By Greg Crowe, President & CEO

1955 marked a significant year for many reasons, including the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her bus seat, the opening of the first Walt Disney theme park and the first McDonald’s restaurant, the death of actor James Dean, and the introduction of the first domestic microwave oven!  In addition to those milestones, 1955 saw the founding of a small financial advisory firm by Bob Ehlers.  His namesake company has lasted 70 years, a feat only 10% of Fortune 500 companies from 1955 have achieved!

Robert (Bob) Ehlers, Sr. was born and raised in Montana, and while a lawyer by education he had a bit of a cowboy spirit.  After arriving in Minnesota in the late1940s, he was quickly introduced to public finance, and in 1955 he founded Ehlers and Associates, and began writing the story that continues to this day.

While times and circumstances have certainly changed, the basic needs of municipal entities in 1955 are similar to what they are today and still require a broad range of financial solutions.  Bob initially worked primarily with cities, and it was obvious to him that those working in our cities were at a disadvantage when sitting across the table from experienced bankers as they hashed out the terms and details of hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars of capital financing.  He believed that those on the commercial side of a matter weren’t necessarily motivated to protect the public interest.

The company was borne out of an important and lofty goal, that municipal entities deserve a trusted advisor relationship where their interests were protected and held above all else.  You might say Bob Ehlers was a visionary.  The principles he espoused, fought for, and instilled in others were later codified into federal law in the Municipal Advisor Rule implemented around 60 years later.

Over time, Ehlers has grown to nearly 90 employees, and more than 1,500 clients across five states, and expanded our work to include all types of municipal governments, including cities, counties, townships and school districts. We’ve also expanded our public finance services beyond debt issuance to include financial planning, economic development and redevelopment, post-issuance compliance and investment management.  Yet, over seven decades, the fundamentals of our work remain grounded in the Ehlers story, as well as the culture and values Bob instilled in our organization.

Of course, we would not be celebrating this milestone without those of you who are reading this, and who we have had such long and fruitful relationships.  We thank you for the trust you have placed in us and continue to place in us each day.  We are humbled and honored to partner with you and shared mission of building communities.

70 years later, Ehlers and our employees remain committed to the ideals that resulted in the formation of this company and anticipate another 70 years of commitment to you and the vision that Bob Ehlers established!