A Brief History about Tim

Tim is a story guy. He says the foundation of his love for stories stems from his vivid imagination growing up learning the Bible: “I was positive that the Good Samaritan had encountered the injured man on the road we drove to school, that the Apostle Paul had been held captive in one of our barn stalls and that David had slain Goliath just on the other side of our barn hill.” He says that his imagination lent itself to being a storyteller growing up, and when he met the Walker family in the early ’90’s, he was drawn to this great American story. Tim says as he got to know the family and organization, he realized that the story of Walker was not just about a family, but it was about people being woven together in an amazing tapestry called Walker. It was the story of employees, suppliers, a sales channel, a host of peripheral relationships, and especially the people who purchase and operate the Walker Mower. “I was always amazed to see people gather around and be excited about what Bob often called ‘the little yellow mower’; it was energizing then and remains a great reason to get up and go to work every day.”

Tim and his team share these stories in Walker Talk magazine and at walkertalk.com. Walker Talk has been published twice a year since 1992 and is the longest running, corporate-sponsored publication in the power equipment industry. Tim says he is thankful that Bob had the vision to start Walker Talk early on. He says, “When you read about how the Walker is affecting people’s lives and they are having success, you know that the company and product are making a difference.” These stories include that of a banker who took early retirement and pivoted to lawn care, and who now considers himself happier and healthier in his new-found profession. And the cemetery caretaker Tim met in Italy, whose excitement transcended the spoken word as he smiled and eagerly pointed to his mower (despite being unable to speak English). These are the kinds of stories that fill the pages of Walker Talk, and these are the kinds of stories that Tim and his team are privileged to tell.

For Tim, one of the most impressive parts of the story is product design and improvement. “Watching how disciplined Dean (and now Ted and his team) have been all these years to stay true to the proven benefits of a compact, front-mount design with superior agility and versatility is incredible, as they have continued to focus on real value for customers with the brand.” Tim says the discipline to offer a unique value proposition instead of just doing what everyone else is doing has made telling the story even more rewarding.

To be sure, Tim loves his job; calling it the “best job in power equipment,” yet he says there is so much more that he is able to experience while telling the story of Walker like working with his gifted, agile marketing team and hosting people at the factory for events of all types, including the annual Factory Day and the Walker Hymn Sing.

For Tim, the story continues, and he says it gets more exciting every day, as the third generation of the Walker family has taken the lead, product innovation continues at a deft pace and Walker is meeting new people who are grafting deeply into the Walker story every day.