EXAIR celebrates Founder’s Day each year on February 22nd (or the closest working day) in order to commemorate the birthday of our founder, Roy Sweeney. He founded the company in 1983 and drove EXAIR to become the strong, successful and innovative company that it has over the years. Today would have been his 86th birthday.
We choose to make this day a celebration and a day to mark our ongoing commitment to the service of others in keeping with the values that Roy and his wife Jackie felt (and feel) very strongly about. It is now up to us to continue to look outside our company, outside ourselves and do what we can to improve the world around us.
As we do every year, EXAIR has made significant donations to organizations that are making a difference right here in our area. We are proud to announce that we have chosen to support more charities than ever for Founder’s Day 2020:
- Freestore Foodbank
Supplies 33 million meals per year to those in need
https://freestorefoodbank.org/ - Lighthouse Youth and Family Services
Supporting their Safe and Supported program for LGBTQ youth
https://www.lys.org/safeandsupported/ - DAV
Supporting disabled American veterans and their families
https://www.dav.org/ - Arts Wave
Funds and supports 100+ arts projects and organizations through impact-based grants
https://www.artswave.org/ - Cincinnati Works
Partners with all willing and capable people living in poverty to assist them in advancing to economic self-sufficiency through employment
https://cincinnatiworks.org/ - Habitat for Humanity Greater Cincinnati
Helps eliminate substandard housing locally and globally by building and renovating decent, affordable homes to sell to low-income first-time homebuyers.
https://www.habitatcincinnati.org/ - Matthew 25: Ministries
Provides humanitarian aid and disaster relief along with partners in the Greater Cincinnati area, across the US and in more than 60 countries
https://m25m.org/ - SPCA Cincinnati
Offers programs including animal adoptions, animal cruelty investigations, spaying and neutering shelter animals, companion animal and wildlife rescue
https://spcacincinnati.org/ - Tender Mercies
Transforms the lives of homeless adults with mental illness by providing security, dignity, and community in a place they call home
https://www.tendermerciesinc.org/ - Bethany House
Helps homeless and at-risk families with solutions to achieve housing stability and long-term self-sufficiency
https://bethanyhouseservices.org/ - Women’s Crisis Center
Supporting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual abuse
https://www.wccky.org/
To further our commitment to others, EXAIR established an Employee Volunteer Program in 2018 that enables every full-time employee with at least 90 days of service to volunteer with organizations of their choice during the normal work week with full pay by EXAIR. I am proud to say that sixteen employees volunteered their time helping other organizations in 2019. Through this program, EXAIR and its employees can have a positive impact on dozens of organizations throughout the year.
So, as we celebrate today with lunch and funny memories, we wish Roy a happy birthday. We miss having him here. We remember what he did for all of us and for countless others. And we pledge to continue his commitment to helping those who need it.
Happy Founder’s Day from everyone at EXAIR!
Bryan Peters
President
EXAIR Corporation