Bill Bateman, CLU®, ChFC®
FINANCIAL ADVISOR
Bill brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to LFA, gained during 52 years in insurance and financial consulting. Daily, he helps clients discover new financial possibilities for themselves and their families through plans for a secure retirement or the bequeathing of financial legacies.
In 2014, Bill became part of the LFA group, having owned Bateman, Dolan, and Westlund since 1979 and overseen its merger with Stearns Insurance in 1999. Over those years of developing professional contacts and making life-long friends, Bill was also focused on giving accurate, honest, and meaningful client advice.
“I become very involved in any activity I commit to, including helping my clients,” says Bill.
Many have benefited from Bill’s penchant for leadership and sense of responsibility. Bill is on the board of Granite Rotary and volunteers for Central Minnesota Youth for Christ and Calvary Community Church. He is a past-president of the YMCA and Central Minnesota Youth for Christ, and previously, was a board member of the United Way of Central Minnesota.
Bill earned a BA in Finance and Economics at Bemidji State University, Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) designation and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designation from the American College of Financial Services.
Bill was raised in Osage, MN the son of a Ford dealership owner who hunted with his father and his sons, Bill and Lyle. The family continues this tradition, maintaining a deer camp in Two Inlet State Forest, north of Bill’s Straight Lake home. Bill’s son and grandsons routinely return from upper New York State for deer hunting. An avid hunter of deer, antelope, caribou, and elk, Bill has hunted in Idaho, Montana, Colorado and Alaska, and bagged grouse and pheasant in North Dakota. Another trip to Alaska may be on his bucket list.
Back in the day, Bill played football for Bemidji State; today he’s a staunch Vikings season-ticket holder and Gophers fan. He’s also a snowmobiler, and enjoys negotiating the powder on the White Earth Indian Nation’s groomed trails. Golf is not Bill’s forte, although he’s practiced every Wednesday for 20 years with his guy-friends. Their favorite course is Eagles Landing at Ft. Ripley, “a golfer-friendly course.”
Bill and his wife Elna enjoy their blended family of five daughters, one son, and nine grandchildren. They also love to see new places. They’ve traveled to Africa, Australia, Barbados, Canada, China, England, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, and Switzerland, giving new meaning to the concept of “well-traveled.”
Something not many know about Bill . . . he and his sister contracted polio before there was vaccine. Both went to the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Minneapolis. After boiling hot packs and vigorous exercises were used on their affected back and leg muscles, brother and sister recovered with barely any reminders of the disease. Bill is especially happy that through the efforts of Rotary and others, polio has been eradicated in the world, with the exception of one or two countries.