CLP Spott ll iightt

An Interview with Bernie Boettigheimer, CLP

Not many people have more than one career in their lifetime. But three?? It does seem odd that

all three of my careers are completely different but equally instructive and character-building.

Corporate life amid manufacturing appliances consumed my early years while Barbara and I

raised three children who are our pride and joy. I learned how to work with people from different

disciplines and how they mesh to build a useful product that produces a profit. It was a great

experience and very useful in my journey thru my business life. However, in 1983 I threw off that

mantle and started anew in my lifetime ambition (until that time) to start up and own an equipment

leasing company. It seemed that everything associated with my first career was just a prologue to

this next Endeavour. My son, John joined me in 1985 and together we built Pioneer Capital until

we were funding $50 Million annually. We sold the company in 2004 and my stay continued until

April 2006. My thought was “Retirement, here I come… travel, sleep late, lazy lunches, grand

kids.“ My first two careers were to support my family but when the music stops what do you do?

Now retired, in April, 2006, reality stepped in. A month in Italy went by, but something was missing. Peggy Lee’s great

song ”Is That All There Is”, came to mind. Then in June, 2006, John came up with a brilliant idea which became the

outline to what became LeasePolice.com. No doubt it was somewhat inspired to keep me from being a nuisance around

the house, but I liked the idea even though my background in the information internet age was generationally challenged.

This was a whole new world. There was a similar non-profit firm started by the Leasing Industry in the 90’s, but when it

was turned over to the prestigious National Association of Credit Men, it had failed .This became my third career and labor

of love. What have we achieved since then? Our database has over 40,000 firms with 350 “alerts” of unusual

vendor/lessee activities. Success? Just ask our Subscribers who stay away from fraudulent vendors or who decline to

deal with a vendor who has five or more repossessions in their history. It has been only three years since we started and

we will never stop growing and improving our product. There won’t be another career. This is it!

What type of music do you enjoy?

A search for a quiet place to study while in college led me to a small music room in the school library. My unexpected

reward was a new appreciation of symphonic music. Dvorak, Copland, Prokofiev were my new heroes. They reawakened

my early interest in my Mother’s favorite, Franz Schubert. Later on when I moved to Dallas my interest in the arts grew

when I served on the Board of the Dallas Ballet and my wife on the Board of the Dallas Opera. But it was always

symphonic music, and when Dallas built our beautiful Meyerson Symphony Hall I had it all. Best of all were the choral

symphonies in works such as Carmina Burana by Carl Orff and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. I’ve even taken several

courses on music history and theory.

If you could transport yourself to any place in the world right now, where would you go and why?

Italy, of course. We have been in almost every section of Italy , Sicily and Sardinia in our eight trips. The only exception is

in the area north of Pisa and the five coastal cities called Cinque Terre. Almost everyone speaks English, history is

everywhere, the people are lovely and the beauty is breathtaking. We always drive as the roads are great and we feel

right at home. September is the best month as in August all Europe closes down and most tourists go south to Italy and

Greece.

Bernie Boettigheimer, CLP

Lease Police

CLP Foundation Newsletter – June 2010 – Copyright © 2010 Page 4

CLP