Photos: Duane Tinkey
When Wade Zimmerman isn’t figuring out IT solutions for LCS, which supports a network of senior living communities, there’s a good chance he’s piping buttercream frosting onto elaborate homemade cakes. LCS vice president by day, cake boss by night, he was recently featured in the Business Record, dsm’s sibling publication.
The hobby started with a birthday cake Zimmerman made for the oldest of his three kids and quickly became a family tradition. “Their birthday requests have turned into this fun, ongoing game of ‘Let’s see if Dad can actually pull this off!’” he said. “It’s a way to bring a little extra magic to family celebrations, and the actual reveal is so much fun. The looks on their faces makes all of the time worth it.”
Over the years, Zimmerman has taken a few cake-making classes and stocked up on gear. (“You can never, ever have too many piping tips,” he said.) He’s also applied a few kitchen lessons to his job.
“It’s all about bringing an idea to life, just like with a complex project. There’s a lot of planning involved, but it’s also about figuring things out on the fly when, say, a frosting isn’t cooperating or a design needs tweaking,” he said. “My cakes have definitely taught me the patience to troubleshoot and the calm to adapt when things don’t go perfectly, and that mindset is absolutely essential in the dynamic world of IT.”
Read about other local leaders with interesting hobbies in Emily Barske Wood’s story in the Business Record’s 2025 Photo Issue at businessrecord.com.
