2010 Industry of the Year

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Sandefur Center is named 2010 Industry of the Year

By Chuck Stinnett
Evansville Courier & Press

Posted October 14, 2010 at 9:57 p.m., updated October 14, 2010 at 9:57 p.m.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/oct/14/sandefur-center/

For nearly a decade, the Hugh Edward Sandefur Training Center operated at a loss and its base of clients dropped, raising doubts about its long-term viability.

But the non-profit center, which provides training and employment for disabled adults, has made a dramatic turnaround the past two years.

Its client base is up, it has renewed relationships with customers and it is operating in the black.

On Thursday, the Henderson Chamber of Commerce saluted the Sandefur Center for those efforts, honoring it as the 2010 Industry of the Year.

The Sandefur Center was established in 1967 as a community rehabilitation center for persons with disabilities.  It was named for a respected Hendersonian who perservered for many years as a respected newspaper and radio newsman despite being bed-ridden by crippling rheumatoid arthritis.

It operates as a full-scale manufacturing facility, providing both employment for clients and a source of operating revenue for the center.

But it had struggled for several years.  "I joined the board about three years ago in a time of turmoil and uncertainty," board President Rob Toerne, who announced the award, told a chamber audience.

Lacking a permanent executive director, the board launched a national search.  But the search "brought us right back to Henderson, Ky."

In September 2008, the board hired 31-year-old Henderson native Patrick Reed, who had earned a degree in psychology from the University of Southern Indiana and had several years of experience in the business world.  He pledged to return the Sandefur Center to its core mission.

"Patrick, with the help of a very devoted team, grabbed ahold of the business, righted the ship and brought us back into the black," Toerne said.

"The center's customer base was expanded into areas never before investigated," he said.  "They have renewed relationships with past customers and further engaged themselves with our current customers."

It continues to pursue its core business of box manufacturing, packaging and wood pallet assembly.

But it has also undertaken additional work, including preparing window lift assemblies for Toyota, assembling skids and crating for General Electric and providing numerous services to the Sitex industrial laundry here.

"The clients just completed a fuel injector assembly project for Premium Allied Tool (in Daviess County) with a rejection rate of less than two rejects per 10,000 parts," Toerne said.  "The clients have developed a renewed reputation for delivering a variety of quality services to the business community."

The Sandefur Center continues to train clients in job skills, work habits and continued attendance as well as providing personal services, such as vocational evaluation; personal and social adjustment; employment development; support for community living; and daily adult living skills.

Its placement services activities include working with the state Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to place clients in jobs elsewhere in the community, providing one-on-one supervision on the job site if required.

"One of the great programs at the center is called 'The Artist Within,' " Toerne said.  It began with a basic art class but has blossomed into both a vocational program -- producing an annual calendar as well as sales of prints made from clients' paintings -- and public displays at the Henderson County Public Library of what he described as "phenomenal art."

"With all of this, Patrick and his team have revived a business, a rehab facility, a true community partner from nearly 10 years of red ink into a viable, profitable organization -- a cornerstone of Henderson well worthy of receiving this award," Toerne said.

Before a standing ovation, Reed accepted the award on the center's behalf, thanking his staff of 24 and the center's 118 clients.

But, he emphasized, "We would not be the organization we are if not for God's guidance and Him truly taking care of His children."

"The Sandefur Center remains viable," Reed said, expressing confidence that it will "assist persons with disabilities for generations to come."

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HUGH EDWARD SANDEFUR TRAINING CENTER, INC.
1449 CORPORATE COURT
HENDERSON, KY 42420

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Service to the Disabled
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