Warner Woodworth

While at South High, I began to see the future more clearly. I vowed to never pick up a golf club so I'd have hundreds of thousands of hours to do something with a higher purpose. Eventually, I determined that my life's mission is to change the world for the better. My collaborators and I have designed and implemented nearly fifty projects to build civil society and reduce poverty. As of now, 34 of them have become NGOs that operate in approximately 40 countries. With our partners, we collectively raise some $20 million in donations and investment capital annually, train approximately 300,000 poor women, and continue growing our microentrepreneur base to more than 8 million clients worldwide.

All in all, there are too many projects and programs to mention in this summary. You may check out my vita for more details by going to my university-based link above. I've been a President, Board Chair and/or Member, and Founder of a number of For-Profit Corporations, Consulting Firms, ESOPs, Co-ops, NGOs, and MFIs over many years. Basically I’m into the work of Radical Change Agentry, Social Entrepreneurship, Problem-solving, Third World Development, Peacemaking, Youth Empowerment, Social Philanthropy, Microcredit, Worker Ownership through Cooperatives and ESOPs, Environmental Stewardship, Business Ethics, Feminism, Corporate Social Responsibility, Appropriate Technology, Sustainability, and so forth.

From my wonderful South High education and leadership training I learned to love people around the globe, and spend my life fighting to eliminate poverty and reduce human suffering. I recall wonderful memories with the Cubs, from going to class where I learned from superb teachers, playing on the soccer team when we won the state championship, growing spiritually through seminary lessons by fantastic instructors, all the Acapella Choir concerts we performed each year as well as musicals and operettas, but I mostly recall the caring and supportive friends that have blessed my life forever.

It's been a long time since our senior year at South High. I'll never forget the influence of Principal Ralph Backman, Armont Willardson, Assistant principal Merrill Linford, Eudora Zarr, Moroni Schwab, and others. I'm also grateful for my parents, Arthur and Ruth Woodworth, especially my Mom, who encouraged me when I was despondent, who inspired me with the idea I could accomplish anything in this life, and who was often at South High when I conducted the assemblies, gave speeches, etc.

Here’s a little story: After living a year in Hawaii in the mid 1980s, we moved back to Utah and I took my whole family (8 kids living at home at the time) up to tour South High on the last day before it was being shut down. We all tumbled out of the big van, and I had them all kneel on the grass facing the school in reverence and respect as I sang (and tried to get them to sing along) the old school song. Then we toured the building, saw trophies of our victories, including my soccer team when we won the state championship in 1960.

It was wonderful to recall past memories from our days in school back in the Sixties. We then learned that the building would be refurbished and in many ways made better than it was when we all went there. After the school was upgraded and became the Salt Lake Community College/South Campus, we went back for another tour, and were amazed at how beautiful those hallowed halls had become.

After 50 years, our youngest son, Micah, lived for a year about four blocks from our high school, and walked over every other day to attend classes at the SLCC South Campus! Who would have guessed?

In 2010 it was fun for me to go back with Micah, walk through South's building, talk to SLCC staffers about how to get him enrolled, and to have a Woodworth again sitting in South High classrooms. We discovered the bench of my brother Mark’s Senior Class Gift of 1961 there in the school’s main foyer. It reminded me of his energy and enthusiasm as a South High cheerleader, and musician, among other roles he played during those years. Memories, memories….