Warren Gleeson '77 had never ridden a horse until 1973 when he saddled up a registered Quarter Horse in a barn owned by the Wing family of New Wilmington. Gleeson, a history major from Lyndhurst, N.J., atop the Wing's horse, would become the first Titan mascot in WC history. Today, the published author and retired food service and auto worker team lead reflects on the experiences at Westminster that led him to where he is today, which is likely to be tending to his horses near where he lives in western Ohio.

Tell us what you did after handing over the reins of the Titan mascot and graduating from Westminster.

I graduated with a history degree and a teaching certificate in 1977. At that time, it felt like everyone wanted to be a teacher and teaching spots were competitive. Two activities took up much of my time on campus; my on-campus job and being the Titan mascot. I was a work-study student manager in the cafeteria system during school. Through those connections with the food service giant Saga Corporation, I became a food service manager and director for several colleges and universities, like Otterbein, Urbana, and more, for the next decade. I was living in Columbus, OH when an account I was working on took me to Frostburg State in Maryland and that’s where I met my wife. I was in a good spot professionally, receiving company accolades for my accounting and reporting policies. I was recognized as a Top 4 manager in the country out of 300 professional managers and received manager of the quarter award. Following a merger between my company and Marriott Corporation, I was laid off. Disenchanted with how things played out in the corporate food service industry, I turned to blue-collar work. I fell back on my love of horses that I discovered at the Wing family farm during my time at Westminster as the Titan mascot. I was horseshoeing and working in a machine shop. During this time, I stayed involved in showing horses, while my granddaughter participated in 4-H. 

You authored a book on finance and retired from a 20-year career as a team lead for auto workers. Tell us how you made the connection from history major to a food service director to a finance guru.  

Coming out of high school, I was good at math and history. It turns out I probably should’ve majored in math at Westminster, and I would’ve discovered my love for finance a lot sooner. But the good Lord puts you where He wants you to be and gets you to where He wants you to end up. As a food service manager, I was recognized for my precise accounting skills and it was here I started to recognize my strength in dealing with numbers. After a few years of the aforementioned blue-collar work, I started working as a team lead for Honda of America in Marysville, OH. In 2011, the tsunami in Japan slowed production. As a team leader, I began hosting team-building activities for the employees during the downtime. While getting to know my crew, I realized the number of employees who didn’t understand the basic financial aspects of the job in preparing for their financial future and retirement was astounding. I started to offer classes on HR/finance-related topics, like company benefits and 401Ks. After my initial class, upper management asked me to host another. My second class on understanding benefits was standing room only. I was eventually asked if I had ever published any of this knowledge about planning for retirement. That piqued my interest. In 2022, I self-published the book “Money Lessons for Life and an Early Retirement.” Using some of my tips, I was blessed to be able to retire early at age 60 and still am blessed to be well enough to enjoy retirement, which includes showing horses again.

There is a Westminster connection with your book. Can you tell us about that?

In 2021, the alumni office at Westminster shared information about alumni author S.B. McEwen in its monthly alumni communication. Sherri (Breier) McEwen '94 had just published her first book, "Washing Ourselves Sick." I am grateful to Ms. McEwen, as she was able to provide guidance and direction to a fellow WC alum in crossing “publishing a book” off of my bucket list! 

How does your Westminster experience and education play into your life today? 

My time at Westminster served as the best years of my life and introduced me to lifelong friends. What WC taught us was to seek our way. You are taught values whether you realize it at the time or not. On reflection, I see how much the experience has shaped me as a person. I hope students of today realize the impact. I was born and raised as a city boy in New Jersey. I came to New Wilmington which is nothing like where I was raised and I was supported in my curiosity here. I learned not to be intimidated to try something new. I was a freshman attending the first meeting of a new group on campus when they floated the idea of creating a mascot. I raised my hand and said I’ll do it! Can you imagine – a city boy on a horse!? Going to Westminster – getting to know and train with the Wing family – being the Titan mascot really put me on a path and changed my life. I owe a special thank you to the Wing family, to the late Chuck and Beverly, and their daughters Susan Guyer ’78 and Bonny Noel (married to John Noel '77). They welcomed me into their home and farm like a family member and made a commitment to me and Westminster for several years as owners of the horses used for the Titan mascot. 

Do you still show horses today in your retirement? 

After retiring from Honda, I told my wife I wanted to get a horse again. She thought I was crazy. We had gone 25 years without having horses, and a few years ago I got back into it. I’m truly blessed to be able to show horses today on a competitive level. I loved my time with the Wings’ horses in college. And I wanted to say “at least I gave it one more shot” rather than “I wish I did.”

The pictures featuring Gleeson horseback are from a 1974 Titan football game and 50 years later....the 2024 National Reining Horse Association affiliate show.

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