Cal
Tameling '72
A Christian MindSET
Those same traits are ones
that guide Cal Tameling '72 as the chief executive officer of SET Environmental,
an environmental cleanup contractor based in Wheeling, Illinois. When SET
entered the solid waste management industry, the company met a dire need,
Tameling recalls, because people were having trouble disposing of chemical
wastes in the late '70s and early '80s. The company eventually expanded
its operation by establishing offices in Bridgeview, Illinois, and Houston,
Dallas, and Sherman, Texas.
As one of the co-founders
of the company in 1979, Tameling has conducted business with the understanding
that he is the steward of an entity that God has entrusted to his care.
"My faith is something that
I don't separate from business," he says. "Trinity reinforced the notion
that whatever vocation I pursued, I would ultimately be working for the
Lord. The decisions I make are based on godly principles, and it's been
crucial for me to maintain the core values of my Christian beliefs."
His beliefs undergo a severe
test during the strained economic times that businesses are facing today.
"Business is tough on everyone,"
Tameling says. "Occasionally, we have to go through the process of downsizing
staff, and that involves families and their well-being and dignity. I aim
to be as compassionate as I can when I encounter those circumstances, but
those are the times when you have to let people know that those decisions
are not personal."
External factors should not
dictate how the business relates with people. Honesty, trust, equality,
and responsiveness are hallmarks that Tameling would like to have associated
with SET.
"I hope that people think
of us as a company of high integrity that is conscientious about service
and fairness. I not only want our customers to feel that way, but also
our employees because they are equally integral to our business."
Tameling grew up in Cicero,
Illinois, and graduated from the College with a bachelor's in sociology.
His years at Trinity were instrumental in molding the Christian character
and worldview that directs his life today. A resident of Elmhurst, Illinois,
he and his wife, Marcy ex'71, have four sons, two of whom are current Trinity
students. He is completing his second three-year term on the board of trustees,
and his perspective as a trustee has not shifted greatly from where it
was as a student.
"My college years deepened
my understanding of the necessity of the Christian mindset," he states.
"We learned how a community was supposed to work together and how to think
'Christianly.' I'm happy that the College continues to espouse that mindset
to its students and the importance of integrating it holistically in their
lives."
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