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.  Roy led EXAIR for 33 years.  Today would have been his 90th birthday. It’s hard to believe that he’s been gone for almost eight years, but his commitment to helping others lives on through all of us.

We 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.  They both worked hard to support many social causes and events here in Cincinnati and set a great example of what being engaged in your community looks like. We continue to look outside our company, outside ourselves and outside our immediate surroundings, to do what we can to improve the world around us.  And we urge others to do the same.

This year, we have selected these organizations to receive donations as part of our Founder’s Day celebration:

DAV
Supporting disabled American veterans and their families.

Freestore Foodbank
Supplies 33 million meals per year to those in need.

Lighthouse Youth and Family Services
Supporting their Safe and Supported program for LGBTQ youth

Cincinnati Works
Partners with all willing and capable people living in poverty to assist them in advancing to economic self-sufficiency through employment.

Wave Pool
Wave Pool is a contemporary art fulfillment center where experimental art connects the community and creates change.

Bethany House
Helps homeless and at-risk families with solutions to achieve housing stability and long-term self-sufficiency.

To further encourage ourselves to participate and engage with our communities, EXAIR has also established an Employee Volunteer Program 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.  We urge everyone to work collectively with organizations in our community to improve the lives of those in need.

As we celebrate Founder’s Day today, we wish Roy a happy birthday.  We miss him.  We remember what he and Jackie did (and do) 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 2024 from everyone at EXAIR!

Kirk Edwards
President
EXAIR