Dressed in a yellow tank top and black running shorts and with his gps watch ready to go, Bill Thallemer gets ready for his six-mile run from the Linn-Benton Community College Activity Center. "Today it is six-miles, tomorrow it'll be 17 miles. I'm getting ready to run in a marathon in Seattle."

Bill Thallemer has been the vice-president for LBCC since June 2, 2008. Since taking his position here he hasn't lost his zeal for running and staying active. According to Thallemer on an average day he arises in the morning and generally runs anywhere from eight to 13 miles. As to date he has has run 34 marathons in 24 states. He also lifts weights on a regular basis as well.

Thallemer grew up in South Bend home of Notre Dame. Some of the influences in his life were his grandpa, who wrote the alma mater that Notre Dame still uses to this day, and a group that he joined, called the Budlight Daredevils. The Budlight Daredevils were a group of young acrobats that performed half-time shows for professional and college basketball as well as such hits in the 80's, the Miami Sound Machine with Gloria Estefan. Along with these influencing factors he has met a lot of olympic athletes and people like Mike Tyson and Michael Jordan, in the which he has a photo of him and them in his office.

I asked Thallemer what he thought it takes to motivate ourselves because we all have big ideas, and he said, “People is a big one, some people don’t let you dream big and this brings on frustration. It takes partnerships, energy and somebody willing to drive.” He went on to tell me a story about being a dean in Alabama where he had heard of a local family whose baby was having some real health problems. He put together a running event that would end up by raising over $30,000 for the family. A 50 mile run from their campus to another campus. He went on, “There are two sayings that I live by, It’s your job to make a positive difference in people’s lives every day and people don’t’ care how much you know until they know how much you care. Education is about helping people. It’s the driving force for me.”

Marilyn Hale, Thallemer's secretary said, "He is the big picture man and I am the detail person. Mr. Thallemer is a multi-tasker, with high-energy." She went on to tell about how involved Thallemer is in his community and in the state legislature for the school.

Currently Bill Thallemer teaches 10 classes a year for the Doctoral Leadership program for the University of Phoenix, works with the Governance Affairs Council for the city of Albany and is in the Greater Albany Rotary Club. Thallemer also owns his own business as a Process Improvement Specialist.