We’re pleased to welcome one of our newest members, Neal Henning. Learn more about him by reading over this short biography:
I come from a large family of 10 children born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1970 my parents moved us all to Prospect. Oregon, population 350. What a culture shock! I fell in love with Oregon though and decided to pursue a degree in Business from Southern Oregon State College.
Upon completing college I began a career in the collections industry which kept me in Southern Oregon for a time where I was active in the Medford Rogue Rotary Club. Later I was a partner in an agency in Sacramento, California where I was active in the Rancho Cordova Rotary club and eventually served as club President.
In 1995 I moved to Newport Oregon, married my wife Wanda and formed a blended family of four children, Katy, Brittany, Will and Shaun. Our youngest son Shaun and his wife Kiki are expecting our first grandchild Beau at any time now. Our daughter Brittany was just married this past weekend in San Francisco while our daughter Katy is currently engaged and planning her wedding for June 2017. Our son Will remains blissfully single, living the life in Bend Oregon.
While living in Newport I shifted gears to the hospitality industry spending 17 years as General Manager of Mariner Enterprises which consisted of Ripley’s Believe it or Not, the Wax Works, the Oregon Undersea Gardens as well as gifts shops, a restaurant etc. During my time in Newport I was an active member of the Newport Rotary Club where eventually I served as President. I also served as President of the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, two-time Chair of the Newport Seafood and Wine Festival and was an elected city councilor for the City of Newport.
During this time my wife was running her family business, Creditors Collection Service. In 2007 we became the sole owners of the family business and made the decision to purchase another agency In Washington eventually merging both agencies and forming what is now known as Industrial Credit Service.
As a result of my experience in the hospitality field and with the flexibility that owning our own business afforded, we were given the opportunity to move to Long Island, Bahamas and manage Cape Santa Maria, a 40 unit resort on one of the best beaches in the world. Prior to taking the position we read Herman Wouk’s book “Don’t Stop the Carnival” which is a fictional novel of what can and most certainly will go wrong while running a resort on a small Caribbean island. After 2 years in the Bahamas we could have written our own book!
Wanda and I returned to Oregon and chose to live in Salem in order to be close to our family. We purchased a home in Illahe, located on the 7th hole and are currently immersed in a major remodel. We are both actively running our business, Industrial Credit Service, a debt collection agency that specializes in commercial collection. We have offices in Salem and Redmond, Washington and we handle collections for both large and small businesses locally, nationally and internationally.
I enjoy just about any type of outdoor activity and hopefully when our remodel is complete I will once again have time to get on the golf course.
Rotary has been an important and integral part of my adult life. I strongly believe in the core values of Rotary and have been proud to say that I am a two-time Paul Harris Fellow. I look forward to being an active member of the Rotary Club of Salem.
