CHAPTER 2
THE MOVE TO HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES
While at Aramark, the senior leadership was encouraged to get involved in our local communities. Being a services business means that all business is local business. Being a stakeholder in the betterment of the community not only helps local businesses but, by extension, everyone in the community. I got to know The Salvation Army (TSA) during our Aramark community days of service. We’d show up at a TSA location with one hundred to two hundred employees and work with them for a day: cleaning, fixing, and refurbishing its buildings and grounds. For a few years in a row, we went to various TSA locations around Los Angeles, listened to program participants’ stories, and learned about their needs. Additionally, I got to interact with the leadership of TSA and always came away impressed with their know-how, empathy, and passion to help people. So when I was asked to join the advisory board, it was an easy decision. What I came to discover was an even deeper appreciation for the men and women of TSA, for they dedicate their lives to serving others, to serving the most in need. One of TSA’s mottos is “Heart to God and Hand to Man,” which for me perfectly encapsulates what the TSA “workers” do. On a few occasions, as I drove home from a board meeting or from visiting a shelter, I wondered what it would be like to totally dedicate my life to helping people. A lot of folks do it, but I wondered what it would be like if I did it. In reflection, I find it interesting how these types of thoughts put things into motion before one even realizes it. Upon hearing that I left Aramark and would not be pursuing corporate life again, a fellow TSA board member asked to meet with me for lunch. He chose 13
