Bridges
News from Business Interface LLC—Volume 1–Issue 3–September 2011
Mr. Marvin Minor
Marine—Persevered—Humble
A Man…
Humility is certainly a hard thing
to describe, especially when you are
speaking about yourself. Marvin Minor
is a soft-spoken man. His character, however, shouts humility. Is it a
conundrum? Yes! A silent shout of victory! Humility makes a powerful, loud
statement when it is in balance with
a healthy pride in one’s accomplishments. Marvin has every right to stand
up and express the pride he has in
establishing and maintaining addiction
recovery in his life.
August 2011—16 of 17 placed in jobs
Humility + Business = Success
Everyone has circumstances in their lives that are
holding them back from living a full, happy life…
humbling ourselves and mastering circumstances…past, present, future…
allows us to build our lives in the most positive manner possible…
Mr. Manuel Roman
Ms. Precious Simpson
Mr. Trent Cunningham
ties. Through the HUM Marvin
was led to Business Interface’s
Customer Service Associate
training (CSA) program. CSA is
offered as part of a grant from
the Associated Black Charities organization based here in
Baltimore. After attending the
training for only 2 days he was
placed in a job at a fresh produce processing facility. He has
worked for that company for
over 3 months and maintains a
very positive attitude.
Mr. Minor’s humbling spirit
serves him well in his present
position. He operates a forklift
in very low temperatures in a
cold storage facility. Despite
Mr. James Gregsby Ms. Brenda Ault
Mr. Michael Brittingham
these consistently somewhat
12 brothers and sisters in a small town uncomfortable conditions, he attends
rural setting. Marvin is a product of
work faithfully and really looks forthe public school system and graduward to his work.
ated from high school. He credits his
His new job has given him the hope
mother with encouraging his educaof being reunited with his family, with
tion and also his attendance at church. whom he has maintained his relationMr. Marvin Minor
Mr. Minor was born in New Kent
County, about 12 miles outside of
Richmond, Virginia. He enjoyed a
normal childhood growing up with his
This Issue!
Humility..............................1, 4
Mr. Billy Click..........................2
BI Focus—Ms. Sherita Lewis...3
NCSS......................................4
Upon graduating from high school,
Mr. Minor enlisted in the United States
Marine Corps (USMC) where he served
for the next 8 years. He traveled
extensively to such places as Japan,
Germany and, Hawaii. He says he still
misses being in the Marines at times.
After serving in the USMC, Marvin
worked for 15 years on U.S. Coast
Guard installations. He also worked at
numerous other jobs over the years.
Substance abuse led Mr. Minor to the
Helping-Up Mission (HUM) in Baltimore, Maryland. He recently graduated from a one year addiction recovery program where he was able to
refocus his life and reorder his priori-
ship since being at the HUM. Marvin
and his wife Margie have been married for 27 years and are the proud
parents of their son, Devon. He
enjoys very much watching the Dallas
Cowboys play.
As this article was in the process
of being published, Mr. Marvin Minor
passed unexpectedly. I left this article
as it was originally written as a tribute
to a man who was doing everything
right to regain the losses in his life.
Our prayers are with his family.
Conveniently located at the corner of North Caroline and East Fayette Street
Business Interface LLC
Focus…Mrs. Sherita Lewis
“Where some saw failure,
they saw achievement!”
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes,
Into your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
Taken from On the Pulse of Morning
Ms. Sherita Lewis
Retention Administrative Assistant
Written by: Maya Angelou, American Poet
Written for the inauguration of President William
Clinton–delivered January 20, 1993
In many of Maya Angelou’s published
works, she often reflects that human
beings are more alike than different.
A message of hope and the sense of
being included, in any and all things, is
essential to our well-being and can be
an inspiration to us all.
Sherita Lewis was born and raised in
the District of Columbia. She became
uncomfortable with the circumstances
of her surroundings. Sherita made a
decision to change her life path from
negative to positive. She applied to
the Maya Angelou Schools directed by
the See Forever Foundation and was
accepted.
Ms. Lewis, in her desire to attend
the Maya Angelou schools, embodies
Ms. Angelou’s message of hope and
the desire to include all people in her
quest for a better life. A paraphrase of
the See Forever Foundation’s slogan
speaks of their mission, “Where some
saw failure, they saw achievement!”
Excelling at the Maya Angelou
schools, she was a dean’s list honorroll student, student ambassador, a
member of Who’s Who among high
school publications, and won Work
Appreciation and Volunteering awards.
During her time at the Maya Angelou schools she participated in intern
programs that initiated and focused
her career direction towards medical
care. Sherita credits the Maya Angelou
schools with affording her the opportunity to embrace challenges and help
realize that these were the foundation stones for building the future she
desired. Sherita’s counselors, teachers, and administrators helped create the vision for what she wanted to
accomplish in life and that her life had
purpose.
Ms. Lewis graduated from Maya
Angelou schools with a 3.4 grade point
average and attended the University
of the District of Columbia (UDC)
after earning a full nursing scholarship through participation in the Urban
Alliance Program (UAP). The UAP had
a partnership with Providence Hospital
and UDC for students who wanted to
earn a degree as a Registered Nurse
(RN). She attended school full-time at
UDC and worked part-time at Providence, earning a CNA certificate. However, family obligations prevented her
from completing her RN degree. Ms.
Lewis worked as a CNA for 1.5 years
before becoming a Home Health Aide,
which she worked for 6 years. She has
also earned a certificate in Phlebotomy
at Howard University and volunteered
as a phlebotomist at Howard. Currently Sherita is pursuing an associate’s
degree in Healthcare Administration.
Sherita is a devoted wife to Alonzo
Lewis, her high school sweetheart, and
proud mother to 7-year-old Raziah
and 5-year-old Alonzo. Rising housing
costs in DC prompted a move for her
family to Baltimore this year. Although
her medical certifications were rooted
in Washington, DC, Sherita found
herself seeking employment outside
of the medical field in Baltimore City.
When frustration with the employ-
ment market set in, Ms. Lewis applied,
interviewed, and was accepted for the
Customer Service Associate (CSA)
training program at Business Interface
LLC (BI). She completed CSA at the
end of July 2011. Her participation
in the class and abilities caught the
attention of Mr. Carroll, President and
CEO of BI. Mr. Carroll offered her (and
she accepted) employment with BI as
a retention administrative assistant.
This month she began to move forward in a direction that benefits from
the skills she learned as a medical
caregiver. In her current role, Sherita
establishes and maintains contact with
participants and graduates of BI’s CSA
training program. She is focused on
helping people become participants
in the program, helps them with issues that arise during the program,
and after they gain employment helps
them deal with problems that may
arise through their work experience.
Sherita’s smile, demeanor, no nonsense attitude, and professionalism
are all well suited to her duties at BI.
Her job requires compassion, patience,
and conviction. We at BI are part of
a healing process for people who are
challenged by; social and economic
ills, criminal backgrounds, and recovery from addictions; in their search for
meaningful employment. Attention to
detail, scheduling, and the ability to
effectively deal with people and their
concerns are only the beginning of the
many talents Sherita shares with her
clients.
Sherita is also a poet. On her first
day of work, Ms. Lewis shared a poem
she wrote about her experience here…
Click here to read Sherita’s
poem “Business Interface”…
Click here to check out
our website
and the latest news
Volume 1—Issue 3—September 2011
Spurred to Success…Mr. Billy Click
Billy enjoys the San Antonio Spurs.
This is Billy’s team. Shirts, shoes,
jackets, hats, televised games, and
live games. Billy finds joy in watching
and reading about San Antonio Spurs
games. The Spurs spark interest, joy
and happiness in Billy. Despite what
has happened and is happening in his
life, the spurs bring back balance and
stability.
Let us take a journey with Billy Click.
Now in his thirties, Billy was born in
Fairbanks, Alaska. Billy and his family moved quite often. When he was 3
years old, Billy and his family moved
to San Antonio, Texas. His time in
Texas obviously fostered his love of
the San Antonio Spurs. Eventually his
family settled in Thurmont, Maryland.
After graduating from high school he
began a life of working mainly with the
installation of vinyl siding and experienced periods of success. This success
alternated with periods of temporary
employment and job loss. The Post
911 economy led to fewer employment
opportunities. Working in short-term
positions was not enough to make
ends meet. Adversity and uncertainty
finally created hurdles too high for
Billy to overcome. Quiet, intelligent,
witty, and hardworking, Billy found
himself without work and facing homelessness in Frederick, Maryland.
Billy, at this point in his life, could
have given up. Fortunately he had the
desire to overcome the negatives in
We want to hear from you and tell
your story. To contribute to, or
for more information about, the
Business Interface LLC newsletter
please contact by email:
[email protected]
For information about, or to
apply/interview for the Business
Interface LLC Customer Service
Associate training course, please
contact by email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
dedication to their employers. After
completing the course, students are
matched by skill and expertise to jobs
identified with companies associated
with BI.
Mr. Billy Click
his life and find a way to move forward.
Through Celebrate Recovery (CR), a
twelve step program developed to help
people deal with adverse situations
and obsessive/compulsive behavior
in their lives, Billy met Pastor Gary
Byers. Pastor Byers had interacted
with Billy during a visit at CR and as a
result, Billy felt comfortable contacting
him for advice concerning the situation he found himself in. Pastor Gary
is the Spiritual Director of the Helping
Up Mission (HUM) in Baltimore, Maryland. The Pastor picked Billy up the
next day and drove him to the HUM in
Baltimore.
Billy came to the HUM in Baltimore in
July of 2010 and worked the program
for 10 months. With Pastor Gary’s
guidance, Billy learned to deal with
his life by developing a deeper understanding of his spirituality.
Through Pastor Gary and the HUM,
Billy was introduced to Business Interface LLC (BI). In February of 2011
he successfully completed the Customer Service Associate (CSA) training
program. Billy feels that the training
was very good for him and prepared
him well for interviews, interactions
with customers and co-workers in the
business world, and that he learned
customer service skills valuable in the
workplace.
Businesses who have aligned themselves with the goals of BI expect
positive and professional employee
prospects from graduates of the CSA
program. BI students represent an
untapped and valuable resource of skill
experience, willingness to work, and
After completing his training, Billy
waited for a short time before he was
offered an interview with a grocery
store. Billy worked hard as a cashier at
that store. He was dependable, worked
unscheduled days, and pleased his
employer very much. Unbeknownst to
him, Ms. Kalish, BI’s business resource
coordinator, continued to keep Billy in
mind when job opportunities became
available. She had called him periodically to see how he and his job were
coming along. It was a surprise to Billy
when Ms. Kalish called with a second
job opportunity with a large packaging
company in Baltimore. He interviewed
for the job and was hired for the position. His job with the grocer allowed
him to get back into the workforce,
become somewhat self sufficient, and
helped him get his car back on the
road. Billy Click’s journey has brought
him to Baltimore and the inner city.
The HUM and BI have given him the
tools to be an effective and productive
person in life and business.
Billy’s journey continues. Go Spurs!
›
This article was written in June 2011.
BIlites
in October…
•Mr. Lewis Sadler
•Sustainability
• BI Focus
• BI Success
Business Interface LLC
New Creations Staffing Solutions
Mr. Dan Llewellyn
New Creations Staffing Solutions
(NCSS)…a partner with Business Interface LLC (BI) in seeking sustainable
employment for residents of Baltimore
City. NCSS is a staffing agency founded in 2003, and a non-profit subsidiary of the Helping-Up Mission (HUM).
NCSS offices are located, along with
the mission, on the 1000 block of East
Baltimore Street in Baltimore City.
these prospecive employees have a
strong will to work and the basic skills
necessary to be valuable employees.
BI’s business resource consultants
work very hard to match talents and
skills with positions NCSS has avail-
Mr. Dan Llewellyn is a director of
NCSS and responsible for business development. He and his staff initiates,
develops, and maintains relationships
with employers who are seeking committed workers. Mr. Llewellyn searches
out businesses who have a need for
skilled workers.
The HUM opens it’s doors to men
from all walks of life to participate
in a year-long program of learning
about the characteristics of addiction and how to deal with the consequences that the addiction created in
their lives. NCSS primarily serves a
population of from 400 to 500 mission
residents at any given time who are
actively in recovery. After completing 5 1/2 months of the program and
entering the Life Prep phase, or upon
graduation, participants are eligible to
seek and begin work. This is the time
when the services of BI and NCSS are
available to the residents of the mission.
NCSS positions give people the
opportunity to share their skills and
gain valuable new experience. Many
employers are reluctant to hire workers with little or no experience. NCSS
opportunities provide the means for
new workers to gain the experience
necessary to move forward in their
careers and their lives.
BI and NCSS are aligned in their
dedication to the training for the necessary skills, experience, and discipline of character necessary to gain
meaningful full-time, life sustaining
employment. The fact that an applicant for a position through NCSS has
participated in or graduated from the
Customer Service Associate (CSA)
training program at BI offers prospective employers some assurance that
Mr. Dan Llewellyn
Director, Business Development
New Creations Staffing Solutions
able. Issues that often hinder persons
in their job search become non-issues
because of the efforts of BI and NCSS
staff to prepare and inform prospective
employers. Businesses aligned with
NCSS are willing and feel comfortable
in offering applicants a second chance
to become valuable members of the
working community and contributing
members of our society in the Baltimore area.
BI is proud to be associated with
New Creations Staffing Solutions and
the HUM!
Humility+Business
It is pretty hard to readily recognize a humble person in the
workplace as they are, of course,
reluctant to spend or waste their
time trying to prove themselves
to others. In their humility, they
become confident in themselves
and their own abilities and need
not worry about how their abilities
affect others or vice versa. When
we gain confidence in what we are
doing and how we are doing it, we
no longer need to worry about the
next person and whether or not
they are pulling their weight or accomplishing their goals at work.
Being humble does not mean that
we need to feel weak, inferior
to others, or discount the successes we have accomplished in
our work. When we are confident
in our abilities, and humble, we
are not encumbered by feelings
of inadequacy or jealousy with
regard to our co-workers. Competition is assured to be positive
and motivating. It boils down to
developing respect for ourselves
and our abilities and being able to
recognize and respect the abilities
and successes of others. We can
work better as a team. Not having
to worry about impressing others
frees us to concentrate on the task
at hand and recognize the accomplishments of other members of
the team and the team as a whole.
Everyone; yourself, and the team
members individually and collectively, is more productive and
successful.
© 2011—All rights reserved
Mr. Thomas Cast
Business Resource Specialist
Mrs. Dianna Dinkins
Business Resource Consultant—
Development Trainer
Ms. Heather Kalish
Business Resource Coordinator
Mr. Daniel W. Kemp
Communications Specialist
Ms. Sherita Lewis
Retention Administrative Assistant
T: 443.977.7796
T: 443.977.0681
F: 410:522.7005
For the latest BI News and events
please visit us on:
Facebook:
Business Interface
Twitter:
BizInterface
Check out our website
for the latest news