40th anniversary of “the big move”

Forty years ago this August, Gleaner Life took a bold step with its headquarters. It relocated operations from Michigan’s northern Detroit suburb of Birmingham south to agricultural Adrian, opened its new Home Offi ce, and ushered in a fresh era.

Forty years later, it’s easy to overlook the signifi cance of Aug. 13-14, 1981, in Society history. Operations continued. Members’ needs were met. The move, however, involved not just the thousand-plus boxes nor 87 years of business records, nor the bulky computers and miles of electrical cords, nor the dozens of new employees. It marked the Society’s long-sought return from the big city, with new emphasis on fraternal activities in the modern era.

The big move was well-planned. It had been set in motion more than two years before when Frank Dick was hired as Senior Vice President and Secretary to succeed retiring President George Ransford. Once President Ransford negotiated the sale of the existing building in Birmingham, President Dick was appointed and soon helped identify and purchase land for the new Home Offi ce in Adrian. Groundbreaking occurred Aug. 4, 1980, and within a year fi nal construction neared its end.

“Our board on construction was very wise,” President Dick said later of the building, which was drawn up with an early-American design. “They said, ‘Build it right.’ We used top-grade brick. … We put quality into the building and the landscaping. It may cost a little more, but they did it right.” Bill Warner, the fraternal vice president at the time, recalled how President Dick paid attention to detail. “Frank went down south with the architect to make sure it was as authentic as it could be,” Warner said. “The masons put in a mortar joint that Frank didn’t like. I told them they’d need to put in a ‘raked joint.’ The foreman said, ‘No we’re not.’ I told him that he might need to change when Frank heard about it. Frank came out and told him, ‘You’ll use raked joints or we’ll fi nd someone else who will.’”

The move was a successful but bittersweet passing of the torch for many Birmingham employees who had chosen not to relocate. They and the Lenawee Area VocationalTechnical Center worked together to fi nd and train suitable new workers. The mixture of veterans and novices were ready on that overcast morning Friday, Aug. 14, when moving trucks pulled into the new driveway. Presidential secretary Jan Morris signed in employees. Receptionist Jean Pfi ster took calls at her desk in the foyer and worked around painters and furniture assemblers while guiding visitors to diff erent offi ces. Jean Miller and Debbie McNichols lined the kitchen cabinets with shelf paper. Wiring the devices in the computer room was a team of computer specialists under the instruction of Vice President Richard Livesay. Approximately 600 numbered boxes fi lled with members’ records were brought in through the front and rear doors and organized under Vice President Harvey Raschke’s direction. At 2:30 p.m., Shirley Dick served lunch in the relative peace of the courtyard — itself a symbol of the shelter and beauty of an arbor. Another busy staff er was Building Superintendent Dan Garcia, tasked with helping make the new building functional. In barely a month, the facility was ready for a Sept. 20 dedication ceremony attended by approximately 600 people. Such large, fraternal gatherings would have been impossible at any of the Society’s previous headquarters. Four subsequent decades testify to the success of the move. New fi nancial solutions and fraternal programs were introduced. Gleaner Life had $180 million of insurance in force in 1979, but by 1988 had exceeded half a billion dollars. Assets kept pace, doubling in one decade from less than half a billion dollars in 1993 to more than $1 billion when 2003 ended. The Society’s history for the fi rst time was showcased in a permanent room of its own, including photos from before and after “the big move.”

Report of the NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The 2021 Nominating Committee of Gleaner Life Insurance Society meeting was held virtually on May 4, 2021. The committee was comprised of:

• Sherri Thorp, Chair, USA Arbor, MI • David Briggs, Plank Road Arbor, MI • Rose Peck, Ithaca Arbor, MI • Ivelisse Rivera, Gulf Coast Arbor, FL • Lisa Wendt, New Beginnings Arbor, OH

Senior Vice President – Chief Human Resources O ce and Secretary Deb Elliott helped facilitate the discussions. The committee reviewed four incumbent applicants for the four open positions on the Board of Directors at the upcoming biennial convention in Florence, Indiana. The committee carefully considered the following seven rating criteria for each candidate:

• Skills/expertise to bene t Gleaner Life

Insurance Society

• Business experience to bene t Gleaner Life

Insurance Society

• Corporate or nonpro t board experience • Strategic planning/visioning • Leadership experience • Community volunteerism/arbor experience

• Personal values/attributes

After completing the rating and evaluation process, the Nominating Committee unanimously voted that the four incumbent board members were all very quali ed candidates, and recommended their names appear on the ballot to stand for election during the Saturday morning business meeting October 23, 2021. The Board of Directors unanimously approved the report of the Nominating Committee.

Respectfully submitted.