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Well-Deserved Retirement
For 42 years, retiring CSG East/ERC Director Wendell Hannaford has served the states
By Joel Sams
Political discussions were a main course during Wendell Hannaford’s childhood. Around the dinner table, the Hannaford family served up strong opinions on everything from presidential candidates to current events, reinforcing the value of dialogue, diplomacy and evidence-based argument.
Lessons learned around the table bore fruit. Throughout his 42-year career, the retiring CSG East director has earned a reputation for collaborative problem solving, and his relational approach to policy work has proven its worth through the decades.
Hannaford’s official last day at CSG will be Dec. 31, but he leaves behind a legacy of accomplishments — from the creation of the Eastern Trade Council to the recruitment of five Canadian provinces as international associate members — that will serve the states long beyond his tenure.
“Building relationships is at the core of our work at The Council of State Governments,” said CSG Executive Director/CEO David Adkins. “No one is better at forging meaningful connections between state officials than Wendell Hannaford. Wendell has been a gregarious and smart ambassador for CSG for decades. State officials have consistently looked to Wendell for trusted information and wise counsel. CSG has relied on Wendell to creatively develop new ways to deliver on our promise to the states. His humor and integrity make him a valued colleague and friend. Wendell’s professional legacy is reflected in the improved public policy outcomes of the states he served. Those states are stronger because of his commitment to our mission and his passion for bringing people together to do good. Wendell Hannaford made a difference for CSG and for our nation.”
Hannaford’s CSG career began in 1978, when he was hired as a field representative for CSG East. Coming to CSG from the office of New York state Sen. Bernard C. Smith, where he had served as a research assistant, Hannaford was excited to gain broader experience with state government.
As a CSG field representative, Hannaford was assigned to four states. He had policy responsibilities in energy and environment and was also responsible for dues and developing relationships with leaders — “In fact, all the things I do now as director,” he quips.
In 1981, Hannaford was promoted to assistant director, and was promoted again in 1982 to deputy director. Serving under then-Director Alan Sokolow, Hannaford created a regional task force on economic development exploring how states could collaborate on export promotion.
Standing Strong in Crisis
COVID-19 isn’t the first crisis Wendell Hannaford has weathered with CSG. He also lived through two disasters in New York City — the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 9/11 attacks.
In the wake of 9/11, Hannaford, along with New York state Assemblyman Robin Schimminger and former state Senator Carl Marcellino, went to the governor with a request: the CSG Eastern office has been in Manhattan since 1937. Help us stay.
Seven states also created a “Rebuild the Eastern Office” fund to help cover expenses not covered by grants and insurance — nearly $158,000. CSG East also received $108,000 from corporate sponsors at the time: Phillip Morris, Sunoco, Verizon, Astra Zeneca, Pfizer and the Karol Group.
“The states really came to our rescue,” Hannaford said. “We were created out of crisis to help the states share information during the Great Depression, and 75 years later, when the Eastern office was in crisis, the states came forward to support us. That, to me, really shows the value of the organization.”
A panda steals the show during an Eastern Trade Council trip to China led by Hannaford
Hannaford makes remarks during the 2019 Eastern Leadership Academy (ELA).
“One thing we needed to do was identify commonalities between states in exports,” Hannaford said. “The Urban Institute had done a study for five Southwestern states, identifying what they exported and international markets where those products would have a competitive advantage.”
The two-year study provided individual analyses for each CSG East state, with results that surprised many. “
The signature line […] is that our analysis determined the Northeastern states were ‘export underachievers,’ exporting about 4% of their GSP compared to a national average of around 7.2%,” Hannaford said. Leveraging that data, states could make better-informed decisions about where and how to market their products. They just needed to work together. Following a conference at Harvard, with three governors in attendance, the Eastern Trade Council was created to identify opportunities and bring the Eastern states into conversation about trade issues — a mission it continues to fulfill.
“We decided one of the ways to sustain a regional strategy was to create an ongoing mechanism where the state trade directors could meet and jointly decide where we had markets,” Hannaford said. “So, we created the Eastern Trade Council. And that’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of at CSG.” Véronique Cavaillier, director of the Eastern Trade Council, has worked with Hannaford for more than 20 years and was a board member from the council’s beginning. She says Hannaford’s ability to inspire collaboration was crucial for success.
“He had to convince the different states that it was in their interest for the trade offices to come together and actually share best practices in a business climate where everything is about job creation and performance, and you’re measured annually on your production,” Cavaillier said. “The idea of sharing your talent and your resources can be very difficult to overcome, and I can say that was not easy at the start of the Eastern Trade Council.”
Cavaillier says Hannaford’s personal approach carries through to all of his work at CSG.
“Everything is crafted,” she said. “He puts a lot of thought into everything that he does and the relationships that he creates to make projects like the Eastern Trade Council happen.” Another key accomplishment during Hannaford’s tenure was the recruitment of five Canadian provinces as international associate members of CSG East / ERC — New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
“The provinces are hugely valued and appreciated by our members,” Hannaford said. “It gives us an opportunity to talk about how they are addressing things like COVID-19, and how we are. We can make comparisons in healthcare and other ways.” The economies of the Northeastern states and the eastern Canadian provinces are closely linked — Hannaford says the Eastern states do $1.3 billion in daily trade with Canada — so maintaining a close relationship benefits everyone. “One of the most valuable things we did in my time was to slowly bring the individual provinces on board as international associate members,” Hannaford said. “Now they regularly appoint to our committees, and we had planned to take the ERC Annual Meeting to Ontario this year in August. Previous CSG East annual conferences have been hosted by Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Hannaford’s relational approach to his work extends to colleagues and members alike. CSG Midwest Director Mike McCabe says Hannaford has often reached out to him for input or guidance, even when Hannaford was an expert on the subject himself. “He just felt that he would benefit in his own thinking by reaching out to others, and I'm sure he does the same thing with his members in the East,” McCabe said. “I think that helps to ensure that the members with whom he works truly are engaged in the process and take ownership for its success. Wendell talks about these efforts being member-driven efforts — they truly are, and I think that's a real credit to his approach. “Someone who devotes 42 years of of a professional career to one organization has already told you something important,” McCabe continued. “In Wendell’s case, clearly he cares deeply about the things that CSG stands for. He's given almost his entire professional life to CSG, and I don't think anybody who does that does it lightly.”
Get to Know Wendell: What’s something people may not know about you?
I coach soccer. I coached my son from about age 7 all the way up through high school, and we were pretty competitive. He played in college. He was a goalie — I put him in that position, because nobody else would take it. I do sing in my church, and have done solos on occasion. I’m sure nobody knows that!
What are your hobbies outside of work?
Sailing, soccer, tennis, running, music. I play classical piano — took lessons for many years, growing up.
Pick three books for a desert island.
The Power Broker by Robert CaroThe Best and the Brightest by David HalberstamThe World According to Garp by John Irving
What’s one thing you’ve kept in your office through the years?
I have an old compass. It was given to me by a fellow sailor. It reminds me — stay focused; have a direction.
