If WTVP was a runaway horse in the last year, John Wieland says he’s ready to turn over the reins. The 64-year-old chairman of the station’s board of directors is confident that newly named CEO Jenn Gordon will corral the steed and convince the community that WTVP really isn’t a wild nag but a thoroughbred.

Smiling, Wieland relaxes in a casual meeting room in the back of MH Equipment off Allen Road and reflects on relinquishing the attention.

“My 15 minutes in the sun is quickly coming to an end,” says Wieland, who explains some of the mostly private actions that have taken place since September, when WTVP President Lesley Matuszak and finance director Lin McLaughlin resigned, and Matuszak committed suicide. Weeks later, previous board chair Andrew Rand said there had been “questionable, improper and unauthorized” spending, and the board cut the budget 30%, laid off nine employees and shut down its Peoria magazine (which was a big factor in an $870,000 shortfall, according to an internal audit released later).

By February — while investigations continued by the Peoria Police Dept., the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — most of the board resigned and new board members were seated.

Learning experience

“When I came on the scene I was at the lowest level of incompetence,” he says. “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”

Wieland says he got involved after he and a group of friends that meets every month to share thoughts and challenge each other to be better, discussed the station’s woes.

“It came up — this disaster — that CPB was going to withhold funds and the rumor to shut it down. I wasn’t a frequent user of WTVP before, [and] I didn’t know Leslie. I did not know Andrew. I did know Helen [Barrick], who I’d worked with 40 years ago at Peat Marwick, and her husband Bill was on my board at MH Equipment.

“Anyway, my friends and I talked about if we could create something to provide a financial runway and give the community a fresh board.”

Wieland shared the thought with Dr. Andy Chiou, and he “made the introductions around Thanksgiving, I think,” Wieland recalls. “I met with Andrew and their executive committee and threw out this idea. They talked with their board [and] they thought it sounded like a decent plan. I didn’t pick the people who would stay or leave. We did have to come up with new board members.

“Throughout the whole deal, I sent out emails to the 7,000 or so people on the [station’s] list. We had a ‘litmus test’ — ‘Are you fully committed to fulfilling the mission of WTVP, which is to provide educational, scientific, entertainment and cultural content?’ ”

New life

Asked about criticism that former board members were insiders and the new board is, too, Wieland disagrees.

“I didn’t know who six of the new board members were. A lot of people on the board didn’t know each other,” he says. “I guess we’re insiders from this standpoint: We’re committed to the mission of WTVP.”

Wieland says the search for board members went beyond a handful of local power brokers.

“After the litmus test, we wanted to get people of different ethnicities, from outside Peoria, from Galesburg, Bloomington, and we’re still looking.”

Wieland says he’s read several books about Lincoln, including Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals,” and he appreciates a variety of voices. Especially for public broadcasting, that’s fitting. After all, as the public media marketing consultants Market Enginuity says, “If one were to combine the average statistics for PBS viewers on a national level, they would likely find a married, homeowning woman who is in her 30s or 40s and has at least one child under the age of 11.”

Weiland says, “Could another board have gotten on top of it sooner? Sure. Could another board get on it later? Sure.”

Right people

Asked whether the diversity of the board could improve since at least 13 of its 19 members have exclusively voted in Republican primaries, according to election records, Wieland says, “I didn’t know who’s in what party.

“It’s a good question; maybe it’s worth balancing it that way. Optics don’t have to be true to be people’s reality.

“To be honest, I don’t care if someone’s Republican, Independent or Democrat, whether they’re Christian or from the Jewish community or wherever. We would not let someone use this station for some kind of political, religious or social platform. Are such things OK? Sure. But that’s not the mission of WTVP.

“I’m so apolitical,” he adds. “Politics isn’t the answer; it’s a change of the human heart. Politics doesn’t do that.”

WTVP has been and will be even-handed, he says.

“WTVP has not strayed too far Left or Right, [and] we’re not going to the Left or the Right. We want our kids to learn their 1-2-3s and their A-B-C’s, and see good programs like Ken Burns does. [So] I’m not going to say we need a Democrat.”

Private runway

Back to the financial “runway” to return WTVP to fiscal stability, a key factor is a foundation’s pledge of $1.2 million, up to $3 million, to supplement area contributions and CPB funding (on the condition there is CPB funding). But the name of the foundation wasn’t disclosed. Wieland has a foundation, His First Foundation, which has donated to institutions such as Dream Center of Peoria, Peoria Christian School, and Unlimited Grace Media, at Grace Presbyterian Church.

Wieland says keeping the pledge private is a matter of putting the focus on WTVP, not a donor. “It’s not about a foundation,” he says, “It’s about WTVP. I want the focus not to be on the foundation. I want it to be about WTVP.

“I’ve been on TV a lot [but] it’s not about me, the board, the foundation or Jenn Gordon,” he continues. “I bought MH Equipment when it had about 50 employees; now it’s about 1,100. But, again, it’s not about me; it’s about the enterprise.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where most of this came from,” he adds. “In a couple of years, people will be able to look at the 990 (federal tax form for charities, which are public).”

As far as getting a new CEO, Wieland says the board’s search was methodical, but the process wasn’t open and the public wasn’t told. More than 70 people applied, the governance committee (Wieland and Vice Chair Andy Chiou) was joined by others including board members Barrick and Heather Acerra to conduct due diligence on 11 applicants, talk to 5 and interview 3 again.

“Could it have been done better? Of course,” Wieland says. “I did not know [Jenn] except we served on a common board at Grace Presbyterian Church. At the end of the day, we were lucky.”

Meanwhile, Wieling says he feels fortunate to be able to step back some.

“I’m comfortable being in the public; I’m comfortable not being in the public,” he says. “This probably is my last interview.”

Even if he’s out of the limelight, he says, he’ll follow how WTVP is doing.

“I do care if they’re committed to making this a family-friendly station for generations to come, committed to fulfilling the mission of WTVP.”