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1 giveit2goodwill.org Jan. - March 2011 Ambassador Jan. - March 2011 Our business is changing lives. Wedding Gala 2011 High Fashion, Low Prices, Wedding Day Savings The Tale of Two Brides Microsoft Gives Goodwill $236K Grant

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1giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 2011

AmbassadorJan. - March 2011

Our business is changing lives.

Wedding Gala 2011High Fashion, Low Prices, Wedding Day Savings

The Tale of Two Brides

Microsoft Gives Goodwill $236K Grant

giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 20112

contents

President & CEO - David LifseySr. Director of Marketing & Community Relations - Karl Houston

Art Director & Photographer - Scott BryantWriter & Copy Editor - Suzanne Kay-Pittman

Ambassador is a quarterly newsletter published by Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.

1015 Herman St.Nashville, TN 37208

For the nearest retail store, donation center, or Career Solutions facility, please call 615.742.4151 or visit giveit2goodwill.org.

The Ambassador provides its readers with stories about the events, activities and people who support the mission of Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee. We are pleased to provide you this information and hope you will share our publication with others. Please note, the opinions expressed in the Ambassador do not necessarily reflect an opinion or official position of the management or employees of Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.

Goodwill’s Mission: We sell donated goods to provide employment and training opportunities for people who have disabilities and others who have trouble finding and keeping jobs.

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1014

14Recapping a record year

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Donate Forward

More Services = More Career Opportunities

Microsoft Grant

Jeffrey Ballenger’s job at Goodwill relieves stress

Idalba Tabares - Matching clients and careers

Goodwill’s Wedding Gala - Bridal bliss

Faith Warf bakes bread for her customers

John Stone reflects on his year as Chairman of the Board

3giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 2011

Consider all the not-for-profits in your community. Most ask for help in serving their mission, Goodwill included. Most

agencies rely on financial contributions. At Goodwill, we ask for gently-used items that can be sold in our stores in order to fund our mission of providing job training and services. But we also give back through our community relations team and the Goodwill Cares program.

While Goodwill may not be a first responder after a disaster, we are always available to help individuals and families experiencing a hardship or recent economic change, with the donation of a gift card that can be used in Goodwill stores.

What’s considered a hardship? • Homelessness• Domestic violence• Victims of fire, natural disasters, etc.• Foster care situations

A number of area agencies refer their clients to Goodwill Cares for assistance with clothing, furniture and household items. While several of these organizations may have clothing closets for clients, they may not have the right size or style to fit a particular need such as a job interview or other event. Through Goodwill Cares, which will provide a Goodwill gift card to use at any of our store locations, those clients can shop at a Goodwill store for the appropriate clothing.

Agencies such as Metro Nashville Public Schools have come to Goodwill Cares for assistance for students who are not able to afford standard school attire or uniforms.

The YWCA refers domestic violence clients who, in many cases, had to leave all their clothing and children’s clothing to escape a violent home. In addition, some community-based organizations have assisted their clients in finding employment, but the new hire is required to wear specific outfits for their job, such as black slacks and a white shirt, which they can find in a Goodwill retail store.

There are specific criteria to qualify for a Goodwill Cares gift card. Applicants must submit supporting documentation from a case worker, social worker, probation officer, pastor or rabbi, or other supporting agency. A supporting agency could be a church or synagogue, nonprofit agency, school or transitional living facility.

For more information, please contact Goodwill’s Community Relations Manager, Natisha Moultry, at [email protected] or via phone or fax at (615)346-1601.

A short list of nonprofit agencies that work with Goodwill Cares includes:

• Metro Nashville Public Schools• L.A.S. Therapy Network & Development• Project Return• Mending Hearts• YWCA• Nashville Cares• United Cerebral Palsy

Need aHelpingHand?Goodwill Cares Gives baCk to those is need.

giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 20114

DonationsOur Donation Express Center attendants served 38,705 donors between December 26 and December 31. That’s up 10 percent over the previous year. On New Year’s Eve, Friday, December 31, we served 12,339 donors in our 67 DECs. That’s a record number of people who generously gave their gently-used items to Goodwill. While the rush of donors can be directly attributed to many people who wanted a tax write-off for 2010, interestingly, only 37 percent of donors actually accepted a receipt. Many other donors told our attendants they were more interested in giving their items to support our mission or had cleared their closets.

RetailWith record donations comes record inventory. Director of Retail, David Jenkins, is ready to put those donations on the racks and shelves at our 30 stores to continue the upward trend in sales. Overall sales in our stores were up eight percent in 2010. Three stores topped the $2 million mark including Clarksville I, Rivergate and Cookeville. Another 10 stores sold more than $1.5 million in goods in 2010.

What Does this Mean for our Mission?Without the generosity of our donors and the shoppers who frequent our stores, our Goodwill would not be able to carry out its mission of providing employment and training opportunities for people who have disabilities and others who have trouble finding and keeping a job. The revenue from the sale of the donations not only provides free job services to the thousands of Tennesseans who work with our Career Solutions counselors, it also supports the 1,500 employees who earn a paycheck at Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee. That paycheck creates a ripple effect and gives us all the opportunity to be a better parent, spouse, child, sibling, employee and member of the community. And it’s all possible because of the simple act of donating gently-used items.

Our donors deserve credit because they really do change lives!

2010ends withrecordsales &donations

The non-stop stream of shoppers and donors kept our donations and retail teams on their toes as the sun set on 2010. Thanks to them, we reached record numbers.

5giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 2011

donateforwardone week of GivinG adds up to hours of free traininG

Spring cleaning, getting rid of your clutter, nesting, prepping for

the warmer months, whatever your reason, when you bag your no-longer needed items and give them to Goodwill, you’re giving yourself the gift of space and a Goodwill client the gift of free job services.

Goodwill has 67 Donation Express Centers located throughout the 46 counties in middle and west Tennessee that are served by the company. We make it easy to donate. And we want you to help us with a huge donations push the week of March 20 through March 26. Donate Forward.

When you donate, you support the growing list of free job training programs and continuing services offered by Career Solutions (see story, page 6). Donate six outgrown t-shirts, six purses that are so not your style any longer, six pairs of jeans in multiple sizes and six sweaters that don’t match your new slacks, and you’ve donated 4.6 hours of free training. That’s a gift that can also be measured by looking ahead. Those hours may be all that stands between a client who needs a job and finding employment.

With employment comes self-sufficiency, the ability to support a family, and the chance to be an integral part of the community. Our Donations Express Centers are easy to find at giveit2goodwill.org/donations, our attendants are ready to help, your donations are putting people to work and allow Goodwill to continue its mission of providing employment and training opportunities for people who have disabilities and others who have trouble finding and keeping a job. Donate forward. It’s a great way to start the year!

Remember the Nancy Sinatra song, These Boots are Made for Walking? It seems boots and shoes just aren’t walking into Goodwill’s Donation Express Centers fast enough. Here’s motivation to clear out your closet. Consider the numbers. Let’s say your kids have outgrown their shoes. You probably have several pairs from each of them, plus a few more that are no longer your style. Add up the number of pairs you have to donate. If you’re donating 12 pairs of shoes, it equals one and a half hours of free on-the-job training for a Goodwill client. That’s a tangible benefit. That’s another drop in the ripple effect of the benefits provided by Goodwill.

Imagine if you could take a walk in our shoes, and realize how important your donations are to Goodwill’s mission, then go ahead and donate. It will be a good thing. Your shoes are drops in an ever-growing ripple effect. The more shoes you donate equals more free job services Goodwill can offer through Career Solutions. Your shoes will help change lives.

One dozen pairs of shoes = 1.7 hours of free career counseling for someone in your community.

Read how you are changing lives by visiting www.giveit2goodwill.org/successstories

shoes change lives

giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 20116

If you’ve seen our Goodwill’s billboards and commercials, the wraps on our trucks or signs in our stores, you know that our mantra is give it to Goodwill and you give jobs. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, and the sale of those donations in our stores, a wide-range of new job training programs are being rolled out by the Career Solutions team. Those programs mean more opportunities for our clients to earn a paycheck, support their family, and be an integral part of their communities.

Document and Image Scanning ProgramPaper files are still a reality in this day of technology and online document management. For many companies that maintain paperwork on file, there is a need for secure and reliable document storage and destruction services. Law firms, physicians, accounting firms and businesses that maintain personal and sensitive information, will soon be able to hire Goodwill’s trained and pre-screened candidates to handle those files.

Goodwill’s training program teaches candidates how to scan documents and code information into a company’s scanning system to make retrieval of the documents easy. The final step in the training is the safe destruction and disposal of those documents.

Clients who go through Goodwill’s new document imaging and scanning program will learn how to work within the framework of each company’s customized system. Interestingly, four four-drawer file cabinets, that’s 16 drawers, of documents can be scanned onto just a single CD, saving the storage space of 16 boxes of documents in a storeroom.

As more companies begin to implement these processes on-site, more jobs will become available. In addition, these jobs are several steps above an entry-level job since they require computer skills and understanding the scanning and coding or indexing processes.

Custodial ProgramGoodwill has started a training program for candidates interested in jobs as janitors or custodians. The training focuses on cleaning techniques and the care of businesses and other facilities. Training is being conducted at the Lifsey Building in Nashville. Candidates who enter this short-term, paid program, learn floor care, proper trash handling, restroom cleaning, and ensure the exterior of the building is properly maintained.

Many businesses employ staff to maintain their facilities, so the Career Solutions staff determined this training offers candidates strong job skills and potential employment opportunities. Since many decide to continue their training and move on to nursing school which offers multiple job opportunities. The program is a strong first step on the road to career choices within health care.

Donations Fuel New Careers diverse Careers are just a deCision away for Clients.

7giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 2011

Goodwill clients will soon have additional opportunities to gain computer skills, thanks to a $236,000 cash grant from Microsoft. Goodwill Industries of Middle

Tennessee is one of just 12 nonprofit organizations in the country to be awarded the funding for the Microsoft Elevate America initiative. Goodwill was chosen through a competitive process in which more than 300 organizations applied for a portion of the $5 million available from the technology giant.

What does this mean for our Goodwill? The money will be used to hire five trainers who will travel to each of Goodwill’s 16 Career Solutions Centers to help clients upgrade their technology skills through the company’s Project Digital Literacy. The trainers will work one-on-one with clients, helping them navigate the online job search and applications processes. The centers are located throughout the 46 counties served in middle and west Tennessee by Goodwill.

“This money is going to help our clients learn comprehensive job search skills. The trainers will allow us to increase our career counseling, technology skills training and job placement services,” notes Betty Johnson, the vice president of Employment Services. She adds, “To say we are thrilled to have been awarded this grant from Microsoft is an understatement.”

The grant will also help Goodwill continue to focus on the under served community, including rural, low income, people who lack digital literacy, lack access to technology, and those who have a difficult time finding jobs as technology becomes the application process of choice for employers. Through the Elevate America initiative, Goodwill expects to reach more than 3,500 clients in 2011 who do not have jobs and do not have access to computers and the Internet.

Microsoft chose Goodwill because, “Too many Americans don’t have the technology skills that many jobs today require,” said Pamela Passman, corporate vice president of Global Corporate Affairs at Microsoft. “Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee

has demonstrated how its programs can reach some of the most under served people in our society. We’re honored to partner with this Goodwill to provide training and job support to the people who need it the most.”

For more information about Elevate America, visit microsoft.com/ElevateAmerica.

Proudly supported by Microsoft.

UP_Poster_c08.indd 1 11/11/2010 4:51:53 PM

Microsoft’s Elevate America Community Initiatives Grant Goes to Goodwillelevate ameriCa Grant to be used to fund Goodwill’s Project Digital literacy.

“To say we are thrilled to have been awarded this grant from Microsoft is an understatement.” -Betty Johnson

giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 20118

“I enjoy my job and I’m thrilled to be employed,” says Jeffrey Ballenger, a sales associate at Goodwill’s Gallatin store. “I decided to come to Goodwill because it does a lot of good things for the community. It promotes confidence in employees and working with people, and it’s a big help to the community.”

Goodwill has proven to be Ballenger’s haven from the stress he dealt with at his prior jobs. “Before Goodwill I worked as an illustrator for ten years for several department stores and a manufacturing company, which had its own rewards but was stressful.”

His next job, working as a seat inspector at a General Motors manufacturing plant, ended when the auto industry went into a slump. “I had heard a lot of good things about Goodwill and wanted to give it a try. I like the work environment. We have fun at the store and I really enjoy the job. I’ve learned a lot about clothing since working there. It turned out for the better that I came to Goodwill.”

Ballenger’s positive attitude at work earned him a nomination by Gallatin store manager, Carol Justice, to be considered for one of Goodwill’s newest television commercials. “He’s a joy and so good with our customers. He’s worth $1 million,” says Justice. Her hunch was right, and now Ballenger is part of Goodwill history as one of the faces in the anthem spot, highlighting several of our employees.

“I really liked the experience with the commercial shoot. I’m thrilled to be in the ad and on a billboard,” says Ballenger, who has advice for others who may consider working for Goodwill.

“This job has made me a more positive person toward working with the general public. My coworkers support one another and help in any way they can. It’s a great place to work.”

See Jeffrey in Goodwill’s newest commercial by visiting youtube.com/giveit2goodwill.

Two Sides of theGoodwill Story

Jeffrey BallengerSaleS aSSociate, Gallatin

Goodwill relieves one man’s stress.

9giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 2011

When you watch Goodwill’s new commercial featuring five of our employees, look for the warmth in Idalba Tabares’s eyes. There’s wisdom, a presence and a sense

of pride. She is the key for many of our clients hoping to find a job. “I try to bridge goals between what a client wants, their capabilities, and finding an employer for that client,” says Tabares, the career counselor at the Berry Road Career Solutions Center near downtown Nashville.

The Colombia, South America, native has been in the United States 12 years. She and her entire family emigrated after an earthquake in 1999 ravaged their home city of Armenia. The family landed in New York, and after a few stints in several other cities, Tabares moved to Nashville in 2002.

Tabares worked in a customer service job before coming to Goodwill five years ago. When she came to Goodwill she says she found her true calling. “I work hard to find the right fit for every client and each employer I work with. Even if I’m tired at the end of the day, when I’ve made the right connections, I think that I have a sense of purpose, something we call, en vano, in Spanish.”

“When people come to my office, many of them don’t have a place to live or sleep and I do all I can to help them. Goodwill allows me to act as a guide to a better life. When someone who was once homeless and unemployed and is now successful comes back to visit, it means everything to me, to know that I had a hand in helping that client.”

This no-nonsense counselor says, “I dole out tough love. For many of my clients Goodwill is likely the last place, their last hope.” Her success speaks for itself. Tabares has one of the highest placement rates in Goodwill, placing 75 percent of her clients in jobs.

“When my clients let me help, and I see their success and their smiles, they make me feel I’ve done my job.” And as for being in the commercial, Tabares says, “I feel very proud of this company and that I help people change their lives. And the commercial makes me happy to share my own positive experience with people who can take advantage of the opportunities we offer.”

See Idalba and Jeffrey in the newest Goodwill commercial by visiting youtube.com/giveit2goodwill

Goodwill StoryDispensing More than Career Adviceidalba tabares is featured in Goodwill’s newest television CommerCial.

IdalBa TaBarescareer counSelor, Berry road

Client & Counselor

giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 201110

Gala 2011Wedding

11giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 2011

When the doors opened at the Rivergate store for our first-ever Wedding Gala last year, more than 350 people had waited in the cold for hours to be the first to buy designer and vintage wedding gowns at deeply discounted

prices. When the event ended, most of the brides, some of whom came from hundreds of miles away, left with their dream dresses. None of the dresses sold that day cost more than $400.

If you’ve got a wedding on your 2011 to-do list, don’t miss out on wedding day deals at our second annual Wedding Gala, to be held Saturday, March 19, at the Rivergate store. And as with last year, the doors will open early, at 6:00 a.m., and all gowns will be priced from $99 to $399, including designer gowns.

The racks at Rivergate will be filled with new gowns that have been donated by area bridal boutiques with name brand tags. Natisha Moultry, the community relations manager who is overseeing the bridal gala, says, “We’ve already received gowns by Mori Lee, Alfred Angelo, Eden Bridals, Private Label by G, and I expect many more dresses between now and the gala.”

Brides who want to wear vintage gowns will also have a large selection. The donations team has been putting aside donated wedding gowns since last March, immediately after the first gala ended.

Along with wedding gowns, brides-to-be will be able to choose bridesmaid and flower girl dresses. Mothers-of-the-bride or groom will also find a large selection of dresses. Moultry adds, “There will be an added emphasis on grooms. Street Tuxedos is one of our new sponsors this year.”

Want to see some of this year’s gowns before they go on sale? Several employees volunteered to model for the Wedding Gala Look Book, and were photographed at the newly re-opened Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The Wedding Gala Look Book can be seen on our Web site, giveit2goodwill.org.

Gala 2011

Are you getting married in 2011? Know someone who is? Here are some tips to help you navigate during Goodwill’s wedding gala:

• Arriveearly–Eventhoughthedoorsdon’topentill6:00a.m.,youdon’twanttobethelastoneinthestore.

• Itcouldbeacoldmorning–Bepreparedanddressaccordinglywhileyouwaitforthedoorstoopen.

• Wearabodysuit–It’llmakeiteasierforyoutotryonthegowns.

• Haveyourhairstyledsimilartoyourweddingdaylook–It’llhelpyouvisualizeyourwalkdowntheaisle.

• Haveatleastonefriendorfamilymemberwithyou–Anextrapairofhandswillcomeinhandywhenyoucarryweddinggownstothedressingrooms.

• Don’tbringtoomanyfamilymembersorfriends–Sometimestoomanyopinionscanbeconfusing!

giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 201112

It was love at first sight for Ashley Clapp when she caught a glimpse of Vane Owens during their sophomore year in high school. He was the new kid and she spotted him in the cafeteria. Two years later, with a little encouragement from a lot of friends, Clapp gathered her wits and asked Vane to be her date for their senior prom. He said, “Yes,” and, after seven years together, they’re tying the knot and getting married April 23.

While we all love a love story, there’s an added bonus in the Clapp/Owens affair. They chose April 23 for their wedding because it’s Earth Day. They’ve put themselves on a strict budget of $3,000 for the day because, “When I picked up a wedding magazine, I started hyperventilating,” said Clapp with a laugh.

“I’m not traditional and all the wedding pictures seemed so structured. I love shopping at Goodwill and knew from the start that that’s where I was going to buy most of the items for my reception.”

The artist in Clapp, she’s a jewelry designer, helped her visualize her wedding day as eco-friendly, original, and eclectic, without paying big bucks. “The look I want is fun, with different linens, fabrics, and candlesticks, and even each plate and the silverware will be different patterns. I’ve shopped at a lot of Goodwill stores in Nashville and have been able to find everything from linen napkins to wine glasses for a fraction of what I’d pay to rent them from a caterer.”

There’s still a bit of tradition in the Clapp/Owens wedding. She’ll have plenty of items to cover something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. “The old will come from a lot of the vintage pieces I’m buying from Goodwill, the new is my wedding dress, my family and friends have loaned me a few items, and as for the blue, you’ll see a lot of it in the place settings and linens.”

In keeping with the eco-friendly theme of the wedding, Clapp has one last plan. “I’m going to donate everything I’ve bought at Goodwill back to the agency after the wedding. With Goodwill I’m paying less, I’m helping people and I want to give back. It’s a circle of awesome!”

Going to Goodwill & Getting Marrieda bride-to-be depends on Goodwill for the weddinG reCeption of her dreams.

“It’s a circle of awesome!”

Jerry Richardson, Call Center manager, wears a black and white tuxedo accented with a pink tie provided by Street Tuxedos.

Jillian Davis, job developer/job coach, models a pink tulle ball gown with a rhinestone crown.

13giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 2011

Giving the Gift of a Wedding Gownafter a flood, one nashvillian tells how her dress was saved for the Gala.

Like every bride, Linda Sisselman wanted the perfect dress for her walk down the aisle. It was 1987 and she

was living in Atlanta where she and her mom searched the area’s bridal boutiques. The $1,500 dress this Long Island, New York, native settled on was, well, not what many expected. “When I found it and put it on, it just screamed to me. My mom and I were crying in the shop. But it’s not like me at all. It’s very frilly and Southern!” “I felt more beautiful than I ever had on my wedding day. It was special, and filled with love and family. I felt like Cinderella in that dress. I was the only daughter and my mom and I would play princess bride when I was little. My wedding day was a fairytale for me and my mom,” says Sisselman, who has been married to her husband, Lenny, for 24 years.

After their honeymoon, the Sisselmans moved to Nashville, and Linda had her gown preserved in an heirloom box and tucked it away in a closet hoping that one day, if she had daughters, they might want to wear the dress. However, girls weren’t

on the radar for the Sisselmans. They have three boys. But still, the dress stayed stored. “I thought maybe a daughter-in-law might want to wear the dress so I kept it,” she recalls.

Then came May 1, 2010. The day Nashville flooded. The Sisselman’s home took on two feet of water. The dress was in a downstairs closet. And the box was soaked. Through the painstaking process of finding salvageable items, Linda was certain her wedding gown was ruined.

“When I saw that the box was drenched my heart sank. But when I opened it, it was so well preserved in a sealed bag that it was still in perfect condition.”

“The flood changed everything. Emotionally I decided I would no longer hang on to things I didn’t really need. Then I remembered Goodwill’s Wedding Gala last year and I spoke to my mom about donating the dress and she thought it was a great idea,” said Sisselman. It was an important conversation that still resonants with her.

“My mom died several months later. I’m so glad she was OK with my plan to donate the dress.”

So what does she hope for the bride who buys her dress at the 2011 Wedding Gala? “I want her to have as much happiness and joy in her life as I’ve had. I’m so glad I gave the dress to Goodwill. It survived the flood. It’s tough and proves that love survives.”

Tricia Slack, Human Resources generalist, is wearing a jewel-encrusted halter-style wedding gown and rhinestone earrings.

Josh Williams, manager of network and operations, poses models a traditional black and white tuxedo provided by Street Tuxedos.

giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 201114

Queen of BreadIt’s happened to all of us. We walk into a grocery store and the

smell of baking bread wafting from the bakery draws us to the source. It’s tough to resist and we usually walk away with a

warm loaf of French, multigrain or whole wheat bread. Faith Warf gets a kick out of that happening every day she works at the Parkway Commons Kroger bakery in Franklin.

Warf is an award-winning Kroger baker. She is tops in bread sales in the company’s division that stretches from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and into middle Tennessee. The assistant store manager, Jocelyn Curry, says Warf is affectionately known at the Queen of Bread and that, “She’s like sunshine on a cloudy day.”

Warf ’s path to Kroger leads through Goodwill’s Career Solutions Center in Franklin. With the help of career counselor, Diane Wilson, Warf was able to land her first steady job in the U.S. “I was a guidance counselor and worked in community development in my home town in the Philippines,” says Warf. “I have my college degree but that didn’t matter once I moved to this country in 2006 to be with my husband.”

“Faith already had computer skills when she came to me looking for help finding a job,” says Wilson. “She took part in the job readiness classes and I knew there was an opening at Kroger and suggested she apply.” It was a good suggestion. Warf was hired and then was named Goodwill’s 2010 Graduate of the Year for the Franklin Career Solutions center.

Once Warf started her job at Kroger, it took less than six months for her to earn the reputation for being a bakery leader. Her secret to success? “I go to the customers with the bread. I don’t usually wait for them to come to me behind the counter. I push a cart around the store and once the customers smell the bread, they stop me and take a loaf.” Warf sells as many as 40 loaves of bread on an average day.

The interesting twist to this story is that Warf doesn’t care much for bread! “I’m from the Philippines and we eat rice with every meal. Bread is just a snack for me. But when I do eat bread, my favorite is our white French loaf.”

kneadinG help and risinG to the ChallenGe

15giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 2011

My initial incentive in volunteering for the Goodwill board was my belief that, as a business attorney, I had something to offer to Goodwill. However, I would never have predicted how much Goodwill had to offer to me. During my years on the board, I have made many close friends at Goodwill—both fellow board members and Goodwill employees. But the greatest gift that Goodwill has given to me has been the opportunity to witness the countless lives that this organization has impacted and, in many cases, literally saved.

There have been times when I have arrived at Goodwill’s corporate office in Nashville for a board meeting feeling frustrated about some issue at work, the performance of the stock market or a current political development. Then, during the course of the meeting, the board would be treated to a testimonial from a Goodwill client who had turned his or her life around as a result of their job through Goodwill. Suddenly, my spirits would be lifted, and I would leave the meeting with a newfound optimism about the state of the world. What more could one ask for?

As my tenure as Chairman of the Goodwill Board of Directors draws to an end, I want to thank everyone at Goodwill for giving me the opportunity to watch the organization and the people it serves grow and prosper during the past 15 years. It turns out that you have done much more for me than I could ever do for you.

sounding boardthe refleCtions of a board memberI first joined the Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee in the mid-1990s after being invited for a visit to the Ninth Avenue offices by long-time board member Bill Cammack, who has since retired from the Board. As soon as I toured Goodwill’s facilities, and met David Lifsey, I was certain that this was an organization with which I wanted to be involved. I was especially impressed that a not-for-profit could support itself, and at the same time train hundreds of clients to be productive members of the workplace, all with donated goods that might otherwise end up in the trash. I remain just as impressed with Goodwill’s self-supporting business model today.

John W. sTone, III2010 Board chairman

giveit2goodwill.orgJan. - March 201116

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDNashville, TN

Permit No. 2009

Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc. | 1015 Herman St. | Nashville | TN | 37208

Officers

Chairman: Robert McNeilly, IIIPresident and CEOSunTrust Bank

Vice Chairman:Donna B. YurdinOwnerCredo Management Consulting

Secretary: Christopher S. DunnAttorneyWaller Lansden Dortch & Davis, PLLC Treasurer:Philip G. HullSenior ConsultantVACO Resources

Legal Counsel:Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, PLLCAttorneys David B. LifseyPresident and CEOGoodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.

Tammy B. GlassVice President – FinanceGoodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.

Betty J. JohnsonVice President - Employment and Training ServicesGoodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.

Directors

J. B. BakerPresident and CEOVolunteer Express, Inc.

J. Mike BishopAsst. Vice PresidentPharmacy ServicesHealth Trust Purchasing Group

Caroline G. BlackwellDirector of Multicultural AffairsUniversity School of Nashville

Barry A. CallenderVice President, Client SolutionsGlobal Novations

E. Steele Clayton, IVPartnerBass, Berry & Sims, PLC

Robert W. DuthieFounderDuthie Associates, Inc.

John C. GreerVice PresidentTennComm, LLC

Jeffrey A. HoffmanRichelieu America, Ltd.

Philip G. HullSenior ConsultantVACO Resources

Decosta E. JenkinsPresident and CEONashville Electric Service

R. Craig LaineSenior Vice PresidentCB Richard Ellis

Kevin P. McDermottPartnerKPMG LLP

Jenny W. NewmanDirector of DevelopmentNashville State Community College Foundation

Ty OsmanPresidentSolomon Builders

John W. Stone, IIIPartnerWhite & Reasor, PLC

Thomas S. StumbPresidentNashville Bank & Trust

Kathryn I. ThompsonFounder/Director of ResearchThompson Research Group

John C. TishlerChairmanWaller Lansden Dortch & Davis, PLLC

John Van MolChairman and CEODye, Van Mol and Lawrence

Trustees

Fred T. McLaughlin, ChairBranch Manager, Sr. VP InvestmentsRobert W. Baird & Co. Inc.

Robert B. KennedySenior Account ExecutiveNeace Lukens Insurance

James L. KnightPresident (Retired)Check Printers, Inc.

2011 Goodwill Board of Directors