June, 2016 - Lafayette Industries

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PUBLISHED MONTHLY
JUNE 2016
GETTING CLOSER TO
THE DREAM
BECOMING
A REALITY
By Jim Bianchi
We have had some very eventful days lately, but like Lafayette always does, we are
making sure that the jobs are getting done. First, update - Rob is recuperating and
coming along.
In the meantime, work is progressing at North, and the excitement is building as well.
More jobs, more room. It looks like the keys should be handed off some time in July,
barring any delays or complications.
We hope everyone will try to make it to the picnic this
year. Do it for Rob!!!
Rob Libera
CEO & Executive Director
rlibera@lafayetteindustries.com
Mission: The mission of Lafayette Industries is to provide employment opportunities
to persons with developmental disabilities and to persons with other disabilities who are
18 years or older.
Goals:  To provide a meaningful and productive work experience to persons who are
disabled  To maintain a safe and pleasant work environment  To teach and to train
persons with disabilities to acquire better work habits  To enhance self-worth and
dignity through employment  To provide high-quality business service through
packaging, light assembly and commercial mailings  To operate the center in a
professional, fiscally responsible manner  To provide fair wages and good benefits
Tele: 636-227-5666  Fax: 636-227-9650  E-mail: lwc@lafayetteindustries.com  Check out our newsletter in living color at our web site: www.lafayetteindustries.com
DIRECTIONS TO THE FAMILY PICNIC
Sunday June 5th 1pm-4pm
MCDONNELL PARK
2961 Adie Road, St. Ann, 63074
For our North folks:
From St. Charles Rock Road (just east of Lindbergh by old Northwest Plaza) make a right on Adie
Rd. Follow Adie Rd. until you must turn right to stay on Adie Rd. As soon as you make your
right, the park entrance is on the right.
For our West folks:
Take 270 North to Page East. Take Page to Lindbergh North. Make a right on Adie Rd. and follow
to park entrance on the left. (Adie comes up quickly once you are on Lindbergh. Watch for a red
and white Vet Tech Institute sign.)
There will be park rangers assisting with parking. Parking is nearly adjacent to our pavilion
and tent. We have the entire park rented, so we won’t be hard to find!
FEELIN’ LUCKY??
It’s not too late to buy
raffle tickets!
See Becky Stillwell@
West or Jerry Phillips @
North to purchase today.
1st Prize
$1000 CASH
2nd Prize
Cardinal Baseball tickets
3rd Prize
$100 Gift Certificate to
Gianfabio’s Italian Café
TICKETS ARE $5 EACH
DRAWING DATE IS SUNDAY,
JUNE 5TH AT THE PICNIC
Winner does not have to be
present at drawing to win!
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU
AT THE PICNIC!!
THANK YOU TO ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS FOUNDATION
By Mary Beckerle
Once again Enterprise Holdings Foundation (the
charity arm of Enterprise Car Rental) has made a
donation to Lafayette in the amount of $2,000. Denise
Bovyn, an employee of Enterprise and mother of Jamie,
takes a lot of time to submit this grant request. Without
her representing us, we wouldn’t even be able to submit
the request, since it is a closed application process.
Not only does Denise submit it and do the follow-up,
she even delivers the check personally to our office!
That’s the kind of dedication that makes Lafayette such a
great place! Thanks, Denise!
L to R: Chuck Udell, Board President, Denise Bovyn, Jamie Bovyn,
Jim Bianchi, COO
LAFAYETTE SAYS “THANK YOU” TO CITY OF MANCHESTER’S BOARD OF ALDERMEN
By Alesia Roccia (Proud Mother)
Lafayette employees and parents attended the City of Manchester Aldermen’s Meeting on May 2 nd. Lafayette
workers attended to say “thank you” to the Manchester community for supporting all of the programs at Lafayette.
Alison read a statement of thanks on behalf of the Lafayette employees. Here’s how the note read: “Thank you for
supporting the workers and staff. We work very hard at our jobs. That’s why we love Art Class and the Holiday
and Art Show. Thank you for holding the Trivia Night, serving lunch and coming to our Hot Dog Day. We love
the City of Manchester. Thank you very much.” Employees also witnessed as the elected officials took the Oath of
Office, including Mayor David Willson, Alderman Barb Stevens, Alderman Marilyn Ottenad and Alderman John
Diehl. Those Lafayette employees attending were: Casey, Grace, Marcie, Billy, Alison, Camille and Jeff.
KATIE MOORE BECOMES
FIRST-TIME AUNT
By Connie Moore (Proud Mother)
On March 27th, Easter Sunday, Katie Moore became an aunt for the first time. Her nephew, Lowery James Moore,
is the son of her older brother, Dan, and her sister-in-law, Cassidy. Katie couldn't wait to travel to Fort Worth,
Texas, and hold the baby.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR JUNE FOLKS!!
NORTH
Patricia
Irene
Eileen
Glenn
Earl
Phillip
Gregg
Martrese
Mikhail
Rebecca
Joyce
Deacon
WEST
Cornell
Webb
Eder
Giofre
Lester
Johnson
McClellan
Rollins
Chikin
Radin
Simmons
Chrisman
3
6
9
12
13
15
16
22
28
28
28
30
Megan
Mory
Blake
Scott
Scott
Stephen
Joe
Diana
Lucas
Danny
Ferranto
Majerowicz
Maurer
Risley
Royal
Schroeder
Stringer
Montgomery
Allison
Moorhouse
3
5
5
5
5
6
7
11
12
13
Suzy
Alison
Kathleen
Charlie
Anne
Nancy
Cynthia
Radha
Andrea
Alex
Morrow
Hanners
Karcher
Bright
Morrisey
Partlow
Sparks
Kakaiya
Perolio
Rallo
13
19
19
19
20
21
21
26
27
27
When asked
how old I
am I reply,
“Old enough
to know
better, and
young
enough to do
it again!”
- June
Pictured at left are Patrick Vaughn, Alison Hanners of Lafayette Industries and Andy Hixson, President of Rotary West County
ROTARY OF WEST COUNTY SELECTS LAFAYETTE TO RECEIVE GRANT
By Alesia Roccia
The Rotary of West County awarded a grant to Lafayette Industries for use in programs
to enhance Lafayette worker’s experience after work hours. The Rotary has supported
the Art Classes and Holiday Concert and Art Show. Thank you to Andy Hixson,
President of Rotary West County, and all members of the Club for continued support of
Lafayette Industries.
CARDINALS BASEBALL GAME!
DEADLINE FOR TICKETS: LAST WEEK OF JUNE!
A reminder that this year the Cardinal’s game is “on its own”. It is not on
the same day as anyone’s Hot Dog Day. The date for the game is going to
be Friday, July 22nd starting at 7:15 p.m. The “enemy” will be the Los
Angeles Dodgers. We will be sitting in our usual sections – Right Field
Loge, Sections 228, 229 and 230. There will be wheelchair seating
available as well, but in different sections. The cost of the tickets is the
same as it has always been – Lafayette Employees get the first four
tickets for just $5.00 each, and full price of $15.00 each after that. As
always, Rob managed to secure a day when we will get a freebie. The
first 25,000 fans will get a free Matt Holiday Bobblehead. Come to the
game, cheer for the Cardinals and get a free bobblehead in addition to a
great night out! Please note that while you can order the tickets, they will
not be given out until late June or early July. Thanks, everybody!!
PLAY BALL: THE ANNUAL ST. LOUIS CARDINALS BASEBALL GAME!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enclosed please find $____________ for ___________ tickets at $5 each ($15 each after the first 4 for employees)
Name ______________________________________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________________________________
Phone _______________________________
Make check payable to Lafayette Industries.
I will need wheelchair seating _____ It is okay to send the tickets home by sheltered employee. ________
Please mail the tickets to me. ______________
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OUR 4/29 WELCOME CLUB SERVING CREW
WELCOME CLUB OF GREATER ST. LOUIS
The Welcome Club of Greater St. Louis chooses 2 local
charities each year to split the proceeds of their annual charity
auction held each December. They normally choose charities that
they haven’t donated to previously.
Lafayette received $4,000 from them in 2014. We were very
pleased when they chose us a 2nd time! Both Lafayette and
Habitat for Humanity received $3,500 this March.
The Welcome Club consists of about 60 members – all women. They do charitable acts throughout the year.
They absolutely love coming to serve our Free Lunch Fridays and have done it twice in the past 8 months.
On Friday, April 29th, they served up hot Papa Murphy’s Pizza, salad and homemade cookies. They worked
very hard. They love interacting with our employees.
Papa Murphy’s sells their pizzas uncooked and aren’t equipped with ovens. We worked out a deal with Trinity
Lutheran Church to use theirs.
Thanks to The Welcome Club, Papa Murphy’s Twin Oaks and Trinity Lutheran for working together to serve a
really good lunch. The employees loved it and can’t wait until pizza, salad and cookies are on the menu again.
THE HEART OF A VOLUNTEER
By Alesia Roccia
We want to thank the Forsythia Garden Club and the St. Louis University High Alums for the generous
contribution of time and talents. These wonderful volunteers planted, landscaped, and cleaned the grounds. We
would also like to thank Kirkwood Gardens for its 6½ yards of mulch. We appreciate all of you.
WHERE’S ROB??
Take a photo of “Flat Rob” with you on your summer travels. Pick up
your photo of “Flat Rob” from Becky S., and submit a photo of you on
your vacation with Rob’s photo. Be sure to add a description of where
you are visiting. Let’s see how many fun places Rob will visit this
summer.
This is our very own “Flat Rob” at the Cathedral of
the Plains in Victoria, Kansas. Submitted by
Alison Hanners and Alesia Roccia.
To the right and below, “Flat Rob” is at the Ribfest
in St. Charles. Submitted by Jim Eppel.
TRIBUTE ARTICLE TO ROBERT “BOB” HANSON
By The Editor
Life is full of changes as one gets older. Our bodies change, our health changes, and our skin
begins the inevitable slide to gravity’s force, and folks that have been a part of our lives begin to
fade as they age and pass away. Lafayette has been blessed with lots of extraordinary folks who
have helped to build her out of nothing but a dream and now some of those older founders are
passing out of our lives. One of the folks who passed away recently was Bob Hanson. About two
years into my serving as newsletter editor, I was stumped for the first time by what should have
been a simple question: How’d Lafayette get their name? Bob Hanson was my walking
encyclopedia of how it came about. In honor of his memory, I would like to run that article:
“HOW DID LAFAYETTE GET ITS NAME?
By The Editor
Rod Goelz, one of our production supervisors, came up earlier this month to the front desk, and said that he had
a question. He was looking at the building and was wondering how Lafayette got its name. Quite a few of us have
read the history of our organization, but the question has been harder to find an answer to than you might think as to
how it really got its name. Fritzi Goodman, Ethel and Bob McLuen, Karen Van Berkel and Boots Berry all helped
with bits and pieces of information. My goldmine, however, was Bob Hanson, a former history teacher, who
provided a brief history of Lafayette’s name. I am so grateful to him for the bulk of the information in this article.
In the mid 1970’s there were several groups competing for a federal grant to set up a sheltered workshop in the
West County area. Two of the groups were West County Industries and St. Mark Workshop. John Teschner was
former President of the Board of the West County group, and Phil Goss (sp?), Rev. Howard Gleason and others
(including Bob Hanson), were involved with the St. Mark Group. They were told that they had a better chance at a
grant if they joined together, which they did. Working with an employee from the Department of Mental Health,
the Rehabilitation Division, they helped them to choose the name Lafayette Work Center, Inc.
In meetings that followed, as the name was discussed, the Boards of the two groups said Lafayette was
suggested because: 1) It was located in the political voting township of Lafayette in the area of West County that
included Ballwin, Manchester, Valley Park, etc. 2) It was also 1976, bicentennial of the American Revolution,
when all the colonies declared independence. Count Lafayette of France was a military expert in French wars, and
he volunteered to leave France and come to the US to help in any way he could. He helped George Washington to
train recruits at Valley Forge during the terrible winter when they almost lost the war. He learned a lot about
America, but he helped her volunteer soldiers to train and to eventually defeat the English and become an
independent nation. When the name was presented to the Board, George Schumacher, then manager, said
something like this: “We chose the name Lafayette because the businesses of this area with whom the Center
would work would feel at home with it since it was known as the Lafayette area, but also because Lafayette helped
America in the Revolutionary War 200 years ago so that the Lafayette Work Center could help the developmentally
disabled in West County.” One of the earliest symbols of Lafayette was a pen and ink drawing in blue, and with
Count Lafayette in a bust side view. The rest is history, as Lafayette continued and continues to grow and expand.
Thank you to all who contributed to this article, and a BIG thank you to Bob Hanson for his invaluable input. So
there you have it, Rod Goelz. That is how Lafayette got its name.”
Thanks again, Bob, for all the time and support you have given to Lafayette over the years.
You will be missed by us all!
ARTISTS AND POETS
By Alesia Roccia
What do Fred Bird and Mozart have in common? Manchester Arts introduced music and poetry to the already
outstanding art options in the recent Art Classes. While employees painted Fred Bird, some wrote poems about
family, pets, and vacations. From the far side of the room, classical music played while the artists painted what
they heard in the music. The next Art Class will be held August 4th and August 11th. Watch for registration forms
in July.
We are very grateful for the continued support from Manchester Arts and Rotary of West County.
JUNE 2016
SUN
2nd Annual
Employee
Celebration Family
Picnic
McDonnell Park
2961 Adie Road
St. Ann, 63074
MON
TUES
WED
THU
FRI
1
2
3
SAT
4
5
6 1st DAY OF
RAMADAN
7
8
9
10
12
13
14 FLAG DAY
15
7:00 p.m. –
Executive Committee
7:30 p.m. –
Board of Directors
16
17 North – Knights 18
of Columbus Dance
– Valley Ind. –
6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
19 FATHER’S
DAY
20 FULL MOON 21
22
23
24
26
27
29
30
28
PAY DAY
PAY DAY
11
25