Bedford Park-Clearing Industrial Association Newsletter

In This Issue

Constant Contact Partner

Annual Meeting

Golf

Automotive Mentoring Group

Forging New Links in Your Supply Chain

Join Our List

Quick Links

BPCIA

Village of Bedford Park

Dates to Remember

Annual Meeting

April 5
Holiday Inn Midway

CPR Class
May 12
Bedford Park Fire Department
Station #1

Golf Outings

June 9

August 4

Cog Hill Golf & Country Club

Business Expo

October 13, 2016

Marriott Chicago Midway

Sponsors

Member Benefit... BPCIA Partners with Constant Contact

As you may have heard, we just launched a partnership with Constant Contact, the leading provider of small business online marketing tools.

Constant Contact helps you to stay in touch with customers, sell more, and increase your bottom line. Their easy-to-use marketing tools help you communicate effectively, frequently, and safely. The result? More repeat business and referrals!

Receive great discounts with our partnership: 20% off 6 months prepaid, and 25% off 12 months prepaid.

Click the link below to start a FREE, no-risk trial now.

Link where highlighted-

Co-branded URL: http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?pn=bpcia

Welcome New Members
Hexion Inc. Holiday Inn Countryside

Quarterly Meeting held at Marriott Chicago Midway

The last quarterly meeting was held on March 8th at the Marriott Chicago Midway. Dan Peterson, owner of Flip Switch Consulting gave a presentation on Social Media. He talked about the three basic social media principles that can be implemented immediately to help achieve results fast! He also talked about social media marketing techniques and strategies you need to know to grow your business. If you would like to find out more information, contact Dan at 217-274-4892 or danpete@flipswitchconsulting.com

Pictured below (left) is Mansoor Syed, General Manager of First Transit receiving his membership plaque from Tim Coffey, BPCIA Director and past president. We welcome Mansoor and look forward to a great working relationship.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

from the

BPCIA Board of Directors

Contact

The BPCIA Office

Phone 708-496-0336

Email:

donna@bpcia.org

Fax:

708-458-8885

March 2016

Pamela Coan - BPCIA President

The month of March is onset to spring, the NCAA college basketball tournament, the Easter holiday this year, and the last month of my term as president of the BPCIA.
The time has gone by quickly and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge what an honor it has been to serve as president.
I am fortunate to have worked alongside a board of directors, some of whom have served for many years and others who have recently joined, that have been a driving force for the community and businesses located in and around the Bedford Park area. The BPCIA Association has been very fortunate, as I have to work with Donna Smith who is very experienced managing the operations and always ready for the next challenge. Thank you Donna!
We have strived to listen to business needs and concerns as well as celebrate accomplishments of new business entering into the community. I hope that we can continue to grow our membership from referrals and serve your business needs into a new year.
Our next president, Cheryl Laska from Independence Tube is a long time member of the BPCIA and ready for the role. We will be inducting our officers at the April 5th Annual meeting with Mayor Brady. Thank you again and I look forward to continue serving the BPCIA.

BPCIA Annual Meeting & Election of Officers
April 5th (Tuesday) Guest Speaker: Mayor David Brady Holiday Inn Chicago Midway 6624 S. Cicero Avenue Registration begins at 11:30 Luncheon begins at 12:00 For reservations or questions, please call the BPCIA Office at 708-496-0336 or email donna@bpcia.org

BPCIA Golf Outings at Cog Hill

June 9

August 4

9:00 a.m. Shot-Gun Start

It's time to break out the golf clubs because the 2016 BPCIA golf season is about to begin!

Once again we have reserved two perfect Thursdays:
June 9th and August 4th
Cog Hill Golf & Country Club
12294 Archer Avenue in Lemont, IL.

We Need Your Help!
In order to run outings of this size, we need the support of our members and friends. Please consider one of these sponsorships:

Beverage Cart Sponsor
Golf Cart Sponsor
Hot Dog and/or Beverage Sponsor at Water Hole
Longest Putt
Closest to the Pin
Hole Sponsor
Golf Ball Sponsor
Tee Sponsor
Raffle Prize Donations

Look for information on the golf outings coming to you in the next few weeks. Call or email the BPCIA Office with any questions
708-496-0336 or donna@bpcia.org

Rebuilding Car, and Lives, at Automotive Mentoring Group

Alot of people already know that Alex Levesque's Automotive Mentoring Group - AMG for short - in Bedford Park is a successful mentoring program.

Full-page articles from respected local and national publications grace the walls of the auto shop, as do civic awards that have been bestowed by a variety of organizations. In fact, the "Steve Harvey Show" is scheduled to honor Levesque as one of its hometown heroes.

But the miracle of AMG doesn't really sink in until you visit the auto shop. What you will see are classic autos that have been so meticulously restored, it is hard to believe the work was done by young men who used to stand on street corners gang-banging, drug-slinging and getting high. Shareef, 17 used to be one of them. He had been kicked out of three high schools, the last one for missing too many days. When the Juvenile Justice Initiative "Bridges to Pathways" offered him the opportunity to attend the AMG program, he jumped at the chance. "I was not doing good. Roaming the streets, outside just trying to gang bang and all of that stupid stuff," he told me. "If I wasn't here, I would still be outside hanging out on the block and not going to school. Now I go to my program. Come to work. Go home, I am trying to stay on the right path that I am on so I won't end up in jail or dead," he said.

Between 18 and 22 young men (there are now three young women working on cars as well) are enrolled in the six-month program. They each receive a certificate when they complete the course and get help trying to find jobs. "If they do everything that we ask them to do, if they go back to school and get their high school diploma, if they enroll in any of the five community colleges that we have relationships with that have excellent automotive programs, if they are successful on the job that we give them because we have 24 hiring partners and they've done all that, we give them a car," Levesque said. "They are always surprised because as far as they know when the cars come in these are customer' cars. Last year, we gave away 13 cars," he said.

Levesque said he had been angry for a couple of years about the young men hanging on the street corners when he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something. "I didn't hear a voice or anything. It was just a thought that said: 'What about you, son? Use what I gave you,'" Levesque said.

An architect at the time, he quit his good-paying job, sold his Porsche and founded AMG in the 1990s. The business became a 501(c)3 charitable organization in 2012.

There are currently three auto shops, including a paint shop. Mentors include police officers and firefighters who have a passion for classic cars.

Most of the group's funding comes from individual donations and foundations. "We provide the uniforms, including the steel-toe boots, Levesque said. He and other mentors used to show up in the Englewood, South Shore, Back of the Yards, Humboldt Park and Austin neighborhoods driving restored class cars, looking for young gang members. "The guys are looking at the cars, listening to the motor so we got about three minutes to get the story in before they start shooting," he said.

But now, the group gets referrals from Juvenile Justice, Illinois Department of Juvenile Probation, the Illinois State Police and the Chicago Police Department.

"They basically tell me to make boys into men. The only problem I have with it is when they drop (young men) off; they don't drop them off with any resources. They don't drop them off with any car fare or bus fare to get back and forth, any lunch money, and they don't drop them off with any resources for me to provide for these uniforms and pay for all this. They come with nothing," he said.

Despite the funding challenges, Levesque keeps heeding the voice that put him on this mission in the first place.

"My firm belief is - and I believe this in my heart of hearts - that the only way you can change the way people are and this whole violence, you have to change the way they think," he said. "If you change the way they think, then you can change what they do. And that is what we do here."

Written by Mary Mitchell

Chicago Sun-Times

Moraine Valley - Complimentary Breakfast Program

Forging New Links in Your Supply Chain
LEARN ABOUT LOGISTICS INDUSTRY TRENDS, CHALLENGES AND MORE

Wednesday, March 30

7:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Moraine Business and Conference Center

Building M, Moraine Room 2

Moraine Valley Community College

9000 W. College Pkwy., Palos Hills, IL.

Who Should Attend:
Ideal for personnel in supply chain, distribution, transportation, warehousing, shipping and receiving, dispatching professionals, as well as business owners and managers, educators and economic developers.

Keynote Speaker:
Neil Reddy, Executive Director, Manufacturing Skill Standards Council

Training for Tomorrow Panel:
Robert Markatos, Sr. Mgr, Global Supply Chain, Ingredion
Tim Bend, Mgr, Learning & Development, UPS Intergrad
Moderated by Mike Johl, Supply Chain faculty/Program Coordinator, Moraine Valley CC, Formerly in senior management at UPS for 38 year.

Register now for Forging New Links in Your Supply Chain at eventbrite.com

Questions?
Mike Johl, 708-608-4301
johlm@morainevalley.edu

Mary Jo Murphy 708-974-5498 murphym272@morainevalley.edu