In 1964, Jenny Cook was born into a world of possibilities in Baltimore, Maryland.  Knowing that this red-headed creation would need a mate with a good sense of humor, God created Joe Wiegand, who was born nine months later in Oak Park, Illinois.

     Meeting twenty years later at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, the pair began a partnership that now spans half a lifetime.  Welcome to the story of Jenny and Joe and Wiegand’s Victory Enterprises. 

     Jenny was born the youngest of six children to the Reverend Halsey Moon Cook, a product of Long Island, New York and his bride from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Marcia Mary Healy.  The two met on summer studies at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.  When Jenny was born, her father was Rector of Old St. Paul’s Parish in downtown Baltimore.  The Rev. Cook’s duties included the Board Presidency at the local Episcopal boys’ school, St. Paul’s, and nearby St. Paul’s School for Girls.   

     Jenny thrived at the girls’ school as an honor roll student and as a dominant field hockey, basketball and lacrosse player.  Spending her summers in the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River, Jenny’s athleticism benefited from water-skiing and swimming in the river and playing tennis on nearby Grenadier Island.  With partial scholarship in hand, Jenny joined her older brother Halsey at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. 

     Meanwhile, Joe Wiegand was born the youngest of three brothers in suburban Chicago to Jim Wiegand, a young heating and air conditioning contractor and his wife Joan Prager, mother and artist.    In the early seventies, Jim Wiegand launched a career as a comedian.  Soon the family moved to Hollywood, California, where Jim performed comedy while writing for the likes of George Carlin, Chuck Barris and David Letterman.  A younger brother and sister joined the family. 

     In California, Joe met Mr. Crathorne, a high school counselor and graduate of The University of the South.  Joe decided to follow Mr. Crathorne’s advice to get good grades and apply for college scholarships.

     In California, Joe became involved in politics, volunteering for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign in 1980.  Joe excelled at school, attending the Hugh O’Brien Youth (HOBY) Leadership Seminar and winning several titles in the Optimist Club Oratorical Contest. 

     In 1981, the Wiegand family launched “Walkin’ Proud, Talkin’ Loud for America” a twenty-two state, one hundred and sixty-city cross-country tour of America, stepping off from Los Angeles on July 4 and arriving at the White House on September 17, Citizenship Day.  Emphasizing the duties of citizenship and the virtue of patriotism, the family collected thousands of hand written postcards from ordinary citizens to President Ronald Reagan.  At the age of sixteen, Joe served as the advance man and press secretary for the effort.  A typical day included meeting with a mayor at city hall or a governor at the state capitol, and the effort was featured in papers throughout the country and on NBC's "Today Show." 

     Returning to Illinois, Joe finished at Palatine High School where he was elected student council president.  Joe attended the American Legion Boys State program, where his 1,500 compatriots elected him governor.  Later in that summer of 1982, Joe was elected the president of American Legion Boys Nation, where Joe met and was inspired by leaders like Vice-President George H.W. Bush, Congressman Phil Crane and the Leadership Institute’s Morton Blackwell.  

     Returning to D.C. for a Leadership Institute Youth Campaign School, Wiegand joined the head of the British Youth for Thatcher campaign, training as youth campaign organizers.  Soon thereafter, Joe was employed by Congressman Crane’s suburban Chicago re-election campaigns. 

     When Joe graduated from Palatine High School, he was named a Century III Leader, one of America’s top 100 high school students, by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Shell Oil Corporation.  Joe was a National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist and a winner of the Citizenship Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution.  

     With scholarships in hand, Joe attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.  During his sophomore year, Joe earned a Wilkins Scholarship for academic achievement and leadership and was elected as the first underclassman and first Northerner to head the Student Assembly at the prestigious Southern institution.  Joe received national recognition in the form of a Harry S Truman Scholarship for leadership and promise for a career in public service.   

     During college, Joe was a varsity cross country runner and used his talent to raise money for the United Way/Crusade of Mercy with a 182 mile, seven day run across Illinois titled “Marathon a Day for the United Way.”  Other Sewanee runners joined Joe on sixty mile, one day and one hundred mile, two day runs for the Multiple Sclerosis Society in Tennessee.

      Joe completed a TONYA public affairs internship with Congressman Crane in Washington, D.C., serving as a legislative assistant on foreign affairs issues. 

     Meanwhile, Jenny steeped herself in Sewanee’s rich English heritage, while captaining the field hockey squad and founding the lacrosse club, now a varsity sport at the school.  Her prowess in field hockey earned her All-American honorable mention and three years on the Southern Region Division I and III All Star Team. 

     During Jenny’s senior year and Joe’s junior year, they began to date and travel.  Joe was re-elected to head the student government and was named by TIME Magazine as one of America’s Top 100 College students.  While Jenny taught high school English and coached field hockey at  The Harrisburg Academy in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Joe completed his college work, winning a Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Fellowship, a legacy established by the family of the late founder of IBM. 

      In 1987, Joe and Jenny married at Old St. Paul’s in Baltimore.  Two worlds came together, as most of the local wedding guests thought Joe’s headband and blue jean clad hippie father was crashing the ceremony. 

     For his Watson Fellowship, Joe chose to travel to Costa Rica and South Africa to interview members of their respective national legislatures.  After completing her teaching assignment, Jenny joined Joe as he completed legislative interviews in Italy, the Philippines and South Korea.  After nearly a year abroad, the Wiegands settled in DeKalb, Illinois, where Joe enrolled in the political science graduate school at Northern Illinois University. 

     While Jenny managed the local JoAnn Fabrics store, Joe excelled in courses in American Government and Public Policy and soon became a graduate assistant at the Center for Governmental Studies’ Public Opinion Lab.  After his first year of graduate school, Joe was awarded a Michael Curry Public Affairs Internship with the Illinois Department of Public Aid and its Project Chance welfare to work program.  While Joe and Jenny were in the college town environment, Joe ran while he and Jenny played competitive field hockey and softball. 

     In 1989, Joe signed on with the Illinois Republican State Senate Campaign and the DeKalb County-based candidacy of Nancy Beasley (R. – Sycamore).  After the end of the campaign and two plus years of study, Joe left the graduate school program to pursue opportunities in the private sector.   

     In 1990, Joe and Jenny purchased the circa 1895 Fairdale Methodist Church, a wood frame building on Highway 72 in northwestern DeKalb County.  With the help of family and friends, the Wiegands have created a beautiful residence and have launched their family business in an old farm implement dealership next door. 

      Joe started Precision Polling, a professional public opinion polling firm, with partner Phil Kaim.  After polling for state senate candidate Chris Lauzen (R. – Aurora), Joe was offered his first opportunity to manage a campaign.  Wiegand and Lauzen, a CPA with an MBA from Harvard, teamed up to beat Pate Philip’s hand-chosen candidate, Bob Schillerstrom, and two others in a four way 1992 primary. 

     After Lauzen’s election, Wiegand returned to private sector sales, launching successful new products in new markets for a DeKalb manufacturer.  In 1994, Joe ran for the Republican nomination in the 68^th State House District covering northern DeKalb, eastern Winnebago and all of Boone Counties.  Winning the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune and others, Joe won 33% of the vote and endorsed the winner, former State Representative Ron Wait (R.- Belvidere). 

     Jenny, meanwhile, had transferred from retail management to serving as a Deputy Circuit Clerk in the DeKalb County Courthouse.  After four years, Jenny left the public sector post to begin her career as a mortgage loan officer, first with a Rockford-based mortgage company and later with Castle Bank, previously known as First National Bank of DeKalb/Sycamore.  Jenny enjoyed helping individuals and young families with the purchase of a new home.  Meanwhile, Jenny rekindled her youthful fondness for the game of golf while entertaining realtors and others in her business regimen. 

     In 1995, Joe Wiegand competed in the Rockford Tough Man Kick Boxing Competition.  Nick-named the “Taxcutter” by fight promoters, crowd-favorite Wiegand eventually succumbed to a boxing lesson delivered by a fighter sponsored by the local boxing gym. 

     In 1996, Joe was elected to the DeKalb County Board.  That same year, he was hired by Washington, D.C.-based Citizens for a Sound Economy to run CSE's Illinois chapter promoting lower taxes and smaller government.  At CSE, Wiegand worked with Dick Armey, Bill Bennett, C. Boyden Gray and Billy Tauzin, where he demonstrated superior abilities in grassroots organization & earned media.    

     On Memorial Day, 1998, Joe and Jenny welcomed Samantha to the family.  

     In 1999, Wiegand sponsored the successful tax cap referendum, saving millions of dollars annually for DeKalb County property owners and led successful efforts to defeat sales tax increases. 

     Inspired to follow a dream, Jenny left her mortgage banking career to become a semi-professional golfer, touring the country and playing in state opens and mini-tour events.         

      In 1999, Joe announced he would not seek re-election to the county board, opting instead to assist CSE and others in important state Supreme Court elections.  In 2000, Joe joined Jack Roeser’s Family Taxpayers Network, a statewide grassroots organization, as executive director.  At FTN, Wiegand led statewide efforts to recruit and train candidates and volunteers who favored FTN’s agenda for pro-family and pro-taxpayer policies. 

     In 2002, Wiegand was re-elected to the DeKalb County Board, where he quickly reclaimed his title as Taxpayers’ Champion.  In 2003, Wiegand announced his candidacy for the 70^th District State House, encompassing eastern Ogle, northern LaSalle and central and southern DeKalb Counties .  Joe was motivated in great part by the incumbent’s votes in favor of tax increases introduced by Republican Governor George Ryan and Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich.  Sadly, the incumbent died.  After suspending his campaign, Wiegand re-engaged the primary against the appointed replacement. Joe lost the primary 55% to 45% and endorsed the winner, Bob Pritchard (R. – Hinckley ). 

     In 2005, Wiegand left FTN to accept the position of campaign manager for the Republican gubernatorial candidacy of businessman Jim Oberweis.  Wiegand is credited with assisting Oberweis to his strongest showing in three bids for statewide election, winning thirty of Illinois’ 102 counties and second place with 32% of the statewide vote in a four-way race.

      Jenny continues to hone her golf game in open and mini-tour events across the United States and Canada.  Joe is an occasional caddie. 

       Jenny is a member of the Sycamore Rotary Club and chairs the Rotary District 6420 World Community Service Project Golf Outing.  Jenny & Joe are volunteers with the Rich Harvest Farms-based Kids Golf Foundation and members of the Junior Golf Committee for the 2009 Solheim Cup.  Joe is a charter member of the Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotary Club and a member of the Kirkland Lions Club, where he chairs the 4^th of July queen contest.  Joe is the former senior warden of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Belvidere, where Joe and Jenny have served as lay Eucharistic ministers and lectors for many years.  Joe and Jenny enjoy playing  with Samantha and Faith, the ever present golden retriever. 

      Today, Joe and Jenny Wiegand are enjoying much success as partners in Wiegand’s Victory Enterprises, an entertainment and consulting business headquartered in Fairdale.   Long acknowledged as a gifted writer, quick-witted performer, and inspiring speaker, Joe is entertaining  audiences nationwide with his reprisal of our 26^th President, Theodore Roosevelt.  In 2008, the family will travel to 48 states in 250 days & will visit many of the places where Theodore Roosevelt left his mark.   Visit www.teddyrooseveltshow.com for more information on this historic tour.

     To join the fun call Wiegand’s Victory Enterprises at 815-373-0691 or write us at jwiegand@tbc.net or ladygolf@tbc.net.