The Marketplace Magazine November/December 2018

November December 2018

Where Christian faith gets down to business

Meet MEDA’s new president

New life for old trees Miller Poultry honored Florida grocer committed to service 1

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The Marketplace November December 2018

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Roadside stand

Barn raising and resilient communities

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ormer Canadian governor general David Johnston gives a shout-out to Waterloo County values of collaboration, sharing and mutual aid in his new book Trust (see review, pg. 20).

In a chapter entitled Be a Barn raiser, he notes that: “Neighbors who help each other with no expectation of immediate return build more trusting communities.”

As president of the University of Waterloo, Johnston and his wife Sharon owned Chatterbox Farm, a 100-acre property and horse stable north of the city. The Johnstons were impressed by the giving nature of their Old Order neighbors.

“When a spirit of barn raising exists in a community, the community is a trusting one and, as a result, a strong and resilient one,” he writes.

“All community members trust in the knowledge — grounded in generations of experience — that they will step up to help a neighbor in need, and that their neighbors stand ready to help them if and when their time of need arrives.”

“While the Mennonites’ method of community self-reliance is founded on faith, it is one that neighbors in any community can emulate.”

Just prior to leaving Waterloo for Ottawa in 2010, the Johnstons helped to create the Barn Raisers council, a group of community leaders who met regularly to focus on long-range projects to improve community health. That effort also spawned an annual Barn Raiser award to recognize local leaders who demonstrate that community spirit.

Incoming MEDA president Dr. Dorothy Nyambi (see profile, pp. 6-7) brings much relevant experience to

the post that will serve the organization well in coming years.

Bilingual in French and English, she is well connected in the international development sector. She has considerable public speaking experience, both at conferences around the world and service clubs across Canada. During her time with the Canadian Executive Services Organization, she recalls speaking in Red Deer, Alta., Nunavut in Canada’s north, and St. Catharines, ON, to name a few.

Two of Dorothy and her husband David’s three children share her interest in medicine.

Their oldest son, Trevor, is a nursing student. Daughter Agatha works at an HIV research program in Toronto. Youngest son, David Jr., is a financial analyst with the Oshweken First Nations reserve, not far from the family home in Ancaster.

During a conversation with her shortly Rob Krahn after her appointment, I was impressed by her thoughtful responses to a range of questions.

While she thinks that “there is no one organization that has all the answers,” she also believes that not enough people know about MEDA. She is clearly a collaboratively minded leader. When asked about leadership, she quotes the president of Rwanda, who when asked what he would do if he was (Facebook founder and philanthropist) Mark Zuckerburg, replied, “I don’t want to be Mark Zuckerburg. I want to create thousands of Mark Zuckerburgs.”

She appreciated the thoughtful-

The Marketplace November December 2018

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MEDA’s new president

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ness of that answer, recognizing that more can be done by many people working together than as one person alone.

The Nyambis have lived in Canada for 17 years, first in the cities of Markham and North York in the Greater Toronto area. They moved to their current home 1.5 years ago.

Welcome Rob Krahn

Rob Krahn joined MEDA’s fundraising team in early September as a senior development officer responsible for Western Canada.

Krahn, who lives in Chilliwack, B.C., owned and operated a successful pharmacy in that community for 13 years. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, he has dedicated much of his time volunteering with Christian organizations and has served as chairman, treasurer and in other capacities at his church, Greendale River of Life Bible Church, over the years.

Krahn and his wife, Kathy, have two adult sons.

No stranger to international travel, he has taken short-term missions trips to Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine and India with his congregation, as well as with two other charities: Hungry for Life and Gideons International. -MS

Follow The Marketplace on Twitter @MarketplaceMEDA

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In this issue

Features photo courtesy of John Tirotta

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Beautiful Castoffs

Elko Hardwoods makes furniture from tree trunks.

Everence CEO Ken Hochstetler says MEDA and

his church shaped his values (pg.10)

Departments 22 24 20 23

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Roadside stand Soul enterprise Review News

Miller Poultry honored by Whole Foods

Volume 48, Issue 6 November December 2018 The Marketplace (ISSN 321-330) is published bi-monthly by Mennonite Economic Development Associates at 532 North Oliver Road, Newton, KS 67114. Periodicals postage paid at Newton, KS 67114. Lithographed in U.S.A. Copyright 2018 by MEDA. Editor: Mike Strathdee Design: Ray Dirks

Growing with quality chicken

Change of address should be sent to Mennonite Economic Development Associates, 1891 Santa Barbara Dr., Ste. 201, Lancaster, PA 17601-4106.

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Customer service first

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Coffee, with a side of course credit

Florida family grows roadside stand to four stores.

Goshen business course includes hands-on hospitality industry training.

To e-mail an address change, subscription request or anything else relating to delivery of the magazine, please contact subscription@meda.org For editorial matters contact the editor at mstrathdee@meda.org or call (800) 665-7026, ext. 705 Subscriptions: $30/year; $55/two years.

Postmaster: Send address changes to The Marketplace 1891 Santa Barbara Dr., Ste. 201 Lancaster, PA 17601-4106

Published by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), whose dual thrust is to encourage a Christian witness in business and to operate business-oriented programs of assistance to the poor. For more information about MEDA call 1-800-665-7026.

Web site www.meda.org

Visit our online home at www.marketplacemagazine.org, where you can download past issues, read articles and discuss topics with others, all from your desktop or mobile device. cover photo of Dorothy Nyambi by Steve Sugrim

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The Marketplace November December 2018

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Soul Enterprise

What Promises Do You Make to Your Employees?

Daily Reflection / Produced by The High Calling

By Deidra Riggs

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f you’re reading this, you’ve probably been the one sitting in the office chair behind a desk, facing a potential employee, and trying to figure out whether or not that person in the chair would be a good fit for your organization. You’ve been on the other side of the desk, too: the potential employee, trying to anticipate the questions you’d be asked by this potential employer.

Everyone is looking for something, aren’t we?

Employers want to know their risk will pay off if they hire you.

Employees want to know they’ll be treated fairly, paid an honest wage, and given the opportunity to exercise their gifts while learning new skills and being treated with respect.

The internet is teeming with advice for those on either side of the interview desk. Advice for the interviewee includes what to wear, what to share about your strengths and weaknesses, whether or not you should talk with your hands or leave them folded in your lap.

For the interviewer, the advice leans toward making sure you don’t cross any ethical lines while asking questions that uncover whether or not this person’s skills, experience, and initiative jive with your company’s culture. Will they help you meet your bottom line?

As usual, Jesus takes a different approach. Jesus, when choosing the 12 people to work with him during The Marketplace November December 2018

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iStockphoto lafor

his ministry here on earth, went to the least likely candidates. His interview of them lacked any questions.

Instead, he offered a simple directive, combined with a promise. “Follow me,” he said, “and I’ll send you out to fish for people.” Knowing their faults and failures, he “hired” them anyway and committed to sharing everything he had to give and everything his new followers would accept.

To be sure, we aren’t Jesus, and as employers, we don’t have nearly as much to offer our employees. But what promises can we make to those we hire? How do we back up our promises to them, and what steps do we have in place to be sure we follow through? As followers of Jesus, those of us who have the honor of serving in positions of management and supervision have the great privilege of following the example set by Christ.

The disciples failed, over and over

again. And yet, Jesus was true to his word, and you and I are proof of that.

We, who continue to follow the teachings and example of Jesus the Christ, are the direct result of his promise to make fishers of men of those 12 disciples he first called to himself.

When we invite individuals to join our organization, we enter into a relationship with them, and we extend certain promises in the contracts we ask them to sign.

The offer of employment extends beyond the employee’s first day of work. The promises we make to them and the promises we keep may be the litmus test of our integrity for generations to come.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Are you making the right promises to your employees? Are you making enough good promises to them? Are you following through and staying true to your word?

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for the honor of serving you through serving those in my employ. Help me to be a leader with integrity.

Keep me aware of my responsibility, first to you, and then to those who work for me. Amen. ◆ What promises Do you Make to Your Employees. By Deidra Riggs. Published by The High Calling, June 27, 2015.

Theology of Work Project Online Materials by The High Calling are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Rethinking money, biblically Missional Economics: Biblical Justice and Christian Formation

By Michael Barram (Wm. E Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2018, 283 pp, $26 US)

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f North American Christians are guilty of biblical illiteracy, nowhere is this more so than in our failure to wrestle with and grasp God’s intentions around economics.

Most of us, Michael Barram argues, “are, at best, only vaguely aware of what the Bible has to say about economic issues related to justice and Christian discipleship.”

Our privilege makes it easy to overlook our blind spots, he notes.

“The critical question — for Christians, at least — is whether or not the ways in which our contemporary economic world has and continues to form us are consonant with the economic logic of the gospel and faithful to the perspectives of the God whom we claim to serve in Jesus Christ.”

Alms-giving and charity is necessary but insufficient, he says. To be found faithful, we must work towards economic justice for all. If the poor are being mistreated, God is angry.

Barram, a theology professor at Saint Mary’s College of California, draws examples from throughout the Bible to build his case.

Not an easy read, Missional Economics is a dense, deep, and challenging volume.

“To love others as oneself requires a commitment to seek the best for others. Deciding to do no harm to them is inadequate. Polite avoidance is insufficient. Conscious, proactive goodwill is necessary.”

He weaves together an exami-

nation of the Beatitudes and the Exodus, the Pentateuch and the prophets in connecting “the community’s covenantal relationship with God and with one another.”

The responsibilities that come with that relationship are something that we need to recognize, particularly with regards to the marginalized.

“The Bible seeks to transform our moral imaginations, so we will reason economically from the perspective of abundance and gratitude as opposed to scarcity and fear.”

God’s people should be as concerned for the hungry as God has always been, he suggests. “Gleaning laws presupposed that there was an inherent dignity in working for one’s food. And the opportunity for such work was not a privilege, but a right.”

Barram’s arguments build on the work of renowned American Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, who provides a forward to the book. Like Brueggemann, Barram draws a distinction between biblically informed, life-giving economic systems marked by a sense of abundance, generosity and fair dealing with a predatory economy that

Overheard:

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brings slavery and death, in both the spiritual and material senses.

He provides fascinating perspectives on difficult passages of scripture that have been long debated in small groups, sanctuaries and adult education classes.

Is Jesus’ command to the rich young ruler to sell everything that he has relevant to all believers?

Not likely, he argues, noting that early followers were not required to do so, and Jesus’ ministry was supported by people of means. The barriers to devotion to God may be material for some people, and familial for others.

Neither should we assume that such calls to give our possessions to the poor are only for other people, he notes. Instead, we should “be living as the kind of missional community whose God-given vocation involves a powerful new economic vision, one in which anything can and will be renounced, if necessary, for the sake of Jesus and the good news.”

North Americans often view suggestions of wealth redistribution to benefit the poor as coercion. In the early church, by contrast, voluntary redistribution “grew out of the love and grace experienced by the group.”

He dismisses the long-held view that the writings of James are in opposition to the teachings of Paul, or that James was promoting works over grace. “James’ discussion of faith and works is best understood as a vigorous argument that faith and works cannot be separated, something with which Paul would have undoubtedly agreed.” -MS

“The single most important distinction in life ... is to distinguish between an opportunity to be seized and a temptation to be resisted.” — Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks The Marketplace November December 2018

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From medicine to development MEDA’s new president is first doctor, woman to hold the position

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photo by Mike Strathdee

s a child growing up in Cameroon, Dorothy Nyambi wanted to pursue a career in medicine.

Initially, Dr. Nyambi wanted to be a pharmacist, as she believed pharmacists cured people. “I later found out the pharmacist fills out the prescription. They don’t really diagnose the disease.”

That insight altered the career path of the woman who will become MEDA’s president and chief executive officer in late November. Nyambi, a dual citizen of Canada and Cameroon, will succeed Allan Sauder, who is retiring from a post he has held for 16 years.

Nyambi will be introduced to MEDA members at the annual convention in Indianapolis, Nov. 8-11.

She will work closely with Sauder through a transition period to the end of the year.

Nyambi was concerned about caring for others from an early age. “I thought I’d like to diagnose Dr. Dorothy Nyambi outside her Ancaster home the disease and take care of northern Cameroon, near the semipeople. I went to medical school with arid Sahel region, convinced her that that in mind.” she needed to do “upstream” interAfter graduating and beginning ventions to help people before they to practice medicine, she realized the become sick. “You’ve got to interreality was different. vene before they get to that stage.”

Her work as a medical doctor in In the developing world, both The Marketplace November December 2018

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upstream (preventive) and downstream (reactive) interventions, are solidly under resourced, and inadequate, she said in an interview at her home in Ancaster, Ontario.

By contrast, as a practicing physician, she found people were falling downstream at a rate that overwhelmed her ability to help. “I can only do one C-section at a time. If they are coming at a rate of 10 per hour, nine mothers and their unborn babies might not make it.”

After working as a medical doctor for more than seven years, she began to ask herself: “How can I still use my effort, my knowledge, my energy, to work in such a way that I continue to be more upstream (focused) rather than downstream?”

That reflection led her to a career in international development.

She worked as a medical officer for the US Peace Corps, then as a regional director for Right to Play International, an organization that uses educational games to help children overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease. She later served as vice-president, international programs

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with the Canadian Executive Service Organization, which uses Canadian volunteers to work overseas with private and public sectors in all areas of business activities.

Her most recent role, as executive vice-president of AIMS-NEI (The African Institute for Mathematical Studies Next Einstein Initiative), saw her based in Africa for about nine months a year, first in Cape Town, South Africa, and for the past two years in Kigali, Rwanda.

AIMS is a pan-African network of centres of excellence enabling Africa’s talented students to become innovators driving the continent’s scientific, educational and economic self-sufficiency.

Once AIMS relocated to Kigali, she began considering returning to Canada, to be nearer family — husband David, a telecom engineer, and their three adult children, Trevor, Agatha and David Jr., who are all in Ontario.

Travel came early in Dorothy Nyambi’s life. She did some schooling and visited in the United Kingdom when her parents attended university there at different stages of their careers. After leaving home to do undergrad studies in Wisconsin, she returned to Cameroon to achieve her dream of becoming a medical doctor.

“Travelling is a wonderful teacher,” she said, expressing gratitude that her parents wanted to ensure that she and her two brothers were exposed to other countries, to learn more about the world.

“There’s no teacher in the world like travel, where you find yourself in an airport where you don’t speak the language and you don’t understand the culture. Travel takes you away from your comfort zone. “No amount of learning about anything can beat trying to get on a plane, a boat, get on the road even.”

Nyambi has experienced all those things in a career that has seen her work throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and North America.

She first heard about MEDA a

decade ago, while doing consulting for a Canadian microfinance organization then known as Gems of Hope (later Impact First International) that was working in Latin America.

That wasn’t her first exposure to Mennonites. During a previous job with the US Peace Corps in Chad 15 years ago, she met Mennonite Central Committee volunteers there. “We relied upon and worked together quite a bit.”

Born and baptized Presbyterian, she and David have attended Harvest Bible Church and a Presbyterian congregation in recent years.

“We just continue to pray that the Lord will have us in the right home church base.”

“We’re talking about a more equitable world. I would certainly say that the model of MEDA, and the approach, is really effective, very well done.”

“Now it needs to be taken to scale.”

Her interest in MEDA was fuelled by an appreciation for how it brings business and faith together. “For me, the biggest drive is the approach of MEDA to development — using business to create those sustainable livelihoods.”

MEDA’s model and multiplier effect has been done very well, she said. “I don’t know if it has been announced enough. It is like a secret, because it just keeps happening, but people don’t know as much about it globally as should be known.”

“The impact and level of the work is really what attracted me to the position.”

She lauds MEDA’s value chain approach, which focuses on sustainability so that “when you leave, it is so structural, what has happened.

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It is about the whole combination between projects, and then you move on to investments, and so on. That is really what is going to uplift GDP and bring the (positive) changes.

“We’re talking about a more equitable world. I would certainly say that the model of MEDA, and the approach, is really effective, very well done.

“Now it needs to be really taken to scale.”

Biographical notes from speaking engagements show Nyambi describing herself as a social entrepreneur.

“When you have that extra, it’s better to give it to the greater good than to keep it for yourself,” she said.

She believes in taking her talents and re-engineering them for the benefit of others, so profits are used to contribute to the greater good and for more social equity for all “For me, that’s what social entrepreneurship means.”

Nyambi says no one thing motivates her, rather a combination of things. “What can I do to contribute, to make somebody healthier, happier, to make somebody feel like they can do something better for themselves and others?”

She describes her management style by referencing a business book, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations.

The central metaphor of the book is that if a spider’s head is cut off it dies. If a starfish’s leg is cut off, the starfish grows a new one, and the separated leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.

Traditional top-down organizations are like spiders, but now starfish organizations are changing the face of business and the world.

“It’s really working in a way so that everyone can function, that if someone were to leave, nothing falls apart,” she said.

“What I bring to the table is, if you know your job and have the tools, how can I support? I think as a leader, I am there to serve, so other people can do their job well.” ◆ The Marketplace November December 2018

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Functional art Elkhart woodworker turns discarded trees into high-end furnishings Elkhart, IND — Discovering the potential of wood has been a lifelong interest for Matt Thomas.

He did woodworking with his father, Steve, a tri-vocational pastor who also works as an arborist and co-ordinator of Mennonite Men during his childhood. He also volunteered at a friend’s sawmill, growing to love milling wood in the process.

As a sculpture and art student at Goshen College, he showed his woodworking for his senior project.

“It was a hit, I really enjoyed it.”

When he graduated from college half a dozen years ago, it seemed only natural to try to make a living creating furniture from tree trunks.

“I knew I wanted to do this,” said Thomas, co-owner of Elko Hardwoods. “I bought a sawmill. I picked up tools over the years, and I’ve just kind of grown with this.”

His younger brother, Jeremy, who is a successful options trader in Chicago, is also co-owner of Elko.

Jeremy helped to finance both the workshop building and the Chicago showroom. “He’s kind of more the business side of things.”

Elko sold through a website early on. Matt Thomas eventually realized that “with high-end furniture, it’s hard to sell without being able to see it, feel it.”

The company opened a retail location in the south side of Chicago in 2017. The store has a 2,500-squarefoot showroom with 20 pieces on display at a time.

About 75 per cent of Elko’s sales are custom orders. Most come from middle-aged, higher-income customers who live in lofts in downtown Chicago. “We have an idea of the The Marketplace November December 2018

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photo by Mike Strathdee

Matt Thomas and his dog Myla with logs outside the Elko Hardwoods workshop

size they want, the wood they want, and we’ll build a base for that.”

Pricing depends on tree size and species. Most jobs range from $2,000 to $15,000. A large conference table might cost $20,000.

“I feel like there’s kind of a movement towards quality handmade things,” he said. “I think there’s a growing appreciation for it.”

The trend to using “live edge” wood in furniture started on the west coast. Most of Elko’s work has been

“I kind of like to think of it as functional art.

I think it definitely has some art in it. It takes some design aspects, but it’s even better when you are able to use it.”

residential. Thomas is trying to enter commercial spaces, providing conference or restaurant tables. “It would eventually be nice to do fewer oneoff projects.”

Wood supply isn’t a challenge.

“Most of the mills in this area can’t cut over three feet in diameter, or it’s just not worth their while. It’s just too much work for the yield.”

Thomas is working in an untapped market for larger logs. An ideal tree for his use is between three to four feet in diameter.

Half of the logs come from sweat equity, helping to take down a tree or just picking it up and hauling it away.

Elko gets a mixture of “hazard trees” — trees that are too close to a building or fell in a storm — and others that were damaged by insects.

They often get called by tree trimmers who want a trunk removed quickly, usually in the spring and the fall.

“They get paid to take down trees, and they just want to get rid

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of the logs.” challenges for a small firm Some of the bigger walsuch as Elko, which can’t nut trees come from Amish afford to match wages being sawmills in the area. Thomoffered by the RV firms. as will buy trees that are too Thomas enjoys working big for their use. on large single-slab dining Wood is sourced from tables, which retain the within 50 miles of the tree’s original size and beauGoshen-Elkhart area, from ty. “I kind of like to think of a dozen different suppliit as functional art. I think ers. Many tree-trimmers it has some art in it. It takes are aware of Elko and will some design aspects, but it’s call if they have wood they even better when you are think Thomas could use. In able to use it.” other cases, he keeps an eye He shows a visitor a out for trees that have been work in progress, a slab of damaged by a storm. soft maple treated with an He most commonly ebonized stain. Most wood works with black walnut, just gets a clear sealer, but a species for which he they like to stain soft maple. typically must pay. Soft and The tree, which was hard maple, ash, sycamore, four feet wide, was formerly elm, white and red oak, and at the home of people from Elko customers choose the wood slabs for their new table cherry logs all make their his church before it fell on way into Elko’s products. their garage during a storm. it won’t yield much clear lumber In addition to his main Thomas worked with the insurance becomes a beautiful piece once holes 10,000-square-foot workshop, are filled with resin and butterfly keys company to obtain the log.

Thomas has a 5,000-square-foot barn to help hold it together. “It’s kind of a One walnut slab was originally where he and co-worker Luke Graber niche. We’re looking for the stuff that five feet in diameter, likely over 100 take green wood to cure. years old. “It’s fun working with bigger sawmills don’t even want.”

After logs are cut into slabs, they Thomas and Graber usually work trees that have been around for a long time.” need to air dry for two to three years, on five to 10 tables at a time. Each Peter Miller is impressed with “about a year per inch (of depth).” table they produce is a result of 20-30 Thomas’ approach. Miller, sales They have a kiln at their main hours labor over a month. operations manager at FarmLead, an workshop and run the wood through Elko had several employees, but online grain marketplace, did conthe kiln after it has dried. one left to take a teaching job. Findsulting for Elko in its early days.

Slabs are flattened to deal with ing replacements is difficult because Miller, who lives in Chicago, is any warping that developed during many businesses in nearby Goshen impressed by Elko’s commitment the drying process. “From there, it’s are also looking for staff. to quality craftmanship and injust a lot of sanding, polishing. We Low unemployment in the do all our own finishing here, we county due to a booming recreational novative design. “I have stumbled across Elko furniture in offices and make the bases.” vehicle sector makes for good oprestaurants across Chicago,” he said.

One large tree may provide 10 portunities for workers. That poses “They are quickly developslabs that could end up being ing a reputation as one of used for conference tables. the city’s premiere furniture This summer, Elko had an designers.” inventory of about 2,000 differElko has had orders from ent slabs in all different stages California, Texas and Colorado. of drying. Some clients come “People are starting to find us to the workshop to pick out online.” the slab of wood they want to When Thomas moved into see turned into a table. his current workshop several Working with salvaged years ago, he thought it would wood means coping with splits never fill up. “Now we’re kind or defects. A log without any This table was made from the wood in the photo at the top of the page of bursting at the seams.’’ ◆ commercial value because 9

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Combining faith and finance Skills developed over 25 years in banking help Ken Hochstetler lead Everence photo courtesy of Everence

Goshen, IND — Ken Hochstetler’s office at Everence’s corporate headquarters isn’t adorned with the trophies, diplomas and awards you might expect in the workspace of a man who heads a $3 billion company.

The only framed mementos that reflect his journey are a print he received after serving nine years on MEDA’s board, and a smaller certificate that dates back four-and-ahalf decades.

His outstanding paper carrier award from the Goshen newspaper in the early 1970s, near the doorway of his office, is one recognition he recalls fondly.

“You never quite know what experiences shape you, but I always had that on the wall Ken Hochstetler of my offices,” he says when asked.

When Hochstetler returned to in sixth grade about his paper route Goshen four years ago after living and being organized. in Pennsylvania for almost three Hochstetler is quick to credit a decades, he encountered his sixthvariety of teachers and mentors for grade teacher on the street. Wonder“any sense of accomplishment I may ing if the man would remember him, have and where I am today in life.

“For me, it’s instrumental to Hostetler was surprised to hear the remember where I came from, and man describe a report he had given The Marketplace November December 2018

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experiences a long way back.”

He met his wife Sue, a Pennsylvania native, at Goshen College. “The biggest thing I learned in a couple years was — I’ve got some more things to learn.”

After completing a Master of Business Administration degree at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA., he expected to return to Indiana within a few years. “Twenty-nine years later, we were still living in Pennsylvania.”

Hochstetler’s career in financial services included five years of commercial lending, then a 24-year career with Univest, rising to president of wealth management, a division that has over $3 billion in assets under management.

A career in banking, investments, insurance and financial planning gave him a solid grounding in Everence’s business areas by the time they approached him to consider leading the organization.

The aims of publicly held Univest were for profit. “Now I get to work in a space that is not for profit — faith-

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“Now I get to work in a space that is not for profit — faithbased, member-owned, fraternal. For this chapter of my life, it’s a pretty cool place to be.” based, member-owned, fraternal. For this chapter of my life, it’s a pretty cool place to be.

“There’s a place for private enterprise, and there’s a place for people of like mind and faith orientation to come together to do good work.

“MEDA does that (latter task) in all kinds of places. It’s people of faith expressing their values in the marketplace, and I believe that people can do that back here.”

His first exposure to MEDA was at Goshen College. “I came out of college with a global awareness. That’s one thing Goshen College is good at.”

After entering the financial services industry and becoming a young parent, Hochstetler found that a life he had previously viewed as balanced became unbalanced.

“One of the things I was then looking for was, how can you be faithful to your family, your faith call, while you are participating in the marketplace, and have a professional career and aspirations to do good work.

“It was MEDA that gave me the understanding and the language of how you put those together.”

Initially drawn to MEDA because of its international efforts, he came to deeply appreciate “the other half of MEDA’s mission, around faith and work, being a Christian in the marketplace.”

Hochstetler served on the Delaware Valley (Souderton, PA.) chapter board for 19 years.

“It was at MEDA that I ran into

photo courtesy of Corinne Graber Alvarez

This aerial photo of Everence’s Goshen headquarters shows a building that is as complex and multi-faceted as the organization.

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people who had many more years than me that could talk about how they did all that (balancing and integrating life aspirations).

“The truth is, you can’t do it all. There are trade-offs you have to make, and they were instructive for me on how you craft a life that puts these pieces together.”

Hochstetler credits the “incredibly generous people” he met at MEDA and the Mennonite church his family attended as shaping his values orientation.

Those encounters attracted him to Everence and the call to move back to Indiana after his children had grown up and moved away. “The people at church who were part of the stewardship and finance stuff that I was pretty deeply involved with were also MEDA members. It’s the interplay of all those (connections).”

Hochstetler’s favorite story from the Old Testament in the Bible is Samuel hearing the voice of God three times prior to understanding (1 Samuel 3 7-11).

He was approached by Everence about becoming a senior leader in three different searches. The third time they asked, the timing was right.

Howard Brenneman, a former head of Everence predecessor MMA, is someone Hochstetler has known since high school. Sitting together on a bus during a MEDA tour, Brenneman told Hochstetler of feeling blessed to have had careers both in the private sector (Hesston Corporation) and in the church (through MMA).

“I have to say, that really resonated with me, and was helpful input into my decision to come to Everence.”

Everence, MEDA and MCC all share the values of Orie Miller, who was involved in founding these and other organizations, Hochstetler said.

Miller’s 1943 suggestion that “in this changing situation, the church intends to go along with its members and help them, wherever in good conscience they need to go,” has been a guiding principle for Everence.

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needs,” Hochstetler said. “I’m glad that the folks who came before had the foresight for some of this stuff.”

His current job is shaping the organization “for people who aren’t even with us yet.”

“The interesting challenge I have is working with talented, gifted people, and enabling them to do lots more good work than I could ever

do by myself. That gives me a lot of energy, to think in those terms.

“I can’t think of anything that’s more satisfying than helping other people find great fulfilment.

The largest opportunity Hochstetler sees is improving what Everence already does, taking it to more people and helping them “be faithful in combining the areas of faith and finance.” ◆

Managing complexity and changing to meet future needs

T

o passersby, Everence Financial’s main office, a few blocks out of Goshen’s downtown core, looks like many other modern commercial buildings.

Only the sign listing the businesses working under the Everence corporate umbrella gives any hint of the complexity of an organization that includes a trust company, the Praxis mutual funds firm, and the Everence Federal Credit Union.

“Our job is to be the concierge and manage that relationship for those folks and manage the complexity,” says Ken Hochstetler, the company’s president and chief executive officer.

Everence is one of the larger employers in the city of Goshen (the largest employers, recreational vehicle manufacturers, are based in outlying areas of the county), but Hochstetler worries that the organization is one of the better-kept secrets both in the community and the wider church.

“We’re working to make sure that people learn more about us.”

Everence currently has 75,000 members, who live in all 50 US states, and over 350 employees in 20 locations across the nation, about half of whom work in Goshen.

It has volunteer stewardship advocates in 1,000 congregations, serving more than 30 denominations.

The organization has over $3.4 billion in assets. Medicare supplement insurance, annuities, mutual funds and banking are the engines that drive earnings. It has had $1.3 billion in charitable impact over the past 73 years, including sharing funds and client donor-advised funds.

A current strategic priority for the organization is providing distanceoriented electronic solutions for clients who live in areas where Everence doesn’t have a physical presence, Hochstetler says. That is important preparation for a future where people are very mobile “a diaspora, going places.”

Everence is working to become more diverse in the racial and ethnic makeup both of their employees and the people they serve, with a focus on Spanish-speaking clients, he said. “We have been largely baby boomers serving baby boomers and retirees. As our baby boomers retire, we have the opportunity to become more diverse. People generally want to work with people who look and sound like them.”

They are opening a presence in Philadelphia as a way of growing beyond their rural and suburban base. “We’re looking to help people at the intersection of faith and finance, in urban settings, in a way that will serve the future church.” ◆

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A tradition of quality Miller Poultry named supplier of the year by Whole Foods GOSHEN, IND — Miller Poultry has enjoyed remarkable growth in recent years. Its focus on quality and animal welfare has been honored by Whole Foods, its largest customer.

But the Orland, Ind.-based poultry processor is quick to stress that it is a small niche player in a massive US market for what has become American’s favorite meat.

“People around here think we’re quite large, 800-plus employees and a total of about 750,000 birds (processed) a week, but that’s less than two percent of the size of (industry leader) Tyson (Foods),” which processes over 40 million birds a week, says company president Galen Miller.

More than 165 million chickens a week are processed in the US., about half a chicken per person for each person in the US. Since 1970, the amount of chicken Americans eat has nearly tripled, with beef consumption falling by close to half, US Department of Agriculture statistics suggest.

Miller has been a supplier to the Whole Foods chain since the mid-1990s, when the retailer had only a handful of stores in Chicago.

Now one of three main US suppliers of fresh poultry for Whole Foods, Miller supplies about 100 Whole Foods stores

Photos courtesy Miller Poultry

Galen Miller 13

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in five regions.

Earlier this year, Whole Foods honored Miller as its perishable food supplier of the year.

“The reality is, it is a pretty big deal,” Galen Miller admits. “I kind of poo-pooed the thing, but it is a pretty big deal. We should celebrate that.

“They’re looking at the quality of the product, they’re looking at the relationship, at customer service.”

Miller Poultry is a family-owned business dating to 1942, when Galen’s parents and an uncle bought a Goshen feed mill and changed it into a turkey processing plant. They hatched and processed turkeys until the early 1970s. After a series of difficult years, they got out of turkeys, moving into hatching chicks and growing chickens for live markets. In the early 1990s, they purchased a custom processing plant from a failed firm, gradually transitioning that operation to fresh tray pack chicken, with increasing success.

The company is vertically integrated, owning their birds from birth. They grow 1,500 acres of crops for most of their own feed, have their own feed mill in New Paris, and a breeding facility in Vandalia, MI. They hatch their own chicks in Goshen and have about 150 contract growers (over half of

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them Amish farms, most within 250 miles of Miller operations) who raise those birds, which are later processed at their Orland plant.

“Where we play, it’s the story (of) quality, animal welfare, relationships,” he said. “We take the intangibles and double down on those. Where the big guys play, it’s how many pounds can I come in at a more competitive cost at retail?”

Miller sells under five brand labels, for Whole Foods, Kroeger (the largest supermarket chain in the US), Meijer’s, Busch’s (a Michigan grocery chain) and other customers.

Miller Poultry, the name used since 1992, is the primary legacy brand.

The company used the Pine Manor brand from the 40s through the 90s.

Its plant and real estate still operate under that name.

Katie’s Best (named after Galen and Sue’s daughter) is used in Meijer stores in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. Miller also produces

“Where we play, it’s the story (of) quality, animal welfare, relationships.” two private label lines.

The market niche Miller sells in, antibiotic-free birds, is increasingly one that its competitors have embraced. Tyson Foods has gone 100 per cent in that direction. Half of all chickens in the US are now grown without use of antibiotics.

That change in Miller’s approach, and several others, was prompted by Whole Foods. Air-

chilled production for most of its birds, and certification that no genetically modified organisms are used, are among these measures.

Air chilling involves hanging birds in large chambers that blow cool air through to chill the chicken.

The advantage this has over the more common process of chilling by immersion in cold water is that air chilling results in less water retention, giving the chicken a firmer texture and richer flavor.

Miller has also adopted global animal protection, a third-party audit system to ensure consumer confidence that things are being done appropriately. Most recently, Miller has embraced CO² gas stunning.

Controlled atmosphere stunning is a more humane way of harvesting birds than traditional methods. Animal rights expert Temple Grandin, upon touring Miller’s facility, concluded that controlled atmosphere stunning is the best system available.

Galen and Clayton Miller The Marketplace November December 2018

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The Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit that seeks to promote the welfare of farmed animals by rating the welfare standards of various farmed animal products, has also endorsed the Miller approach.

“I never imagined that we would have the kind of success that we have, and there would have been room for the small niche players, because that was not the case in the ‘70s, and even early ‘80s,” Miller says in reflecting on the company’s growth.

“There was barely any room for the small niche guys. Everything was price. Over time, late ‘80s, early ‘90s, what used to be a small co-op model became a national model.”

Miller deliberately operates below capacity, says Galen’s son, Clayton, who works in sales and marketing. Its existing plant could process another 150,000 birds a week.

“We have existing customers and grow with them,” Clayton said.

“We always leave something on the table for our existing customers, so we can grow with them.”

That philosophy also allows flex room if new customers arrive. This summer, Clayton was frequently travelling to promote the firm’s expansion into Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Like most businesses, Miller faces its challenges. Online giant Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods has led to changes in Miller’s relationship with its largest customer.

“They went to a bid program, which is totally new for us,” Galen said. “That just means, you give ‘em your best price, and they decide who they’re going to use.”

All the major chains take a similar approach, he conceded.

Miller has managed to maintain its workforce in the face of stiff competition from a booming

recreational vehicle industry, which the area around Goshen is known for.

“Even if they would go to the RV industry, it could be three weeks and they could be looking for a job again (due to the boom and bust nature of that sector).”

Eight major nationalities speaking 11 different languages work for the company, including many Asians and Hispanics.

One of the reasons for their success in retaining workers is that employees know that even though there are difficult times in the poultry industry, Miller takes steps to ensure

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workers are physically safe, rotating people through tasks to minimize repetitive work that would stress their joints.

Strengthening the benefits that accompany vertical integration, Miller Poultry started a breeder program in the past two years to produce its own hatching eggs.

“We’re trying to consolidate, and build depth, and evaluate what the next step would be,” Galen said.

He has had suitors who wanted to buy the firm but has no desire to cash out and retire. “I don’t know what I’d do, and there are still some things to be done.

“The entrepreneurial spirit thrives on activity and deals, and growth and success.”

He also feels a responsibility to people in his organization — families and leadership-“folks who have been here a long time.”

Galen hopes his legacy will be “that we put people either before, or equal to profit. That we gave back to the communities that we are in, that we produced a high-quality, premium product that was raised in a humane way.” ◆

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Service is recipe for flourishing food business Family produce stand grows to four Sarasota area supermarkets

By JB Miller

photos by Jake Smucker

spoiling,” Henry said. “Then that say that he would continue to serve PALMETTO, FL — Anticipating the Detwiler’s and was sending $20,000 opening of the newest Detwiler’s Farm winter, we had one of the coldest winters in many years and local profor Henry to pay other creditors. He Market in July, the Detwiler family shouldn’t worry about repayment duce was devastated.” wondered, “Will anyone come?” and suggested that, in the future, The business struggled. Paying There was no need to worry.

Henry could help someone else in the bills became difficult. When one Cars jammed the parking lot and similar straits. This answer to the of their major suppliers called and nearly 5,000 shoppers visited that Detwiler family’s prayers became a said they could no longer deliver first day. With the opening of their major turning point for the business. products to them, Henry knew this fourth store, Detwiler’s is on its way Even though their first building could be the end for Detwiler’s Farm to meet a company goal of serving was only 5,000-square-feet, the adMarket. After a lengthy conversanearly three million customers over ditional space allowed them to open tion, the owner agreed to reconsider the next year. deli and fresh seafood counters. Dethe termination. Later, he called to Detwiler’s newest location, spite the small space and a long vacant 40,000crowded parking lot, cussquare-foot former tomers came, shopping grocery store, stands in elbow to elbow with stark contrast to their little space to maneuver first produce market, a grocery carts. Rather 10 by 20-foot roadside than being frustrated, tent opened in Sarasota many customers felt in 2002 by Henry Dethe crowded conditions twiler Sr. and his family. added charm to their They soon gained a loyal shopping experience. following and remained As the business grew, an open-air market until it gained a reputation 2009 when they moved that’s still reflected today into a building. in the Detwiler’s slogan, The transition to “Eat Fresh for Less.” enclosed space was stressOver the next six ful. While the previous years two more stores business had thrived, any were opened within excess cash was invested 25 miles of their initial in the new location. An Sarasota site, each larger additional challenge was than the previous one. the lack of air conditionTheir third store gave Hening. “Some nights I would ry the opportunity to return come over and open doors to his roots — opening a to bring in cooler air to keep the produce from Founder Henry Detwiler Sr. and company president Sam Detwiler full-service butcher shop.

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As a child he would ride about on his tricycle in his grandfather’s Franconia, PA. butcher shop. There, he saw firsthand how Grandpa Landis treated his customers with respect and kindness, ensuring they were satisfied with their purchases.

Even then, Henry was a budding entrepreneur. “I believe God gave me the gift of retailing. When watching my grandfather, I used to think ‘Grandpa, why don’t you do it this way?’” Henry recalled.

That entrepreneurial spirit has been passed on to the next generation. Seven of Henry and Natalie Detwiler’s nine children are active in the business, five serving alongside their parents in leadership roles. Sam, the oldest son, has worked in the business from the beginning. Today, at age 30, he serves as president.

Engaging and articulate, Sam’s passion for serving their customers and employees is clearly evident.

“I believe if we take care of our customers and employees, God will take care of us,” Sam said. “Just this morning I was reading James 5, and it’s a clear warning about how we need to treat people, and not make this business just about us. There’s more to it than that.”

“I believe if we take care of our customers and employees, God will take care of us.”

— Sam Detwiler With the loyal customer following, there are many requests for Detwiler’s to open stores in other locations. “We hope to continue to grow with more stores but building our own larger distribution center is a top priority,” Sam explained. “We started our own distribution center when we had only two stores and that’s been strategically important because we can buy large quantities of produce.”

Nine members of the Detwiler family work in the supermarket. Eight are pictured here. From L-R: Henry Jr., Josh, Natalie Grace, Caleb, Henry Sr., Natalie, Sam, and Vicky. Emily was not present for the photo shoot.

Detwiler’s buys local fruit and vegetables when they are available, but with today’s high demand, produce comes from throughout the Americas. Suppliers know, with their large customer base, Detwiler’s can move large quantities of overstocked inventory, often at reduced prices.

Besides the large produce selection, butcher shop and seafood counter, shoppers find a wide array of specialty items with brands not found in local grocery stores. Troyer deli meats and cheeses from Ohio, Martin chips from Pennsylvania, and items from many small companies known for their high quality and strong customer loyalty are customer favorites.

Detwiler’s is known for their generosity. Each week the company provides food for a local wilderness camp for at-risk boys. After Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas, they sent a semi-tractor load of food to Houston. When Hurricane Irma struck the Sarasota area, Detwiler’s purchased plywood and supplied labor to board up their employees’ houses, and opened their stores for employees who needed a safe place. “We have been blessed, and 17

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I’m learning to let go, stop being ‘tight,’ and be generous,” Henry explained. “I’m learning you can’t out-give God, I need so little to make me happy.”

Satisfying as business growth has been, it doesn’t come without some concern. When asked what keeps him awake at night, Henry paused a long time before answering, “That we lose our faith, walk away from God, and the business becomes more about ourselves and not serving our customers.”

When meeting Detwiler family members, it’s evident that they see their business as a Christian calling.

“What really makes me tick is people thanking me for opening the new store, as well as employees telling me they enjoy working here,” Henry commented. “We hope when customers walk into our stores they can feel the love we have for the business and for them. Our goal is to mix love in everything we do, including the bread we bake.”

“Eat Fresh for Less” may be Detwiler’s popular slogan. However, love for the people they serve appears to be the winning ingredient in the Detwiler family’s success. ◆ The Marketplace November December 2018

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Java Junction blends theory and practice Goshen College students run a coffee shop for course credit photos courtesy Goshen College

GOSHEN, IND — Michelle Horning likes to see students apply their business studies to the real world of business.

So much so that she has students operate a coffee shop on the Goshen College campus, for course credit, in a class called Java Junction management.

“Reading a book about business is completely different than running a business,” says Horning, who is an accounting professor and chair of Goshen College’s business department.

Java Junction, located between two student residences, is operated by junior and sophomore Melissa Ma pours a drink for a Java Junction customer business students.

The idea for the shop ness analysis. They purchase coffee was suggested by the college’s Student It clears enough profit after wages from a local roaster, working to balLife team in 2002. A new facility called and other expenses to replace wornout blenders or freezers, Horning says. ance cost and quality. the Connector which would link two In its first year of operation, sales Horning “hovers in the backresidences was about to be built, and ground” but largely takes a hands-off the Student Life group wondered if the totalled only $14,000. The student management team works to deterapproach to the operation, which business department would be intermine what will be popular with is open daily from 7:30 am until ested in running a coffee shop. customers who change each semesmidnight, except between four and The venture is open from late ter, as some students graduate, and seven pm. (The shop closes for August until the end of May each others arrive. that three-hour period, when most year. Students can be involved with Problems with broken equipment students are busy with athletic or the business for one or two terms. and employees who don’t show up theatre practices, as well as band/ Two-thirds of students will do it for their shifts are some of the issues orchestra/choir rehearsals.) twice, making a class presentation at that Java Junction’s management “I’m not in charge,” she says. the end of the semester.

“I’m not going to do any work.”

The store, remembered fondly by team may need to cope with. ManSeveral years ago, Horning began some Goshen alumna as much for their agement makes all decisions around accounting, marketing, purchasing, requiring all participating students to milkshakes as their coffee or baked goods, takes in about $55,000 a year. hiring, training, technology and busi- work behind the counter at least two The Marketplace November December 2018

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to three hours a week throughout the term. Last year, she gave students the option of working more hours before hiring external help. About half of the team chose to work additional shifts.

Including their paid shift and a three-hour group meeting, participating students need to plan to set aside 10 to 12 hours a week for Java Junction. “Some years it will be less, other years, unfortunately it will be more.”

Experiencing the messiness that comes with waiting on customers and taking out the trash is part of the real world learning the course offers.

“When students become part of the management team, their friends become very good customers at Java Junction,” Horning says.

Laura Hochstetler graduated from Goshen College in May. She was involved with Java Junction for two years, one as an employee, the other as part of the management team.

“Being aware of all the hidden things that come along with owning your own business or being in charge of a certain area of the business” was a practical education that came from working at the coffee shop. “You have to make sure you are on top of inventory, and that you are in communication with the baristas, so everybody’s on the same page … customers like what you are selling – all of that.”

Keeping in communication with the team she was working with was the biggest lesson she learned from the experience. “I just really enjoyed the community, making people feel welcome and being friendly.”

Hochstetler, who now works as a baker at Goshen’s Electric Brew restaurant, would like to open her own bed and breakfast operation some day. “I want there to be some aspect

of environmental education, or education on sustainable living. I think that’s super important.

Hospitality has always been something that I’ve always enjoyed.”

Other schools have expressed interest in the Java Junction project.

Culver Military Academy, a prestigious college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Ind. whose alumni includes former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, actor Hal Holbrook and a number of politicians and professional athletes, has an entrepreneurship program. Culvert used lessons from Java Junction to open their campus coffee shop two years ago. ◆

Michelle Horning

“When students become part of the management team, their friends become very good customers at Java Junction.”

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Review

Finding our way back to trust Trust: Twenty Reliable Ways to Build a Better Country by David Johnston (Signal/McClelland & Stewart, 2018 222 pp, $22.95 US, $29.95 Canadian)

T

o call David Johnston’s life accomplishments impressive is an understatement.

A graduate of Harvard, Cambridge and Queen’s universities, Johnston has been a law professor, dean of the Queen’s law school, head of two Canadian universities, and Governor General of Canada (from 2010 to 2017). He has also written or co-authored numerous books.

If, as he hints in this thoughtprovoking volume, he is at age 77 “on the last leg of my life’s journey,” Trust may be his most enduring contribution to public discourse. Given the well-considered arguments he makes in this book, this reader hopes there will be many more to come.

Levels of trust in institutions, employers and governments have dipped dramatically in nations around the world.

The causes are many: Failure by employers and governments to keep promises, economic stagnation and rising inequalities brought on by globalization and technological disruption that eliminated entire industries. Then there is the instantaneous and constant flow of online information, which “has amplified our anger, stoked our fears, and indulged our pessimism.”

The erosion of trust is a serious issue, Johnston argues, because trust is the bedrock of democracy. “No problem is solved, no opportunity seized without trust among nations, trust between people and the institutions that are meant to serve and represent them, and above all trust among people.”

His book is a prescription for The Marketplace November December 2018

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anyone who interacts with others, whether in a leadership role or not.

The text is divided into three sections: 1) Make yourself worthy of trust.

This discusses helpful attitudes, approaches and habits.

2)Build trust around you. Here Johnston outlines actions people can take to build trust, drawing on his rich and varied life experience to provide personal anecdotes.

3) Build a trustworthy and trusted country. Johnston reflects on ways of acting and thinking that democracies can use to be trusted by their own citizens as well as other nations and their citizens.

He warns leaders against empty listening, writing: “The job of a leader, if he or she is truly listening, is not descending from the mountaintop and presenting his or her organization with commandments carved in stone. A leader must also listen to the people whom that leader needs to make the organization work.”

Given the reality that trust arrives on foot but leaves in a Ferrari — a favorite saying of Bank of England governor Mark Carney — Johnston stresses the importance of acting consistently.

Companies need to focus on doing the right thing, not doing the thing right, he says, outlining the damage that Wells Fargo and VW did to their reputations by focusing on the latter instead of the former.

Johnston examines the reasons for the rise of populist movements, and the corrosive effect these have had on trust.

He notes that as Canadians have disengaged from traditional news sources, business leaders are seen to be the most authoritative voices. His view that a healthy and respected press is an important part of democracy leads him to provide recommendations for journalists, schools and other leaders on how to act to rebuild trust.

Refreshingly, Johnston references his own Anglican faith as his rock during life decisions. “Faith enables me to move beyond my individualism, and recognize my obligation to my community, country and world.”

Readers who live outside of Canada may find Johnston’s explanations of the Canadian political system somewhat involved. But the details of Johnston’s efforts to create, support and recognize numerous volunteer and philanthropic efforts during his seven years as governor general demonstrate that he practices what he preaches.

Well worth reading and pondering. -MS

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The Marketplace November December 2018

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Motorized tricycles improve lives of Ghanaian farmers

M

EDA’s Ghana GROW (Greater Rural Opportunities for Women) project provided targeted subsidies for 751 women farmers to purchase motor-

ized tricycles with flatbed trailers.

The program gives a “smart” subsidy of 70 per cent of the vehicle cost. The women provide the other 30 per cent from savings, or a loan

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from a micro-finance institution.

The trikes help the women get to and from their farms safely and more rapidly, transport inputs and crops, provide transportation to neighboring villages, and help other women get to medical clinics. They provide transit and earn extra income in areas where both are scarce. Participants receive a huge amount of respect for providing a vital service to their communities. ◆

10/10/2018 12:55:33 PM

News

Seattle university promotes business on purpose

S

eattle Pacific University is producing a fascinating project that will be of interest to anyone who shares the MEDA vision of doing business in a manner that is informed by their faith.

Faith & Co: Business on Purpose, is a series of short films about companies, shaped by, and living into, a faith-inspired vision of business, says professor Kenman Wong, who teaches business ethics at Seattle Pacific.

The goal of the project is to inspire Christian business people to more deeply align their work with God’s redemptive activity in the world.

The first season of the films, 13 episodes, were filmed across three continents, including 18 US cities.

Companies profiled in the films

include high tech, health care, retail, industry and property management.

One episode, entitled God Loves Cabinets, tells the story of Washington entrepreneur Steve Bell, who nearly lost everything after being defrauded. He reached out to his creditors and promised to repay the $100,000 he owed, a process that took over six years. A subsequent business, Belmont Cabinets, grew to 200 employees, shrunk to 85 during the last recession, and has since rebounded to employ 350.

Another story, Elevation Burger, relates founder Hans Hess’ goal of making a healthier version of the iconic American fast food meal, using creation care and sustainable practices in development and pro-

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duction. The firm’s burgers are made with grass-fed organic meat.

In 2015, USA Today ran an article crediting his firm for convincing industry giants McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A to remove antibiotics from their food.

Study guides to facilitate group discussion of the series can be purchased through their website. The 10-week study guide explores topics that include business as a calling, ethics and values, employees, customers, poverty and justice, and creation care.

There is also a free, eight-week online course available. The next course starts Jan.22, with registration opening Nov. 26.

View the first season of films, buy the study guides or register for the online course at www.faithandco. ◆

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