John Foley, 66, was happy in retirement. The former president and CEO of Arc of the Ozarks stepped down in April after 22 years, but he was called back into service to help a fellow nonprofit. Larry Leek left SWI Industrial Solutions Inc. to run Christian Associates of Table Rock Lake, and on Sept. 27, Foley took over as general manager of the organization formerly known as Springfield Workshop Inc. Employing some 200 disabled workers and managing an annual operating budget of roughly $3 million, Foley’s been working to fill a couple of administrative positions and expand business opportunities for the social enterprise.
Called to Serve “I was sitting at home enjoying retirement, and I got a phone call. They asked me if I would apply for this job. … Larry Leek worked, I don’t know, three or four years as general manager. And he left, so they brought me in. … They’ve had some turnover in management – accounting and (human resources). Those are two key responsibilities. I don’t expect to work here that long. [Maybe three years] – something like that. I told them I’d work until I got bored. … (Former GM Chuck) Bailey had his own business, as well. He left to run his own business, and when the last manager left, Mr. Bailey came back temporarily to hold things together until they could hire a general manager.”
Comparing the Arc “It’s considerably different. The Arc has 1,200 employees, and a very large budget. Here, there’s maybe 230 employees total, and it’s strictly manufacturing subcontract work where the Arc is residential and day programs, and so on. It contracts with the state, whereas we contract with local businesses. … We assist them in getting their work done by doing things their employees don’t want to do or could be frustrating for them to do because it’s repetitive.”
Sunny Bunny “We do a lot of work for 3M and Reckitt [Benckiser]. … Those are our two main jobs. We have a lot of small things, too. We’ve worked for O’Reilly Automotive. We also have a microbusiness called Sunny Bunny. The past manager, Chuck Bailey, started that. It is a tremendous help and basically employs 80 people throughout the year. Last year, we sold 9 million eggs. This year, we’re going to sell 11 million, and maybe more. … They’re the plastic eggs that snap together. The eggs are made in Harrison, Ark., by Johnson Manufacturing. Our people put a toy or candy in each egg and snap them together.”
Subminimum Wages “We would like to start another microbusiness to help us keep work for the employees. One we are looking at is [centered on] care packages for college students. … We have some workers who are making minimum wage or above, but it’s based on their production. And there are very few of those. Most of our employees are making well below minimum wage – around $3.50 to $3.75 an hour. … It’s all based on a piece rate based on the prevailing wage and industry. … You have to get a certificate from the Department of Labor to pay subminimum wage. … I would like to position the company so that if and when subminimum wage does go away, we are able to keep going.”
Dignified Work “We have very few problems with tardiness, absenteeism. The vast majority of our employees want to come to work. Some will even come to work when they shouldn’t come to work because they’re sick. That’s a little bit different than you see in industry. When you’re working on a production line, people want to come to work because they want to get paid. Here, people come to work because they want to work. There is dignity in working. That is what we strive for.”
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
