Through
a season of loss and heartbreak Wayne and Fonda Huizenga stuck together and
worked through it all. More importantly,
Fonda observed Wayne, Jr. displaying quiet strength, peace and even joy throughout
one challenge after another. The
experience made it clear to Fonda that her husband’s conversion to Christianity
was authentic, genuine and lasting. She
wanted those things in her life and after months of searching made a confession
of faith to join her husband in a new life.
Fonda
was not the only person to observe the “new” Wayne, Jr. He became President of Huizenga Holdings
shortly after his conversion and the changes in his life quickly became obvious
to his colleagues.
“The
primary changes I saw in Wayne, Jr., after he became a man of faith, were quite
dramatic,” related Bill Pierce, at the time Chief Financial Officer for
Dolphins Enterprises. “It was apparent
mainly in his ability to focus. It also
manifested itself in respect to the commitment and the time and the effort to
understand the business from top to bottom.
And it manifested itself in newfound patience.”
Carlos
Vidueira, Vice President at Huizenga Holdings commented, “He no longer wanted
to be associated with or be around certain types of behavior.”
Wayne,
Jr.’s father also noticed the changes in his son. In his I
Am Second interview Wayne, Jr. described an extremely deep conversation
with his father. Wayne, Sr. asked his
son if he had ever considered returning to school, going to seminary to become
a pastor. Wayne, Jr. could not avoid
wondering, “One of two things is happening.
Either I’m not doing a very good job as the president of the company and
this is a way to conveniently move me on, or dad really things that I should
become a pastor.”
In
a sincere quest to discover God’s will for his life, Wayne, Jr. had already
consulted with competent people sharing the Christian faith. All of them advised that the business world
was where he could be most effective.
Wayne, Jr. confidently answered his father with, “There are a lot of
people who will never darken the doors of a church that are in this incredible
business world we work in. And this is
exactly where I need to be.”
Wayne,
Sr. was more than pleased to have his son remain in place as President of
Huizenga Holdings.
Wayne Huizenga, Jr.’s
faith is now apparent in all areas of his life, including business. “We tend to pray before our business meetings
and ask for leadership,” he said in his Secrets
Of Success interview.
“After
his [Wayne, Jr.’s] newfound faith what I found was a real focus on trying to
capitalize on the opportunities to do good and to intertwine those with his
business opportunities, instead of looking at those things separately,” related
Carlos Vidueira.
"I ask for His interpretation of my family situations," Wayne, Jr. explained. "How do I discipline my children? How do I spend my money? We've been blessed with so much. How much should I use for worldly assets here? How much should I give to support our community and support interests that are aligned with our church and faith? And the most interesting part for me is the love I have for my employees now. I think as a family and as businessmen Wayne, Sr. and I have always treated our employees fairly well. But now I look past the ledger and balance sheet to the employees and their families and how they're doing."
"I ask for His interpretation of my family situations," Wayne, Jr. explained. "How do I discipline my children? How do I spend my money? We've been blessed with so much. How much should I use for worldly assets here? How much should I give to support our community and support interests that are aligned with our church and faith? And the most interesting part for me is the love I have for my employees now. I think as a family and as businessmen Wayne, Sr. and I have always treated our employees fairly well. But now I look past the ledger and balance sheet to the employees and their families and how they're doing."
“He is someone who really cares for people, whether they’re
at the top of the organization or the bottom of the organization,” Pastor Mark
Davis described Wayne, Jr.
“We recently acquired a large boat building and yacht refurbishing center and marina,” Wayne, Jr. related during his Secrets Of Success interview. “Part of the deal included a promise to do our best to keep all of the employees. Unfortunately, as we got deeper into the business we found that the business was not as viable as we first thought it was when we were doing our due diligence. A promise is a promise, but especially a promise made in faith. We embarked on a major renovation where we spent $7 or $8 million dollars rebuilding our facilities so we can continue to employ the 130 employees we made a promise to support.”
As Wayne, Jr. grew in his faith, his company would grow along with him.
© 2012 Philip Kassel
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