Just when a person might be feeling a bit jaded and skeptical about the world, along comes a fellow like Brent Haefner, working for a company like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, having a program like “Dollars for Doers”.
Many of you have no doubt gotten to know Brent over the past couple of years. He’s that guy you see at hunt tests shuttling ducks for duck search, working registrations at training nights, helping the Handler’s clinic run smoothly, or at most any of our events and trainings pitching in however he can. What you probably don’t know is that he also shows up to the monthly board meetings and contributes his thoughts and ideas, as well as learning the board positions. In fact, over these past couple of years, anything that you see with MN NAVHDA that’s running smoothly, there are good odds that Brent has had a hand in it.
Brent’s employer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, has programs to encourage employees to pitch in and become involved in their community. As Brent puts it, “Here at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, giving back to the community is a huge part of our mission and culture. We have two different volunteer programs that I have used to volunteer at NAVHDA events. Blue Cross provides 20 hours of volunteer paid time off per year that the employee can use during normal working hours. I have taken advantage of this benefit during those Friday test days.”
“Then we have the Dollars for Doers program. If an employee volunteers a minimum of 40 hours of personal time in a calendar year to a single nonprofit organization, they will award $250 to that organization on the employee’s behalf.” The bottom line there is that in the past 2 years, BCBS has donated $250.00 each year for a total of $500.00 to MN NAVHDA to use however we need – equipment, teaching materials, etc.
To achieve this, Brent has already logged in over 40 hours of his time in 2018 (and it’s barely August) for MN NAVHDA. He’s contributed to NAVHDA his time, his energy, and his spirit. It’s people like Brent who make MN NAVHDA work, with his friendly disposition and can-do attitude. Thanks to Brent, BCBS of Minnesota has kicked in dollars for us as well. Be sure to give Brent a big “Thank You” from yourself, the next time you see him.
I suppose that I could use this as a moment to make a pitch for more volunteers to help out at the upcoming test days – but I probably don’t need to do that. I bet you’ve already picked up the phone. Besides, it’s a great way to spend a late summer day, watching good dogs work. See you at the next event!