Recently, Christina Ptasinski, Chief Human Resources Officer, Laura Manley, HR Director-North Region, and Rita Pruscino, VP-HR Bedding, met up to tour and meet the teams at our Sterling Steel location in Illinois. It was perfect timing, too, as Sterling Steel was celebrating their HR Manager’s, Cary Robbins, birthday!
Check out some of the photos from their visit below!
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and at L&P, we support causes that strengthen the fabric of our communities. We recently made a contribution to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) to help raise awareness about the stigmas surrounding mental illness and offer resources to those who suffer, sometimes silently, with these disorders. The ADAA’s mission is to prevent, treat, and cure anxiety disorders and depression through educational, evidence-based resources, professional practices, and scientific research.
To learn more about the ADAA and explore its resources, visit adaa.org. Also, check out its free upcoming webinars:
After Birth – Navigating the Stress and Anxiety of Pregnancy and Postpartum: May 24, 2023
Helping Your Child Cope with Back-to-School Anxiety: August 17, 2023
Team members from Hanes Industries in Conover, North Carolina, spent their Earth Day giving back to the local community by volunteering for Catawba Valley Habitat for Humanity.
The mission of Habitat Catawba Valley is to help homebuyers build a safe and affordable place to call home. The need for Habitat for Humanity in local communities is greater than ever. The current real estate market makes homeownership difficult for many, especially those whose income falls below the area’s median.
“Our goal is to put hardworking families into a home, breaking the cycle of renting and unlocking a new type of generational wealth through homeownership,” says Phillip Stepp, Digital Marketing Manager for Catawba Valley Habitat for Humanity. “We achieve this with help from the local community through monetary donations, donations of items to ReStore (a retail store that sells gently used furniture and home accessories), and the hard work from our volunteers and homebuyers.”
The Hanes volunteers visited a neighborhood that is getting a much-needed makeover and assisted in the construction of two different home projects. The team even had the opportunity to work alongside the future homeowners and share their personal stories.
“I volunteered because I understand how it feels to need a helping hand,” says Brandon Phothichack, a team member from Hanes. “I’ve struggled, and I’ve known people who have struggled, and I’ve worked with people who were in the program at Habitat and have succeeded in achieving their dreams of owning.”
Thank you to our Hanes team for giving back to their community and living out our values of putting people first and doing great work together!
Please join us in congratulating our Elite Comfort Solutions (ECS) Corporate Chemicals Supply Chain team for receiving the Above and Beyond Award at the 2023 Mississippi Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (MSESGR) Employer Awards Banquet!
The MSESGR is an office within the U.S. Department of Defense that works to foster support for the U.S. National Guard and Reserve among employers and recognizes outstanding employer support through awards like the Above and Beyond Award. According to the ESGR, this award is given to employers “who have gone above and beyond the legal requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act by providing their Guard and Reserve employees additional, non-mandated benefits. . .” and “who have had at least one of their supervisors/managers recognized with a Patriot Award, and who have signed or agree to sign an ESGR Statement of Support.”
Danny Caldwell, Supply Chain Supervisor/Chemicals, and Brandon Caldwell, Logistics Analyst, accepted the award on behalf of ECS.
Brandon, who serves as a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army, nominated ECS for the award because he was inspired by the leadership and patriotism of Mia Rush, Supply Chain Manager, and Danny Caldwell, who’s also his dad. In 2022, Brandon nominated both Danny and Mia for ESGR’s Patriot Award, which they both received individually. Now, ECS is in the running to receive national recognition for their dedication to and support of the U.S. Guard and Reserve.
“Both Danny and Mia represent ECS with pride, patriotism, and duty to country as non-servicemembers,” says Brandon. “Their personnel and leadership skills place them as champions in my book. I think that the national ESGR may agree.”
Brandon has been serving in the U.S. Army for almost 20 years and holds four military occupational specialties: Aviation Operations Specialist, Logistics Manager, Helicopter Crew Chief, and his current specialty as a Cavalry Scout. Within the next month or two, he will be deployed to the Middle East, and he doesn’t expect to return to ECS until next spring. Mia and Danny want Brandon to know that he has their full support:
“As leaders, Danny and I work very hard to support our team whenever they have personal events,” says Mia. “With Brandon’s upcoming deployment, we’ve created a plan that includes our whole team and keeps us running so that he can focus on his upcoming and bigger job. We want him to know that we will continue to support him and pray for his safe return.”
We’re full of gratitude to Brandon for his service and to Danny and Mia for putting people first!
Throughout the month of May, we’re sharing mental health resources and tips. This week, we’re spotlighting strategies for reducing stigma—negative attitudes or beliefs about people with mental health issues.
Even though everyone has mental health and help with mental wellness is for everyone, many people don’t discuss mental health or seek help due to the fear of being judged or labeled. Together, we can help reduce stigma by:
Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness. (n.d.). Psychiatry.org. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination.
Recently, our team in Japan challenged one another to do eco-friendly actions in honor of Earth Day.
Team members could choose to go paperless, conserve energy, recycle, and review their transportation methods. Once they made an effort towards one of the actions, they drew a smiley face next to it.
We want to say thank you to our team in Japan for doing great work together and caring for the environment!
After 27 years of dedicated service to L&P, please join us in extending best wishes to Robert McKinzie on his upcoming retirement!
Robert joined Leggett & Platt in 1996, working in Human Resources (HR) as a Training and Development Consultant. He continued to serve in various HR roles of increasing responsibility, being named Staff Vice President – Labor Relations and Continuous Improvement in 2007. In 2011, he was promoted to Vice President – Operations Services before shifting direction a few years later and being named Vice President, President of Rod & Wire Products in 2018. For the past few years, Robert has served as Vice President – Continuous Improvement, Quality, and EHS for domestic bedding.
We asked Robert to share about his favorite memories and what he enjoyed doing the most at L&P:
It’s difficult to find a favorite memory at Leggett because I’ve had so many of them over the years! One of my favorite memories is from my deployment during the Iraq War in 2004. While I was on the border of Iraq and Kuwait for nearly a year, helping run a base camp, I would routinely receive great care packages from Leggett partners in the HR Department. They would contain everything—food, kind notes, encouragement, and pictures. I also received a personal letter from Harry Cornell that thanked me for my military service! He was retired and the Chairman of the Board at that time. The level of care that our company takes to show appreciation for its partners really impressed me.
I have loved every job I’ve been blessed to have at Leggett. I just finished listening to the Women in Leadership discussion with Leggett’s women Board of Directors, and something they said hit home for me. The group was asked what they would tell their “younger self,” and the response was to enjoy the journey—it’s about the journey and not the destination!
Leggett is a company that will provide you with opportunities. Don’t hesitate to raise your hand and take on new challenges. Don’t be afraid to fail—fail fast, learn from it, and grow. Find people to mentor you, and also, find people you can mentor.
In retirement, Robert plans to dedicate his time to his personal businesses while also continuing to mentor and support young people in recovery. As one of their bigger projects, Robert and his wife, Mandi, are currently renovating an old hotel building in Leitchfield, Kentucky, into an event center, a restaurant, and Airbnb rentals.
We wish you all the best, Robert!
Throughout the month of May, we’re sharing resources and tips for Mental Health Awareness Month. This week, we’re spotlighting mental health check-in tips.
We know it’s important to ask others how’re they’re doing, but we often forget to check in with ourselves or we wait until a major life event to assess how we’re doing. It’s important to routinely reflect on our mental wellbeing so we can address any issues, feel our best, and be better equipped to help others.
Ready to check in? Here are five tips to keep in mind:
Dastagir, Alia E. “Am I OK? How to Do a Mental Health Check.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC, 2 May 2021, https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2021/01/15/mental-health-check-what-ask-and-how-know-if-you-need-help/4134270001/.
“How to Check In On Your Mental Health: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Every Day.” Health e-Living Blog, Chester County Hospital, 3 May 2021, https://www.chestercountyhospital.org/news/health-eliving-blog/2021/may/how-to-check-in-on-your-mental-health.
With eagle eyes, trash grabbers, and — despite the unpredictable April weather — a good mood, four teams from our Spühl location picked up trash around Wittenbach, Switzerland, in honor of Earth Day.
The teams removed more than 10 kilograms (approximately 22 pounds) of residual waste and a bag full of glass! When they were finished, they celebrated with a grilled bratwurst and a drink.
We want to say thank you to our teams at Spühl for their commitment to helping keep our communities clean!
Our Home Furniture team in Kendallville, Indiana, recently came together to celebrate Earth Day and appreciate one another’s hard work.
After a tornado halted production at one of our locations in Mississippi, some of our branches increased production to help out, and the Kendallville branch was one of them. “We decided to roll our celebrations into a big thank you!” says Jess Morris, Human Resources Manager at Kendallville.
To celebrate, the team enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, and could choose from a mix of perennial plants — tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and grape hyacinths — to take home. The appreciation note next to the plants says, “Just like plants need water to grow, we need you to be successful! Thank you for your hard work and dedication to our team.”
At Kendallville, “Success is showing that we care, not only for our customers, but for our partners and our environment as well,” says Jess. “We take pride in our work, we stand beside one another, and we take care of our environment by being a zero-landfill facility. We recycle and reuse everything we can to help lessen our carbon footprint.”
Thank you to our team in Kendallville for your commitment to care for one another and the environment!
