Grace To Do Good Works

I have not posted a blog entry in over a year. In my wildest dreams I never imagined the effort involved in building a brand and a business image in a new community. Regardless of how good your intentions are or how much you think you can help, the old adage holds true: People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. So I spent most of 2012 becoming a part of the community.

God’s grace will make a way for you. It’s not something you do that you can be proud of. This experience taught me that we are God’s handiwork recreated to do those good works which He predestined (planned beforehand) for us, taking paths which He prepared ahead of time, that we should walk in them, living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live (Ephesians 2:8-10). I was appointed to a couple of local boards that aligned with my mission of economic diversity through manufacturing. One in particular is Junior Achievement, which empowers young people to own their own economic success. To learn, visit the national website, found at http://www.ja.org/.

When I was young, I defined work as being paid to do a task. As far back as I can remember, I have worked by shelling peas, doing odd jobs for older people in the neighborhood, babysitting, etc. At sixteen, I got my first tax paying job, and because I like having my own money, I have worked ever since.

Today, my definition of work is different. I have been blessed enough so that money is no longer my sole motivation for work. A few months ago, I had to perform a self-examination to determine if I was more interested in building Latrobe as a wealth creator for my family or a job creator for my community.

The answer resided in the mission and vision statements written almost four years ago:  Our mission is to create jobs in industrial manufacturing in the local communities in which we operate. Our mission is fulfilled when we are recognized as a contributor to the positive economic growth by creating jobs that sustain the middle class.

Our vision is based on the principal: to whom much is given, much is required. As a manufacturing firm, we are strong advocates of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. We are committed to supporting these programs in our local communities to demonstrate to the youth a variety of career options in manufacturing and engineering. Our vision is fulfilled when we are recognized as community servants who positively influence and financially support the enrollment of local students into college and vocational level engineering and technology programs.

So back to my Junior Achievement story: One of JA’s signature programs is Finance Park, where students participate in a virtual simulation of financial planning and career explanation. Students are assigned a job and a family scenario and have to make budget decisions about housing, food, clothing, insurance, philanthropy, etc. To learn more, visit http://www.ja.org/programs/programs_mid_park.shtml.

Locally, as many of the students come from low-to-moderate income communities, it’s their initial exposure to professional job titles and careers. I live in a community where most of the resources are committed to petrochemical processing, so the thought of careers in manufacturing is foreign. It’s great to think that all of your local talent will ascend to achieve the technical skills required to work in a refinery, but that’s not reality. Someone has to be the voice for that segment of the population who wants to do good work and provide opportunities for good jobs. By grace, I have been positioned as a ram in the bush to be that voice, hi-lighting opportunities in manufacturing.

I’m glad to see the national attention on the importance of manufacturing to the economy. It’s encouraging to hear that over 500,000 jobs have been created in the sector in the last three years, and that with the right investments and innovative products, more jobs can be on the horizon. So if manufacturing is foreign to today’s youth (and it’s highly possible that they know no one who works in this industry), how do we as business owners raise awareness about the attractiveness of manufacturing and technology as career options?

One of the things I’ve challenged my team to do is to provide community outreach about the importance of job training and education in manufacturing. We’ve developed a curriculum to introduce prospective students with little workforce experience and understanding about the expectations, skills, and culture required to work in a manufacturing work environment. We engage students in discussions about the importance of economic success and the difference between a job vs. a career over their lifetime. Finally, we try to raise their awareness of common things manufactured. My best example right now is the I-phone. Someone had to innovate/manufacture that technology. Why can’t the next generation be made locally from ingenuity originated from this community? How many jobs would that create?

I begin each day with a prayer to bless my hands to do good works. I am thankful to see my personal growth transcend from expecting a monetary reward for good works to becoming that ram in the bush for those seeking good work. Today, we’re positioned to train and educate about the importance of manufacturing for the economy. I’m waiting with great expectancy on that new innovation to manufacture locally, but no worries, I know the Master Job Creator.