The Good Life – July-August 2017
Featuring WDAY Reporter Kevin Wallevand - Fargo's most famous storyteller. Local Hero - Navy Veteran, Shane Tibiatowski. Having a Beer with Dilworth Mayor - Chad Olson and more in Fargo Moorhead's only men's magazine. Featuring WDAY Reporter Kevin Wallevand - Fargo's most famous storyteller. Local Hero - Navy Veteran, Shane Tibiatowski. Having a Beer with Dilworth Mayor - Chad Olson and more in Fargo Moorhead's only men's magazine.
His Navy friendships are valued: “I made many life-long friends in the Navy. We had a reunion last July. I keep in touch with a few of them. I’ve done mortgage loans for a few of them. The ties are strong. It’s a brotherhood.” Tibiatowski recollected: “When I went into the military, I was arrogant. I had excelled at sports. But when I got to boot camp, I got knocked down a few notches. Right away, they show you that you belong to the government. It is a humbling experience – the discipline – everything from making the bed to how you fold clothes. I still fold my clothes the way I did in the military. Being from North Dakota, you go into it with a good work ethic. But I did not know what to expect. At both boot camp and A School I was thinking ‘Holy cow... Am I really in this? Can I really do this?’ But then you get to use the skills they taught you. The discipline learned in the Navy has set me up for even more success than I imagined I could ever have. Because of my time in the service, I am more focused. I treat my everyday life with focus. My kids may say that some days I act like a drill sergeant. Discipline is still a big thing for me.” He ran into his commanding officer years after he left the service: “I got to tell him what he did for me. Although he was awfully hard on me, it helped me be the sailor that I was and the man that I am.” 34 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
“Absolutely. Without any doubt, I would do it again.” It all comes full circle: “The biggest thing for me, in the position that I had in the military and now having this job is to be able to give back to veterans. It is huge for me, because I know that a lot of them get taken advantage of. I want them to get into the home they deserve for the right price and the right interest rate. VA loans are amazing. There are many great advantages that many veterans do not know about.” When asked what the phrase “the good life” means to him, Tibiatowski enthusiastically answered: “’The good life’ means being healthy, happy and able to provide for my family. I don’t need to be a millionaire or go on exotic vacations. I enjoy being able to give back — to be able to watch my kids grow and be healthy. To me that’s the good life. It’s having my family – I love that.” Finally, I asked Tibiatowski if, going back in time, and given the choice to again join the Navy, if he would do it and he said: “Absolutely. Without any doubt, I would do it again.” • urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 35
- Page 2 and 3: CELEBRATING FOUR YEARS OF THE GOOD
- Page 4 and 5: 06 NOT IN MY FAMILY - PART ONE OPIA
- Page 6 and 7: BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN “Dead Overdo
- Page 8 and 9: 18 months they “have really seen
- Page 10 and 11: MR. FULL-TIME DAD The Toddler Diet
- Page 12 and 13: BY: MEGHAN FEIR • PHOTOS BY: URBA
- Page 14 and 15: are thriving. Thirty days later, th
- Page 16 and 17: 16 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia
- Page 18 and 19: BY: ALEXANDRA FLOERSCH • PHOTOS B
- Page 20 and 21: PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: KEVIN WALLEVAN
- Page 22 and 23: to a refugee camp in Angola, Africa
- Page 24 and 25: BY: MATT LACHOWITZER PURCHASING A U
- Page 26 and 27: 26 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia
- Page 28 and 29: CO: “Legally Blonde.” I don’t
- Page 30 and 31: BY: BRITTNEY GOODMAN Shane Tibiatow
- Page 32 and 33: were brought aboard our ship and sp
His Navy friendships are valued: “I made many life-long friends<br />
in the Navy. We had a reunion last <strong>July</strong>. I keep in touch with a<br />
few of them. I’ve done mortgage loans for a few of them. <strong>The</strong><br />
ties are strong. It’s a brotherhood.”<br />
Tibiatowski recollected: “When I went into the military, I<br />
was arrogant. I had excelled at sports. But when I got to boot<br />
camp, I got knocked down a few notches. Right away, they<br />
show you that you belong to the government. It is a humbling<br />
experience <strong>–</strong> the discipline <strong>–</strong> everything from making the bed<br />
to how you fold clothes. I still fold my clothes the way I did in<br />
the military. Being from North Dakota, you go into it with a<br />
good work ethic. But I did not know what to expect. At both<br />
boot camp and A School I was thinking ‘Holy cow... Am I really<br />
in this? Can I really do this?’ But then you get to use the skills<br />
they taught you. <strong>The</strong> discipline learned in the Navy has set me<br />
up for even more success than I imagined I could ever have.<br />
Because of my time in the service, I am more focused. I treat<br />
my everyday life with focus. My kids may say that some days I<br />
act like a drill sergeant. Discipline is still a big thing for me.”<br />
He ran into his commanding officer years after he left the<br />
service: “I got to tell him what he did for me. Although he was<br />
awfully hard on me, it helped me be the sailor that I was and<br />
the man that I am.”<br />
34 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
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