National Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and honors the culture, heritage, and contributions of employees who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, The Caribbean, and Central and South America.
Honoring Hispanic heritage was first introduced in 1968 as a weeklong event. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a law to expand the celebration to a 31-day period – to coincide with the Independence Days of many Latin American countries.
We honor all employees across L&P who celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and have positively impacted our culture and have enriched our workplaces. To celebrate their achievements, we invited a few to share about themselves, their jobs, and what their Hispanic heritage means to them, and we will highlight them over the next few weeks here and on our social media – so stay tuned!
September is Suicide Prevention Month, and we want to raise awareness about the new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline—a phone number you can call or text to receive free and confidential support.
If you or someone you know needs help, connect to hope. Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, to speak to a trained crisis counselor 24/7/365.
If you’d like to celebrate, try reaching out to a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, or you can extend friendship to someone you’d like to know better. Sometimes the smallest gesture makes the greatest impact.
June 19 is Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. and freedom of African Americans. While the Emancipation Proclamation became official in 1863, it took an additional 2.5 years for all states to recognize the end of slavery.
At L&P, we remain committed to the values and principles that have made our company strong for 139 years – a belief in respect, integrity, and inclusion. These are the cornerstones of a culture that values every person and every voice – no matter their race.
To learn more about the history of Juneteenth, you can view these resources.
Pride month commemorates and celebrates LGBTQ+ activism and culture through the years. It’s a time to uplift and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
At L&P, we recently made a contribution to The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth.
What can each of us do in honor of Pride? We can learn, reflect, and take positive action. A few ideas include:
Attending local Pride festivals.
Visiting gay-owned businesses.
Watching a historical documentary. For example, “Stonewall at 50” tells the story of the 1969 uprising that inspired current Pride celebrations.
Learning more to become an even better workplace ally and advocate.
Mental health is an incredibly important part of overall health.
Many of us likely understand the impact of mental health on work. Whether you’re a remote worker, an essential worker, or you’re a friend or caregiver to someone with a mental health condition, the past two years have reinforced that we all have mental health needs.
People might feel like they’re battling seemingly never-ending challenges and trying to cope with mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion and work-related stress.
What can we do?
Collaborate: Be aware of the need to work together and support each other. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you’re feeling.
Reach out for help: Ask for what you need in order to perform your best.
Check on others: Helping others improves your sense of control, belonging, and self-esteem. Look for safe ways to offer support to others, especially if they are showing signs of anxiety or depression.
Coping with stress in a healthy way will make each of us, the people we care about, and our communities stronger.
Andrea Dold is an Audit Project Supervisor at L&P. She is a busy mom to daughter Sarah, enjoys traveling, and loves to spend as much time outdoors as possible. She is also a military spouse.
Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day in the U.S. – a day when many take time to acknowledge the sacrifices and support provided by spouses of service members.
Andrea has fully committed to supporting her husband, Scott, as he builds his career in the U.S. Air Force. For their family, this has meant relocating every few years as his flight-testing role requires.
Luckily, Andrea has also been able to develop in her career in Internal Audit. She was first drawn to Leggett & Platt in 2010 for the opportunity to travel and work with people across the world.
She has been able to do just that, and she has also learned a few lessons along the way.
What have you learned as a military spouse?
Throughout our marriage, Scott and I have lived in Germany, California, Washington D.C., Oklahoma, and will soon be moving to Las Vegas!
I used to be more reserved around people, but moving every 1-2 years and starting from scratch has taught me to come out of my shell and develop friendships wherever I am.
Admittedly, sometimes it can be hard to make friends as an adult, but I always challenge myself to venture out to new settings and introduce myself. I work to find commonalities in people, and it has been so rewarding.
No matter where you’re living, it’s the people that can make a new place feel like home.
How has L&P supported you throughout your career?
The greatest benefit by far is the ability to retain a career despite moving with my husband’s job. I am incredibly thankful that my team has been supportive and flexible throughout my many moves.
I’ve worked in a lot of different time zones, and my managers have always been accommodating. Quite frankly, L&P has been the most constant thing in our lives during many seasons of change.
Summer Steelman had big dreams for her life: She wanted to become a dancer and was even scheduled for several auditions on Broadway. But after the events of September 11, 2001, her plans changed.
“After 9/11, I decided to join the military. I became a Linguist, or a translator, in the Air Force and served for five years,” she explains. She originally planned on serving in the military for her entire career, but an injury prevented her from doing so.
When she was stationed in Hawaii, she met her now-husband, Matthew, who was also serving in the Air Force. Matt continues to serve today, marking 19 years of active duty.
When Summer decided to go back to school, her grandfather encouraged her to find out what she was most passionate about and pursue it as a career. “My grandfather, a WWII veteran, my hero and mentor, gave me the push I needed to search for my path,” she says.
Summer and her grandparents after her graduation from basic training.
After several different career assessments, she decided to get her degree in psychology. Not only did she enjoy the counseling aspect of her degree, but the career counseling aspect in particular. This led to a job at her university’s career office, where she became interested in participating in career fairs, giving resume advice, and helping students find jobs.
“All this led to my search for a job where I could focus on recruiting full-time,” she explains. “I’m thankful that I found my path and now get to help other veterans and military spouses find their dream jobs.”
As a Talent Advisor at L&P, Summer is passionate about making career resources more accessible to the military community.
“I’m very excited to be part of a team that is open to hearing my perspective as a veteran and military spouse,” she said. “I get to use my personal experience to help improve our recruitment efforts for the military community as well as improve access to resources for them.”
Summer also encourages veterans and military spouses who are looking for career support to reach out to their fellow military community. “It can feel overwhelming to navigate the Transition Assistance Program alone,” she says.
The Transition Assistance Program, or TAP, is a government program that provides those leaving military service with information, tools, and training to prepare them for civilian life.
“My advice would be to talk to other people that have gone through it and take advantage of the resources available to you. You’re not alone – there are people who want to help you take the next step in your career.”
Today we honor the women of Leggett & Platt – past, current, and future generations. In doing so, we recognize the many L&P women who have made a positive impact and shaped our workplace into something better.
In the spirit of International Women’s Day, we invited a few of our employees to share what the day means to them. We collected the shared words and phrases from their stories.
During Black History Month, we’re inviting L&P employees to share about what inspires them most.
Meet Brandon Love, Welder at our Work Furniture facility in Sparta, Michigan. He’s worked with us for 2 years.
“My primary role is welding, but I also have experience in fabrication, bending, and working in the robotics department.
I enjoy the work environment the most. Everyone is helpful and wants to see you succeed, which causes a close-knit and friendly atmosphere, making the job feel more like a ‘home’.
I am most proud of the lifestyle I’m able to uphold and the positive benefits that affect my close family and friendships because of my job.
This month is not only the celebration of the achievements of African Americans, but also a reminder of the progress we’ve attained and what has yet to come. Black History Month creates a narrative of overcoming adversity and creating a generation of every race, color, or creed which will be more understanding and accepting than the last.”
