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To the Earl Ingram show, as always, you can join us at 855-752-4842, 855-752-4842.
And I'll say this, you know, the best times I've ever had on radio is having guests and stories like the one we're getting ready to have now.
And so with that backdrop, I am honored and privileged to have Mr. Attorney Scott Hearest.
in the studio this morning.
Good morning to you, attorney Harris.
How
are you?
Yeah, thanks, Earl.
I'm good.
How are you?
I'm doing fine.
And who is that Yehu you have to your left?
Well, this guy is the guy known as the good doctor.
I know who
he is, man.
That's my good friend, Doc Weed.
Good morning to you, Doc.
How you doing, man?
Good morning, brother.
I'm doing well.
And thank you very much for the invite.
Well, you know, man, Doc, you and I go way back.
Yeah.
And so we are...
We are truly throwbacks in the city.
We're a couple of guys born in the city of Milwaukee who haven't left and who still connect with a bunch of old goats like us.
And it's, you know, the time has traveled so fast to be able to still see guys like you and the other guys that get together a couple times a month is just...
It's a blessing.
It is, man.
It's a blessing for the heart.
So welcome.
But attorney here is, I met you.
Yes.
Through Doc.
But before we get into all of that, tell us a little bit about you, sir.
Oh, I'm of a certain age, 73 years old.
And I've grown up in Wisconsin.
My whole life, Milwaukee as a boy, lived on Fond du Lac Avenue, north 19th place in Glendale, 26th in Mainakee, went to Clark Street School, loved Milwaukee, and now I live in way north in Oshkosh, up north, you know.
Yeah, well, you know, you
tell us a little bit about your childhood.
My childhood was wonderful.
My dad's a factory worker.
My mom was a stay-at-home mom.
She never even graduated from high school.
They were great parents and dad kept moving from factory job to factory job.
There were recessions, the layoffs.
None of those corporations are here anymore.
Started with Globe Union.
People don't even know about
that.
Well, I do.
But anyway, go ahead.
Then went to American Motors.
I know all of my father worked in America.
He needed to buy a rambler in order to park in the parking
lot.
The ramblers.
Yeah, it was a beautiful car.
Yeah.
And then he ended up at Harnes Fager, which still exists, but it's part of a Japanese conglomerate.
So dad is a factory worker.
Mom was a homemaker.
They were loving parents.
And ultimately we ended up moving to Greenfield and
went to high school at Greenfield, and that's where I met Doc.
We were on the freshman basketball team together.
You know,
before I go to Doc, I keep telling people about how beautiful our childhoods were.
Absolutely.
And so my father as well was a blue collar worker, and my mother stayed home.
the way things were, she was able to stay home and raise 13 children while my father worked at American Motors and A.L.
Smith.
That was an uncommon at that point in time.
The people
were- 13 children was uncommon.
Oh
yeah, well people were able to live middle class lifestyles without high school diplomas and it was a good time.
So so doc you your story
well Scott and I reconnected a few years back at a high school reunion and Just found out that he was a progressive like myself and we had a lot of things in common in that regard so Of course conversation got around to you and civic radio,
but I have to ask you first before you went further high school reunion.
What was it the 75th year?
Yeah, something
like that.
Numbers.
It's not really me.
No, I'm only joking.
Our class meets at a bar
once a year, and I certainly agree with that.
That's what it was.
Oh, yeah.
Well, the 60s, as you know, were very tumultuous and, you know, lots of things going on.
And, you know, when you see both Kennedys being assassinated, Medgar, Martin, Malcolm.
You grow up and as a teenager, those are your most formative years anyway, and you see those kinds of things happening.
You wonder yourself, what the hell kind of country am I living in?
You know, so, you know.
You're still wondering that.
Yeah, yeah.
So, you know, as things turned out, I ended up going into the Marine Corps because I thought, well, I don't know, I just didn't see any, really any hope.
for me.
I didn't school wasn't my thing.
So, you know, got shipped halfway around the world.
And it's something that was tough.
It was hard.
But you know, I made it, survived it and came out and did the, you know, Alice Chalmers for a while.
And of course, that went away.
And then my next job was roundies.
I was a supervisor there for several years, and then I ended up at Falk, so retired from Falk.
So, you know, Scott, you wound up, how did you wind up becoming an attorney?
Well, you know, when I went to college, I had a great time.
I loved college.
In high school,
I was a debater.
And unlike today, we were actually funded by a bank and we got to go all across the country.
So I knew I had the ability to do that.
You
knew you had the chops.
Yeah, but to be honest, when college ended, I wanted the party to keep going.
So
I thought, I'll go.
to law school.
And then I got to law school and everybody's studying like 80 hours a week.
Not how
I got myself into, but I buckled down and did good.
So, so you spent your life, most of your adult life after college as, as an attorney?
Yes.
Um, I worked my entire adult life for an insurance company in Appleton and, um, I was an attorney for them.
started at the, you know, bottom of the barrel.
I was the youngster.
I would get all the crummy cases and stuff.
I would actually go out and try cases and eventually worked my way up to one of the senior executive jobs.
So 38 years, same company, never worked anywhere else.
Yeah.
If you're just joining us, my guess, Attorney Scott Harris and Doc Weed.
And this is a
really amazing story.
Um, that's not a story.
It's, it's reality.
And, uh, I couldn't wait to get them both in the studio.
So, uh, Scott, you made your way through, um, you know, the minefield as an attorney started chief cook and bottle washing.
That's right.
And, and so you became a success.
Yes.
What people would call the success.
Right.
And so in this society, if you're joined with the right law firm and you become a success, riches will come your way.
That is true.
And they did.
So as you started accumulating things, I was kind of reading this story.
Let's talk about the first bonus you received and
how that worked out.
I don't want this to sound wrong because I'm very grateful for the career that I had and the monies I received.
But I do believe they were all out of proportion to how hard I worked and the things that I did for the company.
The rank and file at my company would get bonuses in good years.
And if you made $40,000 in the best year, you'd get a $4,000 bonus, 10%.
Great.
And that's how I thought life was until about 15 years before I retired when I got promoted to the top executive team.
And bonus time came.
People like me got their $4,000.
And they said, Scott, your bonus this year is $60,000.
Wow.
And that is the smallest bonus I ever received in a good year.
I got a lot more than that in other years.
So before we get into the money thing, let's talk about your family, man.
Let's talk about your family.
My wife is in radio.
She's a radio manager up in Northeast Wisconsin.
We keep our finances independent, second marriage for both of us.
I have two children.
One has some health challenges.
and I support her completely.
She lives in Minneapolis where there's better healthcare than there is in Oshkosh.
And the other is very much a success to use your word.
She is a chief manager, a doctor and a chief manager at San Francisco General Hospital.
So I've set aside money for the challenged daughter so that in a trust so she'll be taken care of when I pass.
And my
successful doctor daughter, um, she'll get a nice inheritance, but, um, you know, at some point people get too much.
And so, um, I just think it's a good idea to take a good chunk of my estate and put it to people who really need
it.
So, so that's where we're going with this story.
Uh, and so you just heard attorney Hewis.
Yep.
Yeah,
you got
it.
You know, say, mention that he's given away a lot of the money that he's worked hard to accumulate.
And you don't hear it much.
You've got a challenge you want to make on the air.
Absolutely.
And so I'm excited to have you in the studio.
Attorney Scott Harris and my good friend Doc Weed, the one and only Doc Weed.
on the Earl Ingram Show, 855-752-4842.
We're going to take calls after we complete our discussion.
All right, welcome back to The Early Ingram Show.
As always, you can join us at 855-752-4842.
855-752-4842.
Texas is that same number.
Cardi's an absolutely perfect song for what we're talking about.
So congratulations.
Again, my guest, attorney Scott Hewress and his good friend, Doc Weed, my good friend, Doc Weed.
And we're talking about, you know, what I think is just a great story.
And so Scott, you accumulate it as well.
And here you are up until a few years ago.
What made you all of a sudden decide that you kind of wanted to give away?
all
of this wealth you had amassed.
And it's one of the reasons that I feel it's a privilege to be on your show today because maybe I can inspire somebody else.
But the kind of thing that started all this, I was visiting my daughter in Minneapolis, leaving a bar in downtown, I go to bars.
And
in the doorway, cold night, doorway next to the bar,
This is a week after the election.
And I was mentally fuzzy as to what are we going to do as a country?
And there was a lady curled up in a black puffy coat sleeping in the doorway.
And I in
Minnesota in the winter.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was it was below freezing.
Right.
And so I looked at her.
I put a $5 bill on her coach.
She was sleeping.
And as I walked away.
The light bulb went on and I went, this is how I can fight back and contribute.
And I just, it didn't literally took me a minute to realize I need to give a part of what I made back to people who need it most.
So let me ask you, are you a person who's spent a lot of time in church?
Were you raised?
Is there a spiritual connection to what happened with you?
I mean...
Not really, Earl.
You know, I... So not
organized.
You're not in an organized
religion.
No, no, it's... But I've always been a people person.
I've chaired the boards of a couple non-profits, including legal services of Northeast Wisconsin for nine years.
So, so, you know, there's a need and people who are struggling and hurting, right?
Yeah, no question about it.
Could I just say something?
I was raised in the church, okay?
So I have a spiritual connection and I really believe that what you put out into the universe comes back and there's something that caused me and Scott to get together after all those years.
Yeah
Yeah, so that's the way I look at
it.
Yeah, I believe in the Zen River.
Yeah.
You know, so, so, so Scott, you, you saw this poor soul, something clicked in you
at
that point in time because I'm sure you've seen people.
Absolutely.
Many times
before.
to
California where my other daughter lives and people everywhere in the streets, right?
Yeah.
And her hospitals in the mission district.
So, yeah.
So, so what was it?
Do you think that at this point in time in your life and this poor soul in that time?
Because I mean, you sing poor souls before, but, but what would you say was happening with you?
clearly you're in Minnesota, you're spending time with your daughter and anybody who knows, who has loved ones, who are infirmed, there's a consciousness that we have that I think maybe others may, I'm not sure, but others may not have because someone you really love, a part of you is struggling.
And so, the timing.
The timing, I mean, certainly I've been the presence because my daughter has no relationship with her mother, her entire adult life.
So, yeah, I know what that's like, Earl, to take care of somebody who needs my help.
And I
think it's my primary job in life
is to
help my kids out.
But I can't say that...
that had anything to do with the inspiration or epiphany, if you call it.
It was more, and this is what's so great about this.
The way I was feeling so muddled after the election, what do I do?
What do I do?
This is gonna be a nightmare.
And I saw her, the light bulb went on, and I thought, you know what?
I've got my challenged daughter taken care of.
My other daughter is doing very well, and I can start giving away
a big chunk of my accumulated wealth to people in need.
So the thought of it hadn't come across your mind until that point?
Not at all.
And that's the thing.
Had that not happened, I probably would have kept living, hopefully, another 10, 20, 30 years.
And when I died, I might have gone, oh my God, what have I done?
So we're going to pick this up.
Uh, on the other side again, my guess is attorney Scott Hearest and, uh, and Doc Weed.
And this is a very compelling story.
Make sure you, you know, keep listening.
You're tuned into the Erlingham show.
Have a new purpose.
As always, you can join us at 855-752-4842, Texas at that same number.
And I'll tell you, you've done a lot of great shows over the years, had a lot of great opportunities.
You know, you would think that interviewing former president Joe Biden would be my number one interview.
It's not.
It is today with you, Scott.
And I mean that from the depths of my heart because
When you see people who connect with other human beings, that's what's missing in our society.
That's what's missing in this world, man.
A connection to people you don't know.
And I've never been able to understand why human beings don't connect with other human beings, man.
Right?
I can't connect with him.
I'm a Christian, he's a Muslim.
I'm an American.
And those are Iranians, man.
Hey, man, what is that foolishness, man?
It is something that keeps our nations divided and it doesn't give us an opportunity, man, to live our lives in the best manner that he who created us designed us to be.
And so, um, man, anyway, so Scott.
Oh, and my good friend, uh, doc weed is here.
Our good friend, doc weed is here as well.
So, so Scott, you saw this and for people who are just joining us, you made a decision at that point in time with this poor woman.
Um, you gave her $5.
She's sleeping on the sidewalk
in a doorway, in a
doorway.
you know, a society that has shelter, man.
We're not short of shelters in our nation, right?
Why should people be sleeping under bridges and military veterans and eating out of garbage cans in the wealthiest nation on earth?
Doesn't make any sense.
So Scott, you made a decision at that point to kind of give away your wealth.
Tell us.
about that.
Well, here's kind of what I did then.
I hadn't met you, Earl, but I knew Doc was your friend.
Right.
And I had decided I'm going to start giving substantial amounts to homeless shelters every year for the rest of my life.
And that was like a one minute decision.
But I needed to know, you know,
If you go into the yellow pages or
go online, you
know,
you got
a lot of choices.
So I asked my friend Doc to ask Earl if he had any recommendations.
And Earl made a recommendation at a shelter that exists four blocks from where I lived for a year.
And that was a really good year for me.
And I returned to that neighborhood for the first time.
Met Earl it's sister McCann and Brown's English century on 24th and center and I lived on 26th and Minakie and a couple of things That operation was so impressive.
She's got 200 volunteers.
It's only a daytime sanctuary, but they are renovating a
and helping out and it was just super impressive to me.
So I knew I was doing the right thing and Earl was kind of our host leading us around and I said, can I sit down with the sister for five minutes?
So before you get any
further.
So here we are.
So kind of taking Scott, McCann and Brown is this just wonderful sister, literally.
And her whole life has been dedicated to serving the underserved.
And so she created a homeless shelter before and it was kind of taken away from her.
But we have a spiritual connection, McCann and Brown and myself.
And I've always, you know, whenever she calls me, I'm there.
And so when Doc mentioned this to me, I'm like, okay, all right, he's got some guy.
Okay, we'll go over.
Guy's gonna donate a couple hundred bucks.
And okay, but that didn't matter.
It was just the fact that somebody was willing to do that.
Had no idea of what it was gonna be, Scott.
And then we're walking around and you're seeing this.
And it's a machine, a well-oiled machine.
people who come in from outside of the city.
Look, this is one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the entire state of Wisconsin.
And it's a segregated community.
When you walked in there, most of the people who were there helping and working weren't black.
That's true.
Right
right
now people who are afraid to come into our city But black
and white they all had one thing in common.
They were all cheerful and
all cheerful and smiling because they were doing what?
Serving yep, yes They were making the difference in the lives of marginalized people that people look at and walk over and They don't matter because their clothes aren't clean Right, they they they you know
They smell, they're not working, but many of them are mentally impacted and affected.
But without McCann and Brown, those people don't even get any support or any help.
Here she's been able to build that and from scratch.
And it just shows just how powerful.
one person in their spirit can be.
So we're going through this and all of a sudden Scott said, okay, I've seen enough.
I'm like, man, come on, man.
You haven't seen much of anything.
Okay.
I've seen enough.
Doc had to go to work.
So, so, so Scott says, I remember like yesterday, Scott says, all right, can we go to an office somewhere?
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
So we're sitting down.
We're talking.
Scott pulls out his checkbook.
So you got an ink pen.
I'm sorry.
I remember it all, man.
Hey, got an ink pen.
I'm like, OK, let's get any pens that we go over here.
We're going to office.
He writes out a check.
Are you
ready
for
this?
Thirty thousand dollars.
And I'm like, whoa.
Yeah.
Oh, God, it was chair.
Whoa,
man.
Thirty thousand.
You didn't look like a guy Who was gonna write out a check I didn't see a Bentley outside, right?
I don't you know, I didn't see you, you know with diamonds you saw my six-year-old Ford And and so he wrote this check for $30,000 and and and McKinnon Brown bless her harness so I Saw her trembling
And man, all I could do was feel the spirit in that room.
You brought that.
And then, and then you followed it up.
You said these words in perpetuity.
So for people who don't know what that word means, it was a time when I didn't know what perpetuity meant, but it meant for as long as I'm around.
every year, yep.
And then you didn't finish there.
You went, let's talk a little bit about the other things.
All right, from there I went, I live in Ashkosh, and I went to the, what I consider to be the best shelter in Ashkosh, it's called Day by Day, and I made a significant contribution there.
And then my stepdaughter, Sydney,
worked for United Way of Milwaukee at the time and I asked her and she suggested the guest house, which is at 13th and Juno might be wrong on that and so I went there sat down with the people running it they Made an hour out of their time to show me they didn't know what I was gonna do and I wrote another big check and You know my plan is
every year for the rest of my life, I'll be taking a part of my estate and giving it to places like that to the people who need the most.
That's
what's
up.
So one of the reasons why you wanted to come on, and I've been trying to get you on.
We've been trying to make this connection for a long time.
I'm just happy that it happened today.
You wanted to challenge others.
You aren't the only successful.
Guy right
that is
so who has who has been successful in your life.
You wanted to to challenge others Correct to do the same thing now's the time.
Yeah, you know People like me very fortunate But it's almost a universal truism in not Wisconsin, but the country that the top executives are getting more and more of the pie
And you know, if I hadn't seen that lady in the doorway sleeping, and if I hadn't been frustrated by the election, I might have lived the rest of my life and not done any of this.
But it was like something snapped at that time, and I knew I needed to help.
So that's kind of my pledge, and I know there are literally...
hundreds and thousands of people in the state of Wisconsin who also reached that top executive level.
And just my question to you is, when you're lying on your deathbed, how are you going to feel if you've got millions of dollars, let's say, and they're just going to your kids, which could spoil them or whatever.
You only live once.
You can't take it with you.
Take a part of that and help people who really need it, particularly in this particular time.
It's got revelation.
You mean we're all going to die?
So, so, and you can't, like I said before, man, there, there are no pockets on the caskets.
And, and so the fact that you want to challenge others is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
And
thank you for the opportunity because.
One person alone can only yell under the wilderness.
This way it can reach some more people.
Oh, absolutely.
Let's do this.
Let's go to the phone lines quickly.
Hey, Rocky, man, you're up.
You say what?
Hey, guys.
I like your style, man.
I'm proud to be talking to you guys.
It feels good.
Sharing is caring.
That's what you're doing.
Survival first, we all need to eat to survive.
You're putting it out there.
And I agree with what you were saying about mental health.
If you think you got a problem, go see somebody.
My son pointed out to me that he had a problem and it was a simple thing to solve.
And he saw a doctor and he said, you probably got the same one.
It runs, you know, it can.
You know, you think you're kind of proud, like, I don't got a problem.
He said, well, you can go 10 years like getting stuff done, or you can go get it fixed and be like normal with seeing a doctor and getting a pill.
And I got to say, it's changed my life.
And, you know, don't be embarrassed to reach out.
That's the other thing.
So thanks again.
Hey, Rocky.
Thank you very much for those, those words.
Really appreciate it.
8-5-5-7-5-2-48-42 is the number.
Uh, you know, you get a chance to talk with who I think is, uh, just a wonderful, wonderful human being.
Uh, Mr. Scott Harris and that other guy is hanging out with, I don't understand why he's hanging out with that other guy.
Uh, but
that other than
my good friend, Doc Weed on the Earl Ingram show.
My name.
Alright, alright.
You're listening to Civic Media.
Find the latest news, information, and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website,
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There's heavy on my mind Then I look at you And the world's
all
right with me Just one look at you And I know it's gonna be A lovely day
I wish I had more time.
Welcome back to the last few minutes of the Erlingham Show.
As always, you can join us at 855-752-4842.
You know, attorney Scott Harris is, man, we're gonna stay connected.
Oh, yeah.
And Doc Weed.
And let's go to the phone lines.
JoJo, you're up next.
You say what?
My heart is singing with you folks.
What a morning, you know, everything in divine order.
I've kept all of this lifted in prayer for so long.
I am gracing 80 some years out of high school, only 65 years, can you believe it?
But anyhow, besides that, this is a great time to be able to return.
You know, there's no, no, you'll haul behind the hearse is another
one.
And let's see.
We're on the right track to be able to give back I've often thought that that is the answer because we are in a time of Well possible depression but time times are changing and we are here to change for the good those who can give you know in ways such as the gentleman's doing you know selectively also with with discretion and impact giving the most impact and
And for those receiving, many times you get to know your gifts and return.
So this is a time we need for people doing what they can.
I wish I had more time.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Really appreciate
those guys.
You're going to be calling, girl.
Okay.
All right.
Thank
you.
Thank you.
Connie, you're up next.
You say what?
and the show is wonderful.
I called the other day because I'm 86 and I listened to you every single morning and they said you weren't gonna be on anymore and I panicked.
But this morning, I'm just so happy that I heard your voice.
And congratulations to whatever you're doing next, but I hope I hear more of you.
You will, if you listen to civic media, you'll be hearing from me.
I'm not-
Oh, I hope so.
Well, thank you and-
I hope so.
Well, thank you and God bless you.
You know, Scott,
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You know, Scott, um, I make an appeal once again to others.
Yeah.
Um, if you are a person of a certain age, you had a 401k or you've got an IRA with lots of money in it.
And there are thousands of people in Wisconsin over the age of 60 who fit that description.
Please consider.
You know, certainly take care of your loved ones, but how much do you need to take care of your loved ones?
And if there is something adulta left over, doesn't have to be homeless shelters.
There are so many areas of need.
So please consider doing something now, because when the end is near, it'll be too late.
Doc, you had something you wanted to say, man.
Well, just I've known you forever.
It's just a glorious day to be able to sit here with you and speak because Scott just said it eloquently.
There's such a need out there.
And to be able to come on your show, I'm over the moon.
Well, man, you know, Doc, as I said yesterday, call it a show, but I don't ever look at it as a show.
You know me personally.
I'm the same guy on the air that I am in public.
And if there was anything that made it work, it's that.
And so I don't relinquish this microphone with a heavy heart.
Man, I'm gonna go and keep serving.
The more time I have away from here, the more work I'm gonna be doing.
Because I learned a long time ago.
what makes me happy, right?
It's never been money.
I've never been a slave to money because I didn't have any as a young boy.
But man, we had, we had a great life, right?
Without
things.
So, so I don't worship cause I don't worship homes.
I don't worship diamond rings.
I don't worship anything that can't love me back.
It's always been about people.
It'll always be about people.
And man, Scott, we got a lot of work to do, man, to get others to kind of see that.
And so in the podcast series, I'll make sure to bring you guys on and we'll take this even further
because
our goals should be, you know, that kids shouldn't be in Milwaukee public schools.
in buildings that we know are laden with lead.
And we say we can't do anything about it.
After we spent $100 million in a race for the state Supreme Court
seat, one
seat, man, one seat, $100 million.
And we say we can't do something about the babies in the schools.
Well, you know, as humans, we can't get along.
That's why we got to have so much money put towards the defense department because there's wars.
Continue.
Oh guys, I gotta leave it there.
Okay.
Thank all of you.
Thanks
very much.
Thank you for the
depths of my heart who've taken the time out to listen to the Earl Ingram show.
Um, I won't be too, I won't be going too far, but there'll be a new chapter and I'll welcome you guys into it.
You've been doing into the Earl Ingram show.
See you later.
All right.
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