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News & Events
Arnold Center honored by state for safety record
By Cheryl Wade Published: Friday, November 20, 2009 10:33 AM EST
Chris Chamberlain can remember back 10 years ago when it was tough to
get insurance coverage at the Arnold Center because of a
less-than-spotless safety record. But Thursday afternoon the center’s
workshop featured cake and plaques and congratulations — including one
from the governor — because the facility’s record now is squeaky-clean. “You can’t get any better than that,” said MIOSHA Deputy Director Martha Yoder. One reason for the improvement is that staff members have become better at determining when a worker needs to go to the doctor or hospital and when a physical problem is less serious, Chamberlain said. First aid “responders” at both facilities help make those determinations. “We really didn’t have an awareness of the safety devices and all the guards and shields” available for equipment in the shop, Chamberlain added. Chamberlain’s “aha!” moment came when he realized the company’s injury counts were making it more difficult to get insurance. About eight years ago, the center paid premiums that were more than double what they should have been, said Ron Miller of Arbury Insurance Agency. Chamberlain and former Executive Director Mike Shea came to him and said something needed to change. “They put together a ... safety plan that was better than anything I have ever seen,” Miller said. Every worker got involved. “This has been such a neat journey.” It’s clear the workers have heard much about safety. Connie O’Neill, director of a MIOSHA program that brings consultants into companies to help with safety issues, asked them “what’s the most important thing about coming to work?” they said, almost in unison, “safety!” The company has become very diligent in its efforts to curb injuries, Chamberlain said. When there’s a new job on the shop floor, the staff looks at ergonomic issues and whether workers need protective equipment such as glasses or gloves. Workers take breaks to ensure they don’t suffer repetitive-stress injuries. There are monthly safety training meetings and gatherings where employees share safety tips and review rules and policies. Miller said he spreads the word about the Arnold Center’s exemplary feat. “Not only did they do it, which is a really hard thing to do, but they kept it up,” he said.
The Cup and Chaucer celebrated 5th anniversary by Midland Daily News Published: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 1:26 PM EDT
The Arnold Center and the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library recently marked
the fifth anniversary of an agreement to provide coffee service in the
library. By combining resources and securing funds from area foundations
and agencies, the Arnold Center and the Library have been able to offer
the coffee and other refreshments to the community. Recycle store goes online by Midland Daily News Published: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 11:34 AM EDT The WeCycle Store is now making its products available to the public via the Internet because of growing customer demand and the need to enhance its services. The website is www.arnoldcenter.org. The store, at the Arnold Center, provides the community with slightly used school and office products at no cost while also saving landfill space and creating jobs for people in the center's recycling program.
Recycled items available to the public include notebooks, binders and folders. WeCycle is a community recycling program started by the Arnold Center and The Dow Chemical Co. in 2008. The program now includes a growing list of community partners. April 28, 2009 Arnold Center expansion plan gets final OK Filed under: City Council, Dow Chemical — editor @ 12:02 am The City Council Monday gave final approval to plans for an addition to the Arnold Center (left) so the center can handle recycling of office paper from Dow Chemical Co. Midland architectural firm Dow Howell Gilmore and Associates designed the 14,152-square-foot addition to the building at 400 Wexford Ave. In other business, the council set a public hearing for May 18 on a conditional use permit for a duplex at 1804 Harcrest Drive. Greg Weckesser is the builder. The permit is required because the property is in an office service zoning district. The Planning Commission voted on April 24 to recommend approval. Also, a public hearing was set for May 11 on the proposed 2009-10 budget for Community Development Block Grants. – By John Palen, www.midlandissues.com Markey to succeed Shea as President
By Cheryl Wade
of the Daily
News Although he's been steeped in the business culture, the Arnold Center's next president doesn't think he'll have a bit of a problem fitting into a non-profit setting. The center's board has tapped Midlander Charles Markey to succeed Michael Shea, who retired as president earlier this year. Markey, 57, is a past board member and board chairman of the center. He'll start his new job in mid-May. Markey met Shea at a Rotary Club meeting and Shea asked him if he would serve as an associate board member -- one of a group of mostly business people who lend their outside expertise to the center. He did, and that started his work with the non-profit organization. "This job came up and it's a perfect fit for my skills, my passion," Markey said. He is motivated by the idea that the center makes money and secures federal grants that help people to socialize, fit into the community and perform work that fits their capabilities. Markey's first degree was in chemistry. He went to work for IBM and became the executive in charge of The Dow Chemical Co.'s accounts. Later, he became vice president of solution sales, working with the wider chemical and petroleum industries to provide software and computer technology. He retired from IBM in 2004 and ran a real estate partnership for a couple of years until his partner moved away. Then Markey returned to school, studying accounting at Delta College and Central Michigan University. "Some of the accounting things I did were governmental and non-profit accounting," he said. "It almost feels like a business" at the Arnold Center. The Arnold Center provides employment within its walls and jobs in the wider community to people with disabilities, earning money and garnering government grants to expand services for workers, he said. Jim Hummel, chairman of the center's Board of Directors, said nearly 100 people applied for the job. The board narrowed the list to about 15, then to eight for phone interviews and to four for face-to-face meetings. "We were looking for somebody that had a very strong business sense and either was well connected in the community or had the type of personality where connections would be easy," Hummel said. Markey's biggest learning curve will be in the realm of the rehabilitation industry, but Hummel said he has excellent teachers inside the center. Elbow Room Arnold Center plans for expansion on factory floor
By Cheryl Wade Published: |
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Daily News/NATHAN MORGAN President of the Arnold Center, Mike Shea stops to talk with workers, Rachael Brosier, left, and Linda Kastl, right, as he passes through the center's production facility, Thursday. Shea, who has been at the Arnold Center for 25 years, will be retiring at the end of this month. And although he is leaving the center, for Shea, that doesn't mean that his work will stop. "I'll be around as long as people in need me in Midland," said Shea.
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During
his career
as executive
director,
Shea oversaw
the center's
operations
and growth
as its
budget
increased
from
$400,000 in
1983, when
he began, to
$9 million
this year.
He also
implemented
an office
product
recycling
program for
The Dow
Chemical
Co., a
concept Dow
plans to
imitate in
Texas. Shea
said serving
as Executive
director
allowed him
the
opportunity
to mix his
two main
interests:
education
and
business.
Those
who worked
with Shea
said his
success as
director lay
in his
ability to
mix
education
with
business, as
well as with
his sense of
energy,
dedication
and
innovation.
"You can
never
replace a
guy like
Mike Shea,"
Hummel said.
"His energy,
his drive,
his business
sense, his
innovations
- it's very,
very hard to
find someone
to step in
and do the
job as well
as he's done
it."
After a
quarter
century of
service,
Shea says
it's time
for him to
move on to
be able to
spend time
with his
family.
"Things
change in
life," he
said. "My
life is
changing. I
have
children all
over the
U.S. who are
having
children. I
haven't been
able to
spend time
with them
like I
wanted to."
Shea has
four
children, 3
grandchildren
and a fourth
grandchild
due in
April.
Shea's
last day as
executive
director is
January 31.
"I think
everybody
here will
have a
memory of
Mike,"
Hummel said.
"They'll
remember how
deeply he
cared about
the Arnold
Center and
the clients
there. His
persistence,
energy, and
dedication
to the
clients
won't be
forgotten."
Though
he's
stepping
down as
director,
Shea plans
to stay
involved
with the
center to
oversee the
latest
project he
spearheaded
and for
which he
raised
money, a
15,000-square-foot
expansion of
the center
that's in
the works to
alleviate
crowding in
the current
manufacturing
plant, as
well as to
allow the
center to
expand into
new business
opportunities.
"Knowing
Mike, he's
going to
stay
around,"
Hummel said.
"You won't
be able to
keep him
away."
Midland Issues Volume 9, Number 8 August 2008
Hundreds of tons of office paper will be diverted from the city landfill annually if a deal between Dow Chemical Co. and Arnold Center reaches its potential
The two announced an agreement in July for the center to sort trash from Dow and recycle up to a million pounds of office paper. Dow project leader Jim Hummel said only about a third of that is recycled now, through Brady News and Recycling.
Mike Shea, Arnold Center president, told Midland Issues the deal will create 15 to 26 new jobs and could lead to a building addition.
The center, 400 Wexford Ave., is a non-profit that develops jobs for people with disabilities. It has recycled paper from Dow Corning Corp. for 20 years and also recycles from Delphi Corp. The Dow contract will double the center's recycling volume, Shea said.
Arnold Center workers will pick up and sort Dow material including sticky notes, business cards, colored and white paper, envelopes, file folders, newspapers, ring and spiral binders, fax paper and catalogs. The center will shred and sell paper to mills for recycling as towels and similar products. Dow will pay any of Arnold Center's uncovered expenses.
Hummel said Dow benefits because more office waste will be recycled and the company will reduce landfill costs by 30 percent. Prior recycling efforts fell short because sorting was inconvenient for Dow employees, he said
"It's a triple bottom line," Hummel said, "good for the environment, good for the community by breaking through the jobs and employment barrier, and we save money."
--JP

Frankenmuth residents have covered the city with colored eggs in a plan to beat the winter blahs and celebrate spring.
"People love it," Sheila G. Stamiris, executive director of the Frankenmuth Downtown Development Authority, said of the Easter festivities.
"We've had such a long, dreary winter that this little announcement of spring has been really nice."
The Department of Public Works and Frankenmuth business owners have decorated the city with strings of thousands of multi-colored plastic eggs.
Just how many is a secret, as the Chamber of Commerce is conducting a contest to guess the number.
The event is rooted in the Bavarian tradition of Osterbrunnen, which means "Easter wells." In ancient times, Stamiris said, families would decorate wells in spring to celebrate the gift of water. As Christianity came to Germany, Christians incorporated the spring tradition into Easter celebrations and began decorating with eggs to symbolize new life.
Judy Zehnder Keller, president and owner of the Bavarian Inn Lodge, said she learned about the Osterbrunnen celebration after her father, Bavarian Inn founder William "Tiny" Zehnder, died almost two years ago. Zehnder Keller found a book about Osterbrunnen in her father's desk and was intrigued by the tradition. She traveled to Germany, where she saw the celebration in about 30 towns and villages.
"I thought, 'This is a custom that has a very good emotional meaning,' " Zehnder Keller said. She brought the idea back to Frankenmuth and presented it to the Chamber of Commerce.
Organizers from the chamber, the Downtown Development Authority and the City Beautification Committee ordered thousands of plastic eggs, then contacted Do-All Inc. of Bay City and Arnold Center Inc. of Midland. The two organizations provide employment and support for people with significant disabilities, and their workers strung the eggs into 12- and 24-foot lengths.
The Chamber of Commerce then sold the eggs to businesses and used them in its own decorations, while the City Beautification Committee and the authority paid the Frankenmuth Department of Public Works to string the eggs in parks and on bridges.
Organizers also planted thousands of daffodils, which should bloom in May. The eggs will come down April 12.
"We encourage everybody to come over and visit us," Stamiris said. "It really is special in these gray, dark days of March to have all this color out."
To the editor:
I would
like to thank the
following businesses
and/or employers for
providing and/or assisting
our cognitively impaired
students with vocational
experiences during the
2006 - 2007 school year.
These students were
able to experience
realistic job expectations
such as appropriate work
attitudes and behaviors,
job responsibilities, job
dependability and specific
skills needed for certain
vocations. Thanks to these
businesses and/or
individuals for their
time, cooperation, and
patience in helping our
students maximize their
independence and
participate in our
community:
Arby’s/South, Dawn
Salazar & Kelly Walker;
Arby’s/North, Scott Drake;
Arnold Center, Spring
Schafer; Bennigan’s, Will
Gum and Alan Vance; Big
Apple Bagels, April Cobb;
Big Boy Restaurant,
Carolyn Popp, Bob Evans,
Shantelle Struthers and
Dave Banker; Bullock Creek
Transportation, Deb
Waskevich; Coleman Public
Schools Transportation,
Mike Huss; D.A.R.T., Paula
Draves; Dollar Daze,
Michele Townsend, Sharmane
Penner, Janie Thomas and
James Cox; Hollywood
Videos, Martin Brunner;
Home Depot, Kim Burton and
Jeff Brothers; K-Mart,
Kevin Wale and Kathy
Garbulinski; Kroger’s,
Lowell Morris, Wayne
Buzzbee and Wendy
McTaggert; Lil’ Chef,
Frank Nole; Long John
Silver, Roland Brink;
Meijer’s, Kurt Howard and
Lynn Tyrrell; Midland
Community Center, Ruth
Reminder; Mid-Michigan
Regional Medical Center,
Mary Jane Hoshaw and Vicki
Turskey; Midland Motor
Inn, Barry and Falguni
Patel; Midland Public
Schools Bus Garage, Pat
Chritz, Vicki Finney, and
Jim Valliere; MidMichigan
Stratford Village Nursing
Center, Audrey Hammond and
Sarah Histed; Northwood
University Dishroom, Carol
Zerembra and Burt McAtee;
Northwood Bennett Center,
Scott Fisher, Mike
Sullivan, Peg Tacey and
Jill Brandt; Paper Jems,
Mary Sodini; Recordings
for Recovery, Mike Hoy;
Roll-Arena, Ann Behan;
Sanford-Meridian Public
Schools Transportation,
Henry Mashue; Sodexho
Corporate Services, Kriss
Salva; Taco Bell, Paul
O’Laughlin; Tim Horton’s,
Bonita Dan; Valley Lanes,
Sue Tice and Wal-Greens,
Joe Fish and Steve Conarty.
Dan Simonds
Work Experience
Consultant
Midland Public Schools
4/23/07
For
one
special
"Night
to
Remember,"
differences
between
people
with
disabilities
and
those
without
them
seem
less
obvious.
The
festive
dance,
which
occurred
Saturday,
has
become
a
yearly
tradition,
organized
so
people
with
disabilities
can
meet
and
enjoy
music,
dinner
and
each
other’s
company.
Organizers
–
volunteers
from
the
hosting
Midland
Evangelical
Free
Church
and
groups
that
help
disabled
people
– take
into
account
the
circumstances
with
which
those
people
deal
every
day.
Wheelchair
dancers
are
expected,
and
the
festivities
conclude
at 8
p.m.
so
people
can
get
home
on
Dial-A-Ride
Transportation.
One
of
those
wheelchair
dancers
is
Regina
Jackson,
50.
She
likes
to
dance
fast,
and
said
she
was
prepared
to
dance
the
time
away,
using
her
electric
wheelchair’s
joystick
to
move
to the
music.
Heather
Naessens,
28,
invited
a guy
friend
to
join
her
and
dressed
for
the
occasion
in a
green
chiffon
dress
with
white
polka
dots.
Naessens
said
she
likes
the
social
atmosphere.
"I
like
all
the
people
that
come,"
she
said.
Without
the
dance,
"it
would
be a
bummer
because
then
you
would
not
have
social
activity,
and we
need
social
activity
to
live,"
she
said.
The
dance,
called
"A
Night
to
Remember,"
was
nine
months
in
planning
–
right
down
to the
flower-covered
arch
that
marked
the
entrance
to
festivities,
plus
the
dinner,
tickets
and
posters,
said
Debbie
Lichtman,
who
works
for
Personal
Assistance
Options
and
served
on the
planning
committee.
At
least
270
tickets
were
sold.
![]() Violet Arold, left, and her date Steve Balcirak, both of Sanford, wait to have a souvenir photo taken during A Night to Remember Saturday at the Midland Evangelical Free Church. The evening also featured dinner and dancing. |
Attendees
lined
up to
pose
for
pictures,
donated
by a
company
called
Dancing
Ham. TCBY
donated
frozen
yogurt
and
church
members
donated
cakes
and
cookies.
Shelley
Smith,
who
also
works
for
PAO,
invited
three
women
to her
house
so she
could
do
their
hair,
makeup
and
nails.
She
changed
one
woman’s
pigtails
into a
French
twist
and
gave
the
other
two
curly
coifs
with
the
help
of
mousse
and
spray.
"We
had
the
music
on and
we had
a good
time,"
she
said.
![]() Jim Warner, center, of Midland, shares a laugh with Nancy Corneil, left, and Spring Schafer as Warner picks up his souvenir photo at A Night to Remember. |
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