TRAILBLAZERS: Scott Van Hartesvelt channels leadership into everyday service

PARK CITY, Utah — A Leadership Park City Class 29 graduate, Scott Van Hartesvelt now directs the 30-year-old civic-training program, carrying on what he calls founder Myles Rademan’s “lightning in a bottle.” The curriculum moves students through concentric circles: mastering personal leadership, bonding as a class, studying local institutions, comparing notes on a peer “city tour,” then launching a project that outlives their cohort.

“It opened the door to the community for me,” said Van Hartesvelt, who spent more than two decades here before realizing he’d mostly “existed” in town. COVID magnified his need to contribute. Sunrise Rotary became his gateway; Leadership Park City made the community feel accessible. “I connected with people I couldn’t have otherwise,” he said. That blend of admiration and urgency has guided his path from tech entrepreneur to community linchpin.

Service that shows up

As Sunrise Rotary’s service chair, Van Hartesvelt favors projects that trade flash for consistency. Members cook dinner every month at the Volunteers of America Youth Resource Center in Salt Lake City. “It’s not flashy work,” he said, “but that predictability frees staff to focus on teens in crisis.”

At Christmas the club mobilizes 40 to 50 volunteers for Holy Cross Ministries, turning pallet loads of Toys for Tots donations into individual gift bags. “We’re workers,” he said. “We roll up our sleeves and give organizations a steady, reliable backbone.”

Talking before convincing

Leadership Class 29’s signature project, Let’s Talk, channels the same service ethic into conversation. The civil-discourse program teaches residents to listen first and “communicate to connect, not to convince.”

“I like to think I was the first student,” Van Hartesvelt said. “While our class was still pitching the idea, I started using the techniques and thought, ‘Wow—this really works.’ When you lead with curiosity, every relationship opens up. I rely on these tools every single day.”

Private-sector lessons

Before his volunteer résumé swelled, Van Hartesvelt founded a hospitality-focused digital-marketing firm in 2002. Running a business has taught him that Park City often under-leverages private-sector talent. “We should ask more of the private sector,” he said. “I’ve failed plenty, earned scar tissue and learned lessons I can now bring into community relationships.”

Staying grounded

Rotary, the Hope Alliance board, the Park City Chamber marketing committee and family life with his wife, Monica, and daughter, Laila, all vie for time. Balance, he says, comes from six “table legs”: mindfulness practice, talk therapy, exercise, family, community work and entrepreneurship. “If your table stands on five or six legs, one can falter and the table still stands,” he said. Presence, he added, is “the most important discipline.”

Training the next wave

Asked what change he hopes to spark in five years, Van Hartesvelt reflected, “I don’t know that it’s my job to define the change. It’s my job to train and empower the people who will make that change.”

With 37 members in Class 31, he delights in watching strangers become a unit. “My favorite moment is being with the class and getting curious about how they choose to become their own community,” he said. Meeting alumni is a close second: “They tell me hilarious, inspiring stories and talk about the relationships that shaped them. It humbles me every single day.”

Curiosity first

His advice is simple: lean in—and lead with questions. Van Hartesvelt calls curiosity Park City’s secret sauce. “We are a community of exceptional people,” he said, pointing to neighbors who manage water resources, design traffic solutions and run mountain resorts.

“Start with the expectation that the person you’re talking to is exceptional and has something to teach,” he said. “If you choose the posture of leaning in—whether that’s through Rotary, the Park City Community Foundation, or a city or county board—this community will meet you halfway. Curiosity opens doors faster than credentials ever will.”