was a music major and great musician. I'm known as "the speaker who sings." Go figure...

For as long as I can remember, even back to when I was a toddler in my birth town of Lake City, Iowa, I've pictured myself standing in front of people, speaking and singing about ways to be hopeful, strong and happy in the face of life's challenges and confusing situations. Now many years later, I'm delighted about how that vision has come true, further reinforcing the power and magic of having dreams, and the courage to go after them. It didn't happen overnight, however, nor was it easy ...

My family moved to Minneapolis when I was 3, where I grew up, attended public school, and spent part of my freshman year at the Univ. of MN. While spending the next year hitch-hiking around the country, playing guitar, singing and writing songs, and working various odd jobs, I met some people who attended the University of Oregon in Eugene and told me about the classes they were taking. It sounded interesting, so I attended a few classes with them. Unexpectedly and inadvertantly, I was introduced to something I didn't even know I was looking for - community education, a career I would love for the next 20 years.

Yet before I even graduated from the Univ. of Oregon with my B.S. degree, another unexpected development awaited. Recently married, Mary Lou and I wanted to go to spend the summer of '75 somewhere in Alaska - just go up, work odd jobs and experience "the last frontier" before returning to Portland to complete my internship, and where we thought we'd live next...

Based on a letter of inquiry to about 10 hospitals in Alaska, Mary Lou was hired sight unseen as an RN at the hospital in Juneau. So in June of '75 we loaded everything we owned into our little VW, drove up to Prince Rupert, B.C. and onto an Alaska State Ferry, cruised up the Inside Passge, and began our three month adventure in Juneau. Once again I'm glad we were resilient when we noticed the opportunities open to us once we were there. I met a principal in Juneau who helped arrange a paid internship in a community ed. program that was set to begin in his school that fall, rather than return to Portland to complete an unpaid internship. That summer adventure to Alaska turned into a wonderful 10 year stay in Juneau where we had our two babies, and launched our careers in community education and nursing.

Two years after being hired as a Community School Cooordinator in Juneau, I was awarded a graduate fellowship from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to return to the University of Oregon to work on a Master's Degree in Community Education / Public Administration. Upon returning to Juneau the fall of '78, I began working in the Alaska Dept of Education, helping each of the state's 49 school districts start a community education program. I also was elected to serve terms on the Juneau PTA and the Juneau School Board, taught a few classes at the Univ of Alaska-Juneau, and performed leadership roles on several educational committees and associations. We moved to Fairbanks in 1985 for five more years, where I continued my career in community education and public relations with the local school district and the adult learning center.

In 1990 our family moved to MN for the warmer winters (isn't it funny what you get used to?!), where I worked with the Hopkins and Brooklyn Center School Districts in the Twin Cities metro area. And in 1994 another unexpected situation awaited - shortly after being hired by Brooklyn Center I learned the district was facing a severe funding shortage that would lead to deep budget cuts. Being the newest administrator with shortest tenure, mine was the first contract to be non-renewed for the next year...

It was shortly after this devastating event that I learned the meaning of the phrases, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade," and "Life is what happpens when you're making other plans." I'd been thinking for several years about becoming an independent contractor. I had two decades worth of experience and skills in leadership and working with people, organizing to meet community problems, and giving presentations at state and national conferences. I knew people in almost every state. I could do consulting, training, keynoting, and maybe even figure out to weave in the guitar and singing in some fashion...

And so, in 1994 I began my next career as a speaker, trainer, singer-songwriter. Because the bulk of my professional and personal experience has involved working with children or other agencies and groups who work with children, as well as with learners of all ages, most of my business involves working with educators and other professionals who work with kids and life-long learners. Now in my 16th year of self-employment, and as much as I loved what I did in community education for those 20 years - I REALLY love what I'm doing now. I get to work with people all over the U.S. and Canada, sharing stories and songs that have helped me to do more than "just get by" in the things that are important to me, but to "THRIVE," and that I know can and will help others too. It doesn't get any better than this - fulfilling a dream you've had since you were a child.

Please don't misunderstand these last comments. I didn't say it was always fun or easy; when you run your own business there are always things you have to do and don't like, don't want to do, or even feel you know how to do. And today's economy has hit the meeting industry hard - I expect this to be a risky year. Yet this is the continued point - when the going gets tough, it's important to be congruent, to be you and not somebody else, to have the courage and confidence to do the best you can, and trust in your abilities to do what you need to do, when you need to do it. I continue to find that when you do these things, no matter the challenge, you can look back at your choices with content and not regrets. My sincere belief and experience with this notion is a big reason why my message is so well received by others - it's a message of hope, grounded in reality and common experiences. That, and the music...

In my other life roles and goals, I also enjoy children. A lot. Just ask my grown kids if I ever act silly when I encounter kids. They bring out the kid in me, plus, I strongly believe in the saying: "You don't quit playing because you get old; you get old because you quit playing." In addition to exercising a sense of the silly, I strive to exercise my body by swimming laps every day if I can, and it's also important to exercise my faith daily. On Tuesday nights you'll find me teaching adult swim classes through my local YMCA. Vacations almost always involve kayaking or canoeing somewhere where the goal is to leave the watch, laptop, phone and hustle and stress behind, and go where it really gets dark at night and you can't hear the engines of civilization - to give myself the time to ponder what's REALLY important in life. Some of my best insights emerge following a good vacation - life balance is a talk I strive to walk too.