5 minute read
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CYNDI BENNETT CORPORATIONS AND FOUNDATIONS
THE POWER OF ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
How Cyndi Bennett Espouses Corporate Responsibility
It all started in the 1920s with a runaway horse and a carriage accident. Nearly 100 years later, Selective Insurance Group, Inc. still embodies the values of its founder, D.L.B. Smith, who said: “… I will not let this Company lose the human touch, which has been largely responsible for its success.” “This [sentiment] naturally extends to our care for employees and the efforts we take in supporting our neighbors in the community,” Cyndi Bennett, executive vice president, chief human resources officer at Selective, said. Being supportive of its neighbors translates into a robust philanthropy program. Over the past decade, Selective Insurance Group Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Branchville, New Jersey-headquartered company, donated more than $4.6 million to charitable organizations across the country. Since 1997, Selective Insurance Group Foundation has provided more than $460,000 in funding oncology initiatives at Carol G. Simon Cancer Center to their most recent gifts at Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute and Goryeb Children’s Hospital, a part of the Growing Forward Campaign. Project Independence (a relief fund for Morristown Medical Center patients who are often unable to work due to illness) is another priority for them. Selective’s management team promotes civic responsibility by providing compensable volunteer days to encourage employees to be active citizens. During the pandemic, one employee with medical training treated COVID-19 patients in a homeless shelter; another made 3-D-printed face masks and delivered them to front-line caregivers. Here's a look at Bennett's day:
7:00am The Vernon, New Jersey-resident catches up on the headlines with Bloomberg: Business News in the shower. “I’ve had speakers installed all over my house,” she said. “On the weekends, I switch over to ’60s and ’70s music.” 8:00am to Noon Bennett meets with team members to support the organization’s talent strategy, including diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Employee Resource Groups, such as Working Caregiver, PRIDE Alliance and Black Employee Resource Group, help strengthen worklife balance and increase job satisfaction. Noon to 1:00pm “Once a week, I buy lunch for an employee,” she said. “I enjoy sitting with them and hearing their personal stories.” 1:00 to 5:00pm Bennett leads meetings on strengthening employee development efforts. “As a Hispanic female, I am grateful for mentors who have helped me to succeed,” she said. “Selective is in the process of helping underrepresented employees rise to first-level management positions. I believe that everyone – no matter what their level or background – has tremendous potential.” 5:00 to 8:00pm A benefit for this busy executive and grandmother of five is that her retired husband, Jack, loves to cook. “I get home around 8:00pm for dinner,” she said. “We look forward to this time of day to catch up and unwind.”
Corporations and Foundations
To learn more about supporting Morristown Medical Center, contact Bonnie Gannon at
973-593-2419 f4mmc@atlantichealth.org
HEALING HANDS AWARD
After a series of near-fatal health conditions, Dennis Gibbons quickly recognized the physicians and nurses at Morristown Medical Center, who came through with multiple, speedy diagnoses; expert medical interventions; and a level of teamwork that proved lifesaving for the Jersey City, New Jerseyresident. He and his wife, Lucia, avid cyclists, acknowledged Gurpreet Sidhu, MD; Renee Frankel, MD; Jason Lowenstein, MD; and John Brown, MD, with Healing Hands tribute awards. They also gave a generous gift in honor of the nurses at Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute. “I almost lost Dennis,” Lucia Gibbons said. “Your great emergency room, doctors and nurses have us celebrating my husband’s strong comeback.” The 61-year-old’s health issues began when he lost weight without trying and became breathless while walking up a flight of stairs. When Dennis Gibbons' ankles began to swell on vacation in Bermuda, they flew back to New Jersey and went straight to the Sameth Emergency Department (ED) at Morristown Medical Center. Once at the ED, a medical team rushed to his side. “They spoke in plain language, and I could understand what was going on,” Lucia Gibbons said. Dr. Sidhu’s diagnosis was quick and accurate: heart failure. Spending a week at Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute at Morristown Medical Center, physicians at the Heart Success Program fitted him with a defibrillator vest. The nurses catered to his every need. “Everyone was highly professional and highly responsive,” Dennis Gibbons said. “Especially the nurses – they were phenomenal. And Dr. Sidhu was the captain of the team throughout. My wife and I fully trust and love that man.” Once home from the hospital, Dennis Gibbons experienced intense back pain, which he thought was from the weight of his defibrillator vest. But after an exam by Dr. Frankel, she discovered his spine had eroded from a bacterial infection.
Dennis Gibbons
“He looked terrible, and I was worried he wouldn’t make it to our 27th wedding anniversary,” Lucia Gibbons said. After an antibiotic regimen, Dennis Gibbons looked like a new person, although he would need spinal fusion surgery. He chose Dr. Lowenstein to handle the spinal fusion and in no time, after surgery, the couple was back to their workout routine. Dennis Gibbons could not believe the next health issue. During a routine MRI, physicians found an aortic aneurysm. Thankfully, it was small enough only to require monitoring – and in stepped Dr. Brown. “I was impressed with Dr. Brown’s expertise and bedside manner,” Dennis Gibbons said. “He would greet me in the waiting room. I’ve never had a doctor do that in my life.” What struck Dennis Gibbons the most was the teamwork of the doctors. “All four of them made me better,” he said. “All four made me heal; all four put me back together.”
–Lucia Gibbons
To honor one or more of Morristown Medical Center’s team members with a Healing Hands Award, please visit: f4mmc.org/healing-hands
