Kim Wall, President of Baensch Food Products Company in Milwaukee
Name: Kim Wall
Title: President
Company: Baensch Food Products Co. a division of Wild Foods, Inc.
Company Address: 1025 E. Locust St.
Company web site: www.mabaensch.com
Industry: Seafood processing, including Ma Baensch Herring
Education: "I graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, with a double major in accounting and economics. Since Luther was a liberal arts school, I was able to take art classes every semester, as well as some theatre classes. I was also a Certified Public Accountant."
Family: "I live with the talented sculptor, Tom Queoff, and our many pets, including our black cat, O’Keefe, our mother and daughter springer spaniels, Tess and Nikki, and Ma, a soft-shell turtle that was given to me by the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida. Tom’s son, Keith, attends the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, and we enjoy the trips to attend his football games and watch him play."
Hobbies and Interests: "Fishing, cooking, photography, kayaking and golf, to name a few. Recently I went to Crivitz on my first grouse hunt with Tom and the dogs. After the hunt, Tom cleaned the birds and I prepared gourmet grouse hors oeuvres."
Favorite book and/or movie: "‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals’ by Michael Pollan. This book is fascinating, detailing the processes our foods go through from origin to plate, as well as what the ramifications of modern food production are on our health and the environment."
Favorite musician/band: "Willie Nelson, love that Texas music."
Favorite place to visit/vacation: "New Orleans. I’ve never been to a city where I’ve had more fun, great food, Zydeco and fresh oysters two times a day!"
Favorite local restaurant: "I really like to cook at home, but when we go out for dinner, Conejitos is high on the list. It was one of the first restaurants I visited back when I moved to Milwaukee after college, and the beans and mole are some of the best I’ve ever had."
Words to live by: "If you can dream it, you can do it."
What is your core philosophy for doing business? "In my business, quality is king. The Ma Baensch brand was built around the quality of our product, and I’ve worked my hardest to maintain that image. But outside of operations, I believe that participating in the community and following ethical business practices are critical. One of the biggest things we do at Ma Baensch is work with job programs for ex-felons and other criminal offenders. At the end of the day, these people need jobs if they ever want to stay off the streets, and many companies are hesitant to hire individuals with a record. I would say well over half of our employees are individuals with a criminal record. And although every person we hire doesn’t always last, many do grow to become reliable employees. And most importantly, they are learning basic job skills and taking the first step towards becoming productive, responsible, contributing members of our community."
Who is your role model and why? "Rosemary Bischoff. She and her husband, Jack, were great friends with my parents. I spent a lot of time around her growing up, and even worked for her modeling agency the one college summer that I did not lifeguard and teach swimming in Beloit. My Auntie Rosemary not only loved her man, but was a go-getter and the essence of an independent woman, running her own very successful business when women weren’t supposed to pursue life outside of the home. And she did it all with a style and grace that most of us could only hope for. To this day, I remember her always perfect red lips, and to that memory, I have placed my red lips on my label for this coming holiday."
What was the funniest thing that has ever happened to you? "This is a hard one. Especially with all my wild girlfriends and the capers we get into. Even if we laughed until we were in tears and could no longer breathe, when I try to describe them later, many become those ‘you had to be there moments.’ That being said, back in Beloit, my girlfriend Robin and I always were looking to ride horses. One day we were walking by a pasture and decided to climb the fence, lure a couple of horses next to it and climb up to go for a ride. As I grabbed the mane and was mounting my horse, something spooked it and the next thing you know, the horse took off. My grip was not good and back over the rump I flew. I landed in a pile of, well you know. Robin and I had quite a laugh."
