by Patricia O’Flynn Pattillo
The name Harley-Davidson resonates with images of powerful bikes, wonderful experiences, individuality and freedom. And its corporate image connotes sensitivity to Milwaukee that ranks with the best of major companies.

Within the Harley-Davidson Motor Company headquarters is our "Best of the Best" honoree, Tony Shields, Manager of Community Relations.

An invaluable employee with a tenured experiential background of working with community leaders, services, organizations and business leaders, Shields, for three and half years, has been a spokesman, community advocate and gauge for community involvement, while projecting Harley-Davidson’s corporate persona back into the community. This unique role is mastered only by the astute. And Tony does it masterfully!

A native of Chicago, our neighbor, on Lake Michigan to the South, Shields came to Milwaukee, nearly twenty years ago, to attend Cardinal Stritch University, his alma mater.

He remained, after matriculation and began to seek gainful employment. "I landed my first job with the Milwaukee Bucks. A Mass Communication major’s dream: sports, sales, marketing, and player programs. What more could a freshman employee ask for.

"One of my main responsibilities was to go into nonprofit organizations and Milwaukee Public Schools managing youth ticket programs so that kids could go to games," he shared.

Of course, this experience put Shields in direct contact with neighborhood schools, community leaders and often young people. "I liked that interface between corporate mission and my execution on a one to one basis. I am confident that my professional passion for community relations began at that level," he confided.

After the Bucks, Tony took a position with the Boys and Girls Club. That portfolio put him on the frontline. He saw the daily challenges. This was not textbook; this was life in the real world!

"The clubs address situations and see an immediate impact. They help people where it really counts, making a difference by creating a better community," Shields explained.

Championing and bringing the community to the corporate environment is a mission for Tony Shields. His experiences created the perfect marriage of communication skills and community sensitivity. He had met most of the community players; he understood them, and they respected him.

When an opening at Harley-Davidson was available, Shields applied and secured the position. He has never looked back. Harley-Davidson has been a perfect fit for our communication specialist whose daily focus is to serve both entities well.

Harley-Davidson has been a part of Milwaukee for over 100 years. And the Harley-Davidson Foundation, which serves the communities where the company has corporate facilities, has been a conscientious benefactor for innumerable community projects in Milwaukee, Kansas City, Missouri and York, Pennsylvania.

Last year, over $3.1 million, with a large part designated for Milwaukee, was directed to programs in education, community revitalization, the arts, health, and the environment.

Tony Shields has been the direct contact for many programs within the central community, including the "Milwaukee Community Journal’s" Dr. Terence N. Thomas Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has given over $248,000 to Milwaukee high school graduates. The scholarship supports them throughout their college years as long as they retain a 3.0 g.p.a. or better.

To date, that fund has witnessed graduation success rates of 98%; and post graduation matriculation of 80%.

The funds say to MPS students, "We believe!" And Harley-Davidson Motor Company has continuously said, "We shall ‘seed your success!’"

For the third consecutive summer, the Harley-Davidson Foundation has collaborated with the Hunger Task Force, MPS, Salvation Army and Social Development Commission to provide free nutritious meals for children who otherwise might go hungry. Harlem’s arms stretch into innumerable neighborhoods, with similar programs that strengthen the community.

Tony Shields is a man with a mission. Four C’s, corporate citizenship, community betterment, compassion and continuous improvement, all drive him to excel. So, who are his role models?

What values propel a man with such depth, grasp of challenges and tenacity in communicating both roles, while seeking resolutions? These are the tenets we want our young men to identify and support as they become Tony Shields’, or David Clarke’s, or Eric Von’s or future corporate stars.

"My parents are my first and greatest role models," Mr. Shields responds. "My dad, David, is a retired police officer, my mom, Yvonne, worked in the financial industry, before her retirement. They taught me discipline, direction, and the importance of being focused."

Continuing, he said, "My mom never settled for keeping us in the neighborhood, she insisted upon taking us out. We were taught, early, there was more than what’s happening on ‘our’ block."

Maybe I was 7- or 8-years-old, but I saw her involved in our lives. She was a den mother with the cub scouts and volunteered at our grade school and my dad coached Little League baseball.

"Their influences are with me today. I have a great wife (Christa) and two beautiful daughters (Ashley and Sophia). My parents’ influence helps me as I function as a husband and father!

"They showed me how to live, not materially, but through solid examples, like how to think out of the box and how to give back to the community. They made me see the world and that I had a place in it."

Continuing, "Sam Williams of the Boys and Girls Club is my Milwaukee role model. I am impressed by him as a person, what he gives back to the community.

"He played for the Milwaukee Bucks in the early years of the franchise. A lot of athletes, at the end of their careers, retire and move on to easy lives. Sam has taken his commitment to a zenith level.

"He is on the frontline, daily, on 15th and Center streets. He does not have to, but he does it because he believes that his presence makes a difference. In addition, believe me, it does! He’s at the top of my list. He is absolutely amazing," he exclaims.

And so are you, Tony Shields. You have the gift that supercedes just a job, you have a mission. Your mission is co-joined with marrying the objectives of the company to those of the community and you do it superbly!

In closing, Tony Shields was asked to give some advice to our young men, the men we aspire to inspire, motivate, encourage. Young men, for whom we will provide visible, tangible motivated role models, living right in Milwaukee. He responded. "Take pride in your work because you will be judged. Put your ‘best’ foot forward and see how you can make anything that you do better."

Continuing, he shared, "Never proceed through life trying to be someone else. Seek models, yes, but create your own path. There is a path that is just right for you. Sometimes you have to examine many to determine what fits you best, but there is a path that is just right for you. And when you determine your own path, you don’t have to rely on someone else’s."

Last, Mr. Shields suggested, "be professional and be ready to contribute. The world is waiting for you. You simply have to have something to offer!"

Tony Shields, manager, Community Relations at Harley-Davidson Motor Company, we salute you for the magnanimous work that you do within the community.

We applaud you for sensitizing us to the goals and objectives of your parent company. We know that you example daily the many attributes that build strong men, contributing citizens, model parents and corporate professionals.

We acknowledge you as the "Best of the Best," by making your multiple roles uniquely individual yet collectively beneficial. You are the "Best of the Best!"