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President Fliehman called our meeting, held at Peckham, Inc., at 12:26pm. A very appropriate invocation was given by Helen Mickens, followed by a Rotary rendition of God Bless America, ably led by Brian Taylor. President Fliehman remarked that he was always impressed by the quality voices of our group. John Collins, who had greeted us all upon our arrivals, made sure those with guests could be heard by walking the microphone around the room. Diane Sanborn reported that the health of the club was wonderful. President Fliehman let us know that he was the oldest person to attend the 10pm showing of the Marvel movie and didn’t get home until after 1am. It seems his daughter had insisted that this was a must attend showing. He also announced that our book drive will conclude next week with books being donated to the Early Literacy Program at Ingham ISD. Donna Gardner provided an update on the Paul Harris campaign. Funds donated during this campaign go for international projects, as well as district level projects. In short, these contributions make the World a better place. Donna made an especially impassioned plea to those who have their membership paid by their company to make a generous contribution from their own pockets. To date, our members have contributed $10,278, but from only 56 of 204 members. Since our most important goal is 100% participation, she urged those who have not yet contributed to head to rotary.org to do so. You can even setup an automatic monthly donation if that works better for you.  President Fliehman mentioned that the groundbreaking for Rotary Park on the Riverfront had been held earlier in the week on a somewhat cool day. He then introduced Andy Brogan, our Chair of the Month and Chair of the Day. Andy began by mentioning that a tour would follow today’s meeting for those who could stay, and thanked Peckham, and specifically Chris English, for arranging today’s meeting. He followed with some fun facts about each of our speakers. We learned that Mitch Tomlinson married his high school sweetheart and homecoming queen, enjoys bringing his dogs to work and spends time at his cottage in the summer. George Alonso, came to Peckham after 18 years at HP ad loves hip hop, especially Quavo. (It is safe to say that most in the room had never heard of Quavo and I had to use Google to be able to complete this account.) Mitch started the presentation by sharing that Peckham’s budget this year is $250 million among it’s five affirmative businesses. His next statement is that the businesses don’t matter, it’s the people who matter. Peckham hires people who have disabilities, start them on a career track and work to place them outside Peckham. Those with disabilities are 2 – 3 times more likely to live in poverty. Peckham offers apprenticeships in both sewing and Information Technology. The sewing apprenticeship is one of a kind in the country. Peckham’s building was built using universal design principles and is certified LEED Silver. Following its construction, all other Peckham facilities were renovated as well. The organization is becoming a self-supporting non-profit. 97% of its revenue is self-generated and they have established a $40 million foundation to support additional programs. George began by sharing that, in spite of HP’s focus on diversity, they had ignored individuals with disabilities. He then shared a few details of each of the affirmative businesses within Peckham. The primary activity at this facility is apparel manufacturing for the Department of Defense and Patagonia. They are also engaged in business services – contact centers and an IT help desk providing tier one support for USDA and DLA. Their supply chain management operation for the DOD boasts very high metrics and the environmental services business employs green cleaning for most government offices in the area. Peckham Farms provides locally grown produce for 25 area Meijer stores, or you can buy direct at the farm. Their greenhouse will have a great selection of flowering baskets just in time for Mothers Day. During a brief question and answer session, we learned that most employees are local to the facility where they work. New communities are served by opening new facilities. There are several facilities throughout Michigan, and a facility in each of Kentucky and Arizona. As points of clarification: - Universal Design is the process of building a facility around its users.
- Affirmative Business is one that exists to create jobs for the population that the organization wants to serve.
- The foundation is funded by the annual golf outing, an annual appeal (Board, staff and public) and profits from the businesses.
- Peckham owns half of Origami Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center.
President Fliehman explained that, In lieu of a speakers gift, we will make a donation to a clean water project in the Dominican Republic and presented both men with the Rotary coin. Next week, we will be back at the Lansing Center and our speaker will be Benjamin Botwinski, Director of the Ebersole Center, which is owned and operated by the Lansing School District. The meeting was adjourned at 1:18 and was followed by tours for all those who were able to stay. |
Ben Botwinski is the Director of the Lansing School District’s Ebersole Environmental Education Center. According to Ben, being the Director of the Ebersole Center is his dream job because it combines two of his favorite things … working with kids and being outdoors. As Director, Ben is responsible for the day-to-day management and oversite of the Ebersole Center, curriculum and program development; staffing and budgeting, etc. Ben began his career as a high school social studies teacher in West Michigan and has been fortunate enough to be able to teach in both South Africa and Tanzania. Ben holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Grand Valley State University, a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Teaching, and an Education Specialist Degree in Administration and Policy from Michigan State University. Ben is a lifelong outdoorsman and learner. He enjoys reading, spending time with his family, and travelling around the great state of Michigan. Ben married his high school sweetheart Kelly and they have two wonderful kids - William and Izabelle.
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at the Ingham ISD to reach students in the Lansing School District.