Larry Peterson, who most recently served as regional vice president of operations for Mediacom’s Missouri and Kentucky region and is a 30-year veteran of the telecommunications industry, started directing Springfield’s Habitat for Humanity office on Oct. 8. Peterson was laid off by Mediacom when the company went private early last year, and he now succeeds Linda Stewart, who retired from the Habitat position after about a year. Peterson comes equipped to promote the nonprofit – he worked for Time Warner Cable for 27 years in marketing, sales and public affairs.
Coming to Springfield “I was with Mediacom for three years. I moved down here from Kansas City. That was a bit of a career redirect for me because I had been a marketing, sales and public affairs officer with Time Warner Cable for about 27 years. When Mediacom offered me a chance to work in operations, I thought that was a cool idea. … I worked with a great team of folks, but the company decided to go private again in 2011. As a result, it did some reorganization. The regional level of operations was eliminated in a couple of regions – not just here – in February 2011, so I took a little time and played a little golf. In the meantime, I was looking. It was not as easy as some people might think to find a comparable position.”
Hat in the Ring “When the position came open in September, I have a lot of friends in the community who knew I was looking and said, ‘Hey, you would be so good at that.’ I’ve never worked in the nonprofit sector before, but you know, it is a business. I think I bring an art and science quality to the role because I’ve been in marketing and advertising and worked on the creative end, and I was in operations. I ran cable construction, warehouse facilities and office and customer service, so I threw my hat at it.”
Homes First “My job is to put people in houses. And we don’t give houses away. … They go through Tools for Life classes, which could be everything from how to fix a washer in a sink to making sure their credit report is clean. I’ve sat through a couple of these myself, and I think they’re great. … We have a home ownership application session that they are required to do, (reviewing) everything from their tax returns to proof of income, monthly bills and lease agreements to get them started in the process. It is a pretty good gauntlet. I can’t wait to see my first family get the keys to their house.”
First Impressions “My first impression of Habitat and the position was that there were a tremendous amount of moving parts. It is kind of like trying to keep the plates spinning on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’ … We have about 40 full-time and part-time employees. We rely a lot on volunteers. … A big part of my job is to keep the team we’ve got in place here operating on a solid basis. I’ve got a construction director; a director of operations, who looks at properties and land acquisitions; (and) family services and volunteer coordinators. I’ve got to look for a new director of development, who will work hand-in-hand with me to increase our fundraising opportunities to maintain and develop relationships with donors.”
‘Mad’ Marketing “The folks around here are already starting to call me a mad man because I’m an old advertising and marketing dog. I’ve warned them, ‘If you give me a flyer or brochure or piece of copy, don’t feel bad if I tweak it.’
What I’m seeing right now is that we have a tremendous opportunity. A lot of people know what Habitat for Humanity is, but they don’t know what it does or how it does it. I’ll be working with our advertising department to develop new spots that maybe Mediacom can run as a public service – or any broadcasters. … My passion is really on the marketing and advertising side and right now, we are in the formative stages of creating messaging and, really, a brand for Habitat.”
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
