By Christina Harper Herald Business Journal
David Weatherholt left Everett in the late 1980s and eventually made his way to Alaska.
But the 1967 Everett High School graduate has returned, in a way, to the area. And although family, friends and those who know Weatherholt may not see him, they can hear his voice in their homes and cars.
Listeners to business radio can tune into Weatherholt’s program “Getting Down to Business” on KKOL (1300 AM) or KLFE (1590 AM), two of Salem Communication’s Seattle radio stations.
Weatherholt, a business consultant and entrepreneur, worked for a Seattle company during the 1980s and took advantage of a move to Alaska that gave him the opportunity to finish his education.
“I decided I really liked Alaska,” said Weatherholt, who earned his MBA there.
He worked as a consultant for three years writing business plans with native corporations in rural Alaska villages with populations of 600 to 700.
People could only travel to some of the villages by air, and to others only by boat.
It was an exciting time for Weatherholt who helped to bring businesses into economically depressed areas.
He later took a contract with the Veterans Administration and worked part-time for three years writing a dozen plans.
After finishing his MBA, Weatherholt went to work as a contractor for Microsoft then went on his first trip to Siberia working for the Russian American Center.
Yakutsk, Russia, sometimes referred to as the coldest city on earth, is one of the largest diamond producers in the world.
“It was 1996 after the break up of the Soviet Union,” Weatherholt said.
His work there teaching meant being treated like a celebrity. People would ask for autographs after hearing the American speak.
A stint as owner of The Alaska Wild, a professional indoor football team started well but was short-lived.
“I started at ground zero and raised and spent $2 million,” Weatherholt said. “It was a lot of fun.”
The team had 2.5 million hits on the website in the first month and sold out their first game.
“It all went downhill from there,” Weatherholt said.
Weatherholt went on to develop his radio show, “Getting Down to Business” and began broadcasting in Anchorage in 2009 on stations owned and operated by Alaska Integrated Media, Inc.
This year will be the fifth in radio for Weatherholt, whose show is on four Alaska stations, two in Spokane and for the past few months, on two in Seattle.
Weatherholt will be visiting Seattle this month for his radio show to talk to Seattle Mariners vice president of corporate business and community relations, Joe Chard, and vice president of marketing, Kevin Martinez, about the business side of running a sports team.
Chris Pobieglo, president at Business Insurance Associates in Anchorage, met Weatherholt at a trade association fair when the two men set up tables next to each other.
“We got to talking and both kind of figured out that we do similar types of things,” Pobieglo said.
Both men were involved in business-to-business work and interested in strategic partnerships.
Pobieglo was a guest on “Getting Down to Business” before his company offered sponsorship. He now hosts a 10 to 15 minute segment on risk management for business owners.
“Dave’s slogan is, ‘Providing information you can use,’” Pobieglo said.
The key, he said, is to feature a mix of topics.
“One (show) will be in the political realm,” Pobieglo said. “The next week someone who runs a mom-and-pop shop. They are real examples. Real stories. There’s not a lot of format for that.”
