Sometimes you have to get a little dirty to get the job done. That’s why our Center team members rolled up their sleeves and dug in. We take our commitment to achieving our Center Vision 2020 very seriously and we are having some delicious fun doing it! Here is a glimpse of our latest team outing and a little over-indulgence at Slows Bar-B-Q in Downtown Detroit. Our Center 2020 vision was top of mind when our newly formed Social Committee organized a team luncheon and awards ceremony to celebrate the many talents and achievements exhibited by our fellow co-workers. As our Vision 2020 states, “We relish the opportunity and responsibility to create unique, memorable and personal experiences for all whom we serve.” The photos suggest a Mission Accomplished. By taking care of our team members, we hope to build a magnet for attracting new talent and leadership to The Center. And even if some of us got a little of Slows’ Bar-B-Q sauce on our awards, it was worth it.
Happy Centerversary
The Center celebrates its 28th year! Founded in 1985, our success and longevity would not be possible without the support from our team members.
Let's take a moment to recognize Jen Hackmann, RP℠ who celebrated her 12th Centerversary at the end of March. Congratulations! With a big smile Jen took a minute to put her thoughts into words, "I feel honored to be part of such a special group of individuals and look forward to the next 12 years!"
Years of Hard Work Produce an MBA for Laurie Renchik
It took four years of juggling a full-time career and sacrificing a lot of precious free time, but we are proud to announce that our Laurie Renchik, CFP® recently completed postgraduate work to earn a Master of Business Administration degree from Walsh College. Despite the challenge, Laurie tells us, “I enjoyed the journey which was filled with new opportunities for learning.” Walsh College is a private school that was founded in 1922 and is one of Michigan’s largest graduate schools of business.
Her newly minted MBA comes with a specialization in Finance, which is a perfect classroom match for her position at the Center. Laurie says the MBA program helped, “Expand my analytical abilities beyond the scope of personal financial planning to include business management expertise, ultimately helping me better serve Center clients and our Center 2020 Vision.”
What's up next for Laurie? She says she will take the knowledge she gained and put it to work. We applaud Laurie for her recent accomplishment and the four years of hard work and dedication that made it happen.
Teaming up with Gleaners Food Bank
On Saturday February 23rd, Center team members and their families volunteered to support Gleaners Food Bank. Jen Hackmann, Client Service Manager said we really pulled our weight.
Thank you, thank you for all the support for the 1st Gleaners volunteering event - we had a total of 214 pounds of donations (I think Tim’s donation of multiple cans of fruit cocktail put us over the 200 pound mark),” Jen reported. “And according to the organizers at Gleaners, this food donation will provide 178 meals for our hungry neighbors in need. Gleaners collects over 2.5 million pounds of food from food drives like ours and distributes the donations to more than 600 partnering groups in need each year.”
After an orientation and video introduction to Gleaners Food Bank, our volunteers got to work. We went from standing still, trying to figure out what we were going to be doing, to a full-on assembly line working at what felt like a 100 miles per hour. Jen remembers saying to Troy Wyman, CFP ®and Gerri Harmer, Client Service Associate, “I have a new and GREAT respect for assembly line work!” Apparently it is not as easy as it looks! Some of us packed bags of fruit while others worked with packaged food, putting together large boxes of noon-perishable goods to be handed out to families in need.
And despite the demanding morning of helping out at the food bank, we couldn’t get enough! We’ve already planned another Gleaners volunteer day on Saturday, September 21st from 9am – noon. Anyone who would like to join our group is more than welcome. If you happen to get the volunteering itch on your own one Saturday morning, you can just show up at 9am on any Saturday at the Detroit Gleaners Distribution Center. You do not need to be part of a group and the Detroit Distribution Center is the only site that takes “walk-in” volunteers.
Let’s All Give Melissa Cyrus an Official Welcome!
We would like to take a moment and officially recognize our newest team member Melissa Cyrus and applaud her recent accomplishment. Melissa came aboard in May 2012 after two summer internships with The Center in 2010 and 2011. She has settled in nicely to her new role as a Client Service Assistant and recently passed the challenging Series 7 securities licensing exam as well as the Series 63 which cover state laws and regulations. Congratulations Melissa!
Melissa earned her bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University with a double major in Finance and Economics. When not at work, you might find Melissa playing basketball or running and in the summer she enjoys being on the water boating, kayaking or tubing. Melissa enjoys spending time with friends and family. And when it comes to mottos, she is a firm believer that you should be yourself because everyone else is taken.
Serving Our Community and Profession
The Center takes pride in serving our communities, our profession and each other. Below you’ll find the many organizations supported by our team’s volunteer efforts.
- Sandy Adams, CFP® was appointed to the Board of Visitors for the Institute of Gerontology (IOG) at Wayne State University and also serves on the Legal and Financial Advisory committee for the IOG as well as a liaison to the Board of Visitors for the last two years.
- Marilyn Gunther, CFP® serves the Board of her community foundation in North Carolina
- Sandy Adams, CFP® and Julie Hall, CFP® led Junior Achievement activities.
- Dan Boyce, CFP® served on the Governing Board of an elementary charter school, as well as continuing on the Board of Trustees of Prescott College.
- Laurie Renchik, CFP® and Tim Wyman, CFP® participated in Leadership Oakland and Melissa Joy participated in Inforum’s Executive Leadership program.
- The Center proudly supported the local community and Gleaner’s Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan through the celebration of food, wine and art! The 9th Annual Vine & Dine, hosted by the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce.
- Matt Chope, CFP® offered his thoughts on what it means to leave a Legacy of Value as part of the The Youth Diversity Symposium annual event developed by the Southfield Community Foundation.
- Carrying on a proud Center legacy (and following in Marilyn Gunther’s, CFP® footsteps), Sandy Adams, CFP® was appointed to the Board of Personal Financial Education Services, an Ann Arbor based non-profit organization with a mission of promoting personal financial education in Michigan and beyond and to empower youth and adults to build more stable financial futures through financial education.
- Dan Boyce, CFP® continued his leadership at the Institute for Sustainable Social Change in Prescott, AZ.
- Betsey Schrock, Bookkeeper/Office Manager, was elected president of Stagecrafters, a large community theatre organization located at the Baldwin theatre in Royal Oak.
- Troy Wyman, CFP® was elected to the Board of Directors of the Financial Planning Association of Michigan and to the executive board of the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce.
- Melissa Joy, CFP® began serving on the Business Development Committee for Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings.
To find out more please feel free to contact the team member aligned with your organization of interest.
Excellence is Not Perfection
Passion for Excellence: a Center Value that guides us in our daily actions.
No one is perfect, but we can all strive for excellence. Setting the bar high and striving for continual improvement is a function of excellence.
Perfection is to have no flaw. Excellence is to recognize our mistakes and learn from them. Furthermore, excellence is to implement systems to automate repetitive tasks and eliminate waste.
Perfection is to do no harm. Excellence is to be compassionate when mistakes inevitably happen. When mistakes happen it’s best to listen. Let clients realize we are truly hearing them - be sympathetic about the error. Acknowledge that we understand how this affected them and that we are striving to build ways so this will not happen again.
Perfection is pure and rigid. Excellence can have a core set of "rules" but also be unique and flexible.
NO! – can be a threatening word; try to be careful when using “no." Consider this, “Let me see what our options are."
Perfection can be intolerant and exact. Excellence was best said by Gandhi: “Intolerance is usually all that I can not tolerate, so I guess I still have some work to do.” Be open to differences; some clients are older and slower than others
Perfection is static and closed. Excellence is open to possibilities but accountable to detail. We generally find comfort in our similarities but growth in our differences.
Perfection is rude. Excellence is about attitude, a strong discipline to continual improvement, a focus on goals with open communication. I will ask you to consider embracing work discussion with a level of constructive criticism when necessary this next year. Especially when developing systems and processes for the entire organization to use. Tighter specifications to details are necessary when building synergies for an organization like ours.
Our work for clients is hardly ever completed. Perfection is completion, while excellence is usually found in the pursuit.
I'm proud that our firm has always pursued excellence.
Matt Chope Shares Values at Youth Diversity Symposium
On November 9, 2012 Matt offered his thoughts on what it means to leave a Legacy of Value. Through discussion and a hands-on exercise students explored their true life values. Matt helped them look inside themselves to determine who they are and where they stand today. A value Matt takes to heart and practices throughout both his personal and professional lives.
This year’s symposium, "Millennials Creating a Legacy", focused on global issues that the millennial generation face and the legacy that they hope to leave behind for future generations.
The Youth Diversity Symposium is an annual event developed by the Southfield Community Foundation and is being helped in partnership with the Council of Michigan Foundation in 2012. The event offers a diverse base of youth from the metro Detroit area an opportunity to interact with each other and engage in learning activities centered on social issues and philanthropy.
Marilynn Levin Shares a Proud Grandparent Story
“I just had to share this story of my grandson Malcolm…… (Marilynn Levin) This happened the weekend of No. 24th in Philadelphia. Lots to be learned from this kid - And I know this too: I'm just in awe of the kid and terribly, terribly proud of him.” The following story is told by my son David.
Reference Notes: Malcolm turned 10 in August, PS139 is his elementary school in Brooklyn, NY
Malcolm is officially the highest-rated player in P.S. 139 history.
If you want the short form of this story, know this. This was a big goal of Malcolm's and we all feel really great about it. If you want the, long (and possibly insufferable) version, keep reading. Either way is truly ok. You've been warned.
When Malcolm set this goal, it seemed impossible. Coming into the fall it started to seem inevitable. But then, Malcolm's rating actually started to sink, and his confidence was shaken.
At the low point, Malcolm decided he only wanted to play much higher rated competition. Part of this was tactical, if you lose to a higher rated player then your rating doesn't fall much. But part of Malcolm's decision was that he felt he would perform better if he took on a bigger challenge. Having a hard time with a big goal? Take on a tougher challenge. Ok. His call. And one backed up by Mr. West his chess coach. But I had my doubts.
So Malcolm entered the Under 1800 section at the National Chess Congress this weekend. His official ranking for the purposes of the tournament was 1400. He was far and away the lowest rated person in the section. (He would have been in the middle of the pack at best in the Under 1600 section.)
Malcolm lost his first two games and took the losses hard. I felt bad for him, gave him lots of hugs, and worried that we were in for a very long weekend. In the very next match, Malcolm went out and took down the number 2 seed! He gave away a knight in exchange for two pawns and then exploited the absence of those two pawns to methodically grind out a win over the course of the next sixty to ninety minutes. People kept coming around the board to watch. A small crowd of admirers gathered. Malcolm's opponent hunched over the board, breathing heavily, grunting occasionally and gamely maneuvered, trying to save the position. The pressure mounted. He and Malcolm were locked in a tight, tight grip like two sumo wrestlers. Each move countered by the other. Then it was Malcolm's turn and he did...nothing.Well not exactly nothing. But instead of attacking his opponent, he stepped back. And all of a sudden, Malcolm's opponent had nothing to hold on to. I was stunned with how calm Malcolm was and how flexible the maneuver was.
The game lasted a couple more moves, but it was all but over. And then it was all over. The lowest rated player in the section (who had no business in the section) had beaten a player (rated 1789) who fell just under the top ceiling for the section. Malcolm went on to another draw and in his final match he stunned a much higher rated player with a move that looked like it gave away a piece but actually won the game. I happened to visit Malcolm's board at the decisive moment. He made the move and his opponent stared down at the pieces: 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes passed. Then he hung his head, turned off the clock and said, "you win." Then he looked at me and said: "He is very, very good."
Malcolm and I sat down and analyzed the game. It's up there with the most spectacular things I've ever seen on a chess board. In some tournaments, they have a prize for what's called a "Chess Brilliancy." I have no doubt this would qualify. Well, I know this: It is a strange feeling to be so surpassed at something by your ten year old. And I know this too: I'm just in awe of the kid and terribly, terribly proud of him.
Love,
David
Kacy Wyman & Justin Bieber: Make-A-Wish 2012
To suggest that Thanksgiving 2012 was a special time would be a gross understatement. Rather than stuffing ourselves with turkey and watching the Detroit Lions somehow lose another game (I digress), my family packed up to travel to Montreal to celebrate a Make-A-Wish event granted to my daughter Kacy. Many of you have read before about the special 10 year old that I get to live with and be inspired by each day. For those that don’t, Kacy was born with a rare genetic disease called Cystinosis (Sis-Ta-Know-Sis). [You can read more about Cystinosis at the end….there are too many other exciting parts to this story to get detracted by the details of the disease – and besides that’s how Kacy chooses to live each day.]
On Thanksgiving morning we (Kacy, my wife Jen, son Matt home from The University of Kansas and son Jack) were picked up by a stretch limousine for our trip to the airport. It was early, but the excitement of what was to come took away most of the sleepiness. Now you know that a trip to the airport isn’t always without hiccups or delays….but after a short weather delay we were off to Montreal for 5 days. Our trip would be capped off by meeting and seeing JUSTIN BIEBER in concert. In case you are not into current pop music, think Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, or perhaps Madonna during your youth. Yep – he is that big – the current king of pop and the love of many young girls (and some older ones based on the reactions during the concert).
Our family spent the initial days visiting Montreal’s sites like the Bio Dome, IMAX theatre, and many fine restaurants (we even visited some not so fine ones). We walked the city for miles – laughed a lot – got some exercise in – even got our share of sleep. Kacy would have been fine staying in the hotel pool every waking hour – it’s one of her favorite things to do.
The Big Day
Monday was the BIG day – the day to meet JUSTIN. Needless to say, Kacy was excited from the moment she woke up. She began planning her day – her hair – nails - the outfit (you can’t wear just anything you know) and planning what she might say when she met JUSTIN.
Our directions were to be in the hotel lobby at 3:45PM sharp….Kacy was ready by 1PM….and at 3:30 we made our first steps to the evening’s event. Once again we were greeted by a very friendly limousine driver who escorted us to the limo for the short drive. Because we were early (their dad is a planner) the driver paraded us around town for a bit to give us a Hollywood experience. While they may not admit it, Matt (18) and Jack (17) especially liked the attention.
As we approached the Bell Center, the location of the concert, crowds had already gathered and they wondered could it be JUSTIN in the limousine? My son Matt, who has a slight resemblance to JUSTIN (if he shaved and was 5 inches shorter), decided to have some fun with the crowd. Wearing his hat pulled down and cracking the window just enough for the mob of young girls to catch a glimpse he started waving. At one point a group of girls began screaming as they raced to catch the limo. I am not sure what would have happened if they had caught us!
As we found the entrance and got out of the limo we began to feel the “hugeness” of the JUSTIN phenomenon. Girls started taking pictures of Matt until they finally realized he was much too tall to be JUSTIN – but we had fun with it anyway!
The Biebs
After standing in line to get our tickets at Will Call, we were escorted (really whisked) to the front of the line to go in the special door. We were greeted by Justin’s manager Kenny. For those that have seen the JUSTIN BIEBER movie – you would recognize him. Kenny was a very unassuming and friendly man who treated us like his guests. From there we were lead through the back hallways of the stadium…..past masses of people just hoping to catch a glimpse of JUSTIN. As we walked by the crowds, I knew people were wondering, “Who are they? Are they famous? Why do they get to go back there?” On our trip back stage we witnessed the massive amounts of equipment that the Bieber tour travels with - it was truly astonishing – who coordinates all of that? (sorry you are getting the story through a middle aged man’s perspective not Kacy’s)
Our back stage travels ended in a make shift greeting room – this is the place that Kacy would meet JUSTIN – can you feel the excitement!? As you might imagine, you don’t get to walk in and see the star right away, some waiting is to be expected. We just didn’t know if it would be 10 minutes or one hour before JUSTIN came in.
As Kacy waited, somewhat patiently, for JUSTIN to arrive she periodically tip toed to the room entrance to see if he was in sight. At one point she sat down and said, “I just know my face is going to be as red as a heart.” Kacy was definitely excited…..and nervous. Then, the waiting was over; JUSTIN BIEBER arrived into our room!
The Moment
JUSTIN arrived carrying his young brother in his arms. I thought Kacy might have seen a ghost, her face was so white – not the red she was thinking (that did come later though). JUSTIN immediately sat down between her and one other girl receiving a Make-A-Wish event (Berkeley from London, Ontario). Justin asked their names – what they liked to do – and gave out some hugs. The next 10-15 minutes (I think – time kind of stood still) were filled with exchanging gifts and lots of picture taking. Kacy, wearing an “I Love Justin” t-shirt had another shirt made for JUSTIN that said I Love Kacy (I bet he hasn’t taken it off yet!). Ok – he wasn’t really interested in putting the shirt on – he has an image to uphold – I get it. JUSTIN’s team provided the girls with gift bags of their own containing a shirt, photos and other Bieb items – needless to say they were a big hit.
The girls snuck in a few more hugs and then it was time for the star to get ready for his concert. The VIP treatment continued as Kenny escorted us back stage and we entered the front of the stadium – row 6 to be exact. We settled into our seats and quickly put in ear plugs – we being the parents – Kacy and Berkley figured they could go to the stage for an even better view and no way were they going to drown out any of the noise … er I mean music. As an aside – I never imagined just how loud 40,000 screaming girls could be – let’s say for some of us the ear plugs were necessary. As you might expect, the concert was a huge hit and Kacy never sat down once. Watching her smile during the concert was worth any potential permanent hearing loss!
The Memories
Our entire family cannot express our thanks enough to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and their dedicated volunteers. From their first visit to ask Kacy what she might want for her Wish, to taking care of every detail to ensure a spectacular experience, they were true angels.
We have been back home for almost a week now and the residual smile from the JUSTIN experience is still plastered on Kacy’s face. A Wish cannot cure Cystinosis or any other disease – but it certainly impacted Kacy as well as all of us that continue to be inspired by her.
About Cystinosis
Cystinosis is a rare disease that is typically diagnosed prior to age 2. Cystinosis is a genetic metabolic disease that causes an amino acid, cystine, to accumulate in various organs of the body. Cystine crystals accumulate in the kidneys, eyes, liver, muscles, pancreas, brain, and white blood cells. Without specific treatment, children with cystinosis develop end stage kidney failure at approximately age nine. Cystinosis also causes complications in other organs of the body. The complications include muscle wasting, difficulty swallowing, diabetes, and hypothyroidism. It is estimated that at least 2,000 individuals worldwide have cystinosis, though exact numbers are difficult to obtain because the disease is often undiagnosed and/ or misdiagnosed.
For more information visit www.KacyWyman.com or www.cystinosis.org
About Make-A-Wish Michigan
Make-A-Wish Michigan grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
Since 1984, Make-A-Wish Michigan has granted wishes to more than 7,000 special children in Michigan. Of each dollar spent, 80 cents goes directly to granting wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Funding comes from individual contributors, special events, corporate donations and sponsorships, foundation grants, workplace giving programs and planned gifts. These wishes would not be realized without the dedication and support of the volunteers, donors, and staff, as well as exceptional leadership from the Board of Directors. For more information visit www.wishmich.org