Doug Tieman

dtieman@caron.org

Doug Tieman’s journey since graduating from St. Paul’s College High School in 1973. I am not sure how interesting this will be for anybody - - I know it bores my wife and kids to tears, but just in case there’s any curiosity, I’ll share a few details. This certainly helps remind me of how remarkably old I am. I probably should also provide a disclaimer that all facts will be adjusted in a variety of ways to protect the guilty and ensure that the story is better than reality.

Education:

After graduating from St. Paul College High and two years St. Paul’s College, I received my BS (appropriate) in education from Concordia, Seward. I later received a BA in business administration from Northwood University in Florida, a master’s certificate from the University of Minnesota in management, and an honorary doctorate degree from Concordia (they were desperate for a commencement speaker or hoping I would contribute more money, or both).

Work Career:

Following graduation, I taught in the social studies field and coached baseball at Baltimore Lutheran High School - - in Baltimore, Maryland, in case anyone was wondering. I then entered the fundraising field at Suomi College/now known as Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan (an ELCA institution) - - this gave me an opportunity to use the BS part of my education.

For the past 26 years I have been in a variety of executive positions in the alcohol and drug treatment profession (thus proving that all of the drinking episodes at St. Paul’s College and Concordia were not wasted as that experience has proved to be most valuable in this profession). The first 12 years I worked at Hazelden, which is based in Minnesota. During those 12 years I spent 4 years starting a facility in Palm Beach, Florida. The following 8 years I was an Executive Vice President based in Minneapolis. Since 1995, I have served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Caron Treatment Centers based in Reading, Pennsylvania - - we also have facilities in New York City, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Florida and Bermuda.

I’m sorry I could not be there with those of you that are present for the alumni reunion. The experiences, friendships, and “growing up” together as teenagers in the early 1970’s certainly impacted my life. Even though those experiences were 35years ago, I still consider the memories and the friendships as being some of the most meaningful in my life. I would certainly like to be there and reminisce about the good times, the pranks, and life-forming experiences that we all had during that time. It would also have been nice to hear first hand how your journey has progressed over the past 35 years. I do look forward to reading everyone’s contribution to the reunion website. God Bless all of you, you’ve played an important role in my life and I will never forget you.