“Lunch and Learn” Goodwill Tour and More
On Wednesday, March 31, Kelly Persons of Lowe’s hosted a lunch for select Lowe’s vendor partners to become more familiar with SkillsUSA and find opportunities to support our students and mission. The event was held at Time Warner Arena, the home of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats, in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. The impressive list of attendees included representatives from Georgia-Pacific, Werner Ladder, Jimmie Johnson Foundation, Ettain Group, Presbyterian Healthcare, Hitachi Power Tools, Valspar and Compass Group.
The group convened in a concourse of the arena. A section of an interior arena wall included a photographic mural dedicated to the community service activities of Lowe’s. Across from the mural, in one of the food galleries, stand pillars wrapped in pictures of the major programs Lowe’s supports, and sure enough, there was the column highlighting SkillsUSA.
National officers Stephen Lupton and Zia Green did a wonderful job presenting the mission and current activities of the organization illustrated by their own experiences. They stressed to the executives that the connection with business and industry often begins at the local level. After a question and answer session, national staff members and I met with the guest companies to explore specific opportunities to get involved. There was a lot of positive feedback and interest in supporting our students and attending state conferences, in addition to some bigger plans to attend NLSC. The event was a success, and I believe Lowe’s just created a new best practice for future Goodwill Tours.
All this came about because of YDF member Kelly Persons opening doors as an ambassador for SkillsUSA. Thanks to Kelly and the Lowe’s team for their dedication and support of our mission.
Tags: Lowe's, Partner News
