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Convention to feature Morning Edition host
Popular journalist and radio personality David Greene will bring his engaging warmth and globe-trotting touch to MEDA’s annual convention, Nov. 5-8 in Richmond, Va.
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Host of National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, he will speak Saturday evening on “Finding Strength in Adversity: The Stories of Some Downright Courageous Business Owners.”
Theme of the convention will be “Growing Business, Building Community.” Sessions will be held at the Omni Richmond Hotel.
Greene’s assignments have included the White House, Arab Spring in Libya, Chernobyl and Hurricane Katrina. He served for several years as NPR’s correspondent in Moscow, after which he wrote the book, Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey Into The Heart Of Russia.
He will recount stories of entrepreneurs who faced long odds but turned challenges into victories and went on to build successful enterprises with an impact on their communities.
A panel discussion on Friday will feature three business families who view their enterprises as a calling and an integral part of their stewardship. • Faith and Tim Penner live in Harper, Kan., where Tim is the CEO and an owner of Harper Industries, which manufactures agricultural, hydraulic and turf equipment. Faith works part-time for the business, coordinating new construction, remodeling and interior design projects. The company has grown by five times since its purchase by employees in 1998. • Ed Shenk is a co-owner (with his wife Christine) of Weavers Hardware Company, Fleetwood, Pa., which operates two retail Ace hardware stores as well as a commercial sales division in eastern Berks County. His goal is to operate a profitable business that also provides a platform to create positive impact and make a difference in the lives of customers, associates, vendors and their communities. • Marcus Shantz and his cousin Sheila Shantz operate numerous businesses in St. Jacobs, Ont. Marcus is president of Mercedes Corp., which was founded by his father Milo, uncle Ross, and several private investors in the early 1980s. Sheila, daughter of Ross Shantz, directs market operations at the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market and Flea Market, including vendor relations, property maintenance, customer relations, hiring and training of market staff as well as advertising and promotion.
The panelists will describe the challenge and satisfaction of growing financially successful businesses while pursuing higher purposes and keeping the good of their employees and their communities at the forefront.
Thursday night’s keynote address will tackle the critical issue of race relations and how it relates to business and Mennonite society. Sociologist and race relations expert James Loewen will bring his unique brand of humor to a speech on “Race Relations: Lies We’ve Been Taught and What To Do about Them.”
Loewen, who holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University, taught race relations for 20 years at the University of Vermont. He has written extensively on race and American history, including the best-seller Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong. He has been an expert witness in more than 50 civil rights, voting rights and employment cases.
He will focus on ongoing racial challenges, looking at both the history of those issues and some forward-looking strategies for a brighter future.
“He aims to widen understanding of these problems and move toward better race relations in daily
The historic riverfront canal walk in Richmond, Va., site of MEDA’s convention.
lives, workplaces and communities,” says MEDA convention planner Carol Eby-Good.
The Saturday morning Year in Review and Annual General Meeting will highlight MEDA’s accomplishments of the past year including stories from clients and partners from around the world, as well as reports on MEDA’s finances, investments and future directions.
On Sunday morning former MEDA staffer Joyce Bontrager Lehman will speak on “The Difference Between Us and Poor People.” She has spent 16 years in international economic development including an executive position with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She works as an independent advisor on increasing access to financial services for the billions of unbanked people in developing countries. She also serves on the boards of MEDA and MiCredito, a microfinance institution in Nicaragua that grew out of MEDA’s work there.
A wide variety of professional development and faith/business seminars will be available, including: • Likes, Tweets & Pins – Why Social Media Matters to Your Business • Leadership: From Ego to EQ • Creative Capital to Build Healthy Communities in the U.S. • Healthy Organization, Growing Business • What Do Employers Want? Skills Today’s Professionals Need • Using Catalytic Questions to Unlock Solutions in Business and the Church • Toward Shalom: The Role of Business in Society • It’s in the Blood: How a Family’s DNA Turned Vision into a Journey for Impacting the World • The Government Giveth, and the Government Taketh Away • American Roots Music Program
MEDA staff will present seminars on topics like food security in Africa, unleashing entrepreneurship in Tanzania and Kenya, and seizing new market opportunities for women in Burma (Myanmar).
A strong menu of regional attractions includes tours featuring Williamsburg, Richmond City and Black Heritage, Richmond International Raceway, Shirley Plantation, Lavender Fields Farm and various local food experiences.
For more information go to www. medaconvention.org ◆
Laurelville conference: living out faith & work
A weekend conference on living out faith at work is planned for April 22-24 at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, Mount Pleasant, Pa.
Titled “Faith at Work: Living out Christ’s Heart,” the conference will feature keynote speaker John Pletcher, pastor of Manor Church in Lancaster, Pa., and author of the book Henry’s Glory: A Story for Discovering Lasting Significance in Your Daily Work.
Work and faith are concepts many Christians struggle to integrate, says David Dupuis, Laurelville’s program director. “We know that being faithful requires more than participation in a church and faith community. It is often easy to use our gifts in a church setting. But, at work? Can we only serve God in church or service-oriented professions? How do we share? Are values such as honesty, trustworthiness and reliability evidence of faith? How do we daily apply biblical principles and engage in faithful living at our workplace?”
As for work ethic, Dupuis notes that Sandi Krakowski, author of “Faith at Work is About the Practice, not the Preaching,” asserts that faith “should make me the best worker anyone ever encounters.” A faithfilled worker, though not necessarily perfect, should be “more faithful, more patient, more honest and the one who shines the most.” The conference will probe various issues Christians may face on the job. “When the inevitable conflicts or frustrations arise at work, what is the faith-filled response? A person’s response to conflict says much about their view of the world,” says Dupuis. “Does a faith-filled worker avoid conflict at all costs? Initiate conflict when the issue is one of justice? Do we model Christ-like behavior in conflict? Are there biblical principles to use in resolving workplace conflict?
“Like so many aspects of our faith journey, we are not alone. There is support and guidance available in each other. We journey with many faithful men and women who seek to have more meaningful, faithfilled work lives.”
Dupuis says participants will find answers to these questions by hearing how others face the challenge of integrating faith and work and will explore personal challenges in small discussion groups.
For more information and registration go to Laurelville.org or contact David Dupuis at david@ laurelville.org. ◆
