I spoke recently to a successful alum of Monmouth College who told me his entrepreneur friends seek Midwesterners when looking for a diligent, hard-working, and dependable (all other things being equal) team player. There are great workers from every region of our country, but I hear this from employers often. Many of the qualities that these employers seek are embodied in John Twomey, who spoke yesterday in our Entrepreneurism class. John identified himself as a workaholic with an inferiority complex. He was  a small, country boy who grew up on a farm, but excelled in track and field and won the national championship for the University of Illinois.

John owns one of the largest grain elevator (storage) businesses in the State of Illinois with a multi-million dollar revenue stream. But he is an unassuming gentleman who claims he “just wanted to do what is right and help his neighbors”. His business philosophy was similar.  “I make sure my customer is satisfied and my employees are treated fairly. I never want to be accused of gauging a customer or mistreating my workers. We charge what is fair and hustle to deliver more than what is customary”.

If you want to hire or do business with someone ethical, John Twomey is the picture that comes to mind for farmers in Western Illinois. John had that x-factor that made him a millionaire. The diligence, stick-to-it-tive-ness and tenacity came in part from his Midwestern roots. It is something very tangible, so you know it when you see it. My 20 students and a few guests saw it last night in the classroom in McMichael 308.

Mike Connell wrote the following: 

 John Twomey is a grain dealer/handler in Western Illinois.  The farmer could (and some do) deliver their grain to the ultimate user or the barges at river — that is a costly thing to do and an activity at which the farmer has no particuliar comparative advantage.  Given this real world cost, there is an opportunity for an entrepreneur/middleman.  Someone (John Twomey) can offer the service of collecting the grain and moving it closer to its ultimate use more efficinently than the farmer can because of economies of scale and specialized knowledge.  In the real world, John Twomey is a part of the process that causes the market to jump to the new equilibrium price and quantity.