MARION — After 34 years of service to Marion Goodwill Industries, Bob Jordan, President and CEO, announced his plans to retire in the winter of 2020. His last working day will be June 30, 2021.
Jordan was named President & CEO of Marion Goodwill Industries in 1987. During his tenure at Marion Goodwill Industries, the organization:
• grew from employing 25 people to more than 300;
• expanded retail operations from 1 to 10 locations including Shopgoodwill.com…
• increased annual revenue from $250,000 to over 11 million to support the growth of programs & services.
• created the Marion Goodwill Wheel-a-Thon.
• opened the Goodwill Education & Training Center.
• increased the number of persons served to more than 6000 annually.
• developed community partnerships in the 5 counties it serves.
• now owns and operates 23 rental units for low income and accessible housing.
Jordan and his wife Jan have four sons and nine grandchildren. He plans to continue to live in Marion and stay involved and supportive of the Marion community. After retirement, his plans include spending more time with his friends and family, time at Lake Erie and traveling.
Jordan stated that he appreciates the strong community support over the years and the opportunity to lead such an outstanding organization.
Paul Omness, past chair of Goodwill’s Board of Trustees said, “We mark this period in our Goodwill’s history with a change in leadership. Our longtime CEO, Bob Jordan, is leaving a position he lived and loved for 34 years. Bob took us from a single small retail shop with a handful of employees to an organization with 300+ employees and multiple stores and has grown the organization dramatically under his leadership. He believes in the power of work to change individual lives and has seen many successes over his term, and each and every Goodwill person was treated like a family member.
“There isn’t enough that can be said for his personal relationship with nearly everyone, his community involvement, his dedication to our mission and to the incredible success that we’ve experienced under his leadership. We wish him well in his retirement.”
With Jordan’s retirement approaching, Goodwill’s Board of Trustees announced, effective July 1, 2021, Michelle Roberts has been named President and CEO.
Roberts is currently the Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Mission Services for Marion Goodwill. She has been employed with Marion Goodwill for 12 years. Roberts has a Master in Business Administration from Franklin University and an undergraduate degree in Education plus 40 hours in Education at the Graduate level from The Ohio State University. She is a 2019 graduate of the Goodwill Industries International Executive Development program.
Roberts has developed, applied for, been awarded, and managed 26 programs/grants, which have served over 6000 community members in a year. Her vision is to focus daily on the organization’s growth, employee’s personal development, community awareness, and community partnerships while achieving goals and outcomes, impacting those that Goodwill serves while enjoying what we do.
In addition to her role at Marion Goodwill Industries, she has served as a Board Member on the National Alliance of Mental Health (NAMI), Core Member of the Marion Area Workforce Acceleration Collaborative Board of Directors (MAWAC), volunteered as an Ally for Bridges Out of Poverty, participated in the Marion Area Chamber of Commerce HR and Safety Council and has been an active member of Family Life Church.
“I could not be more grateful to accept the position as President/CEO to this well-established and well-loved organization that consists of an extremely talented team and long history of dedication to Crawford, Delaware, Marion, Morrow, and Union counties,” says Roberts. “My goal in leading this organization is to build on the achievements of the past 44 years.”
Roberts resides in Marion County with her husband Jeremy and their two children, Brandon and Brittany.
“One of the pivotal times in the life of a very successful organization is when there is a transition in the leadership. There is no question Marion Goodwill has grown and prospered, both in terms of community impact and financial outreach, during Bob Jordan’s tenure as CEO. One of the things Bob has done very successfully is facilitate the development of his leadership team.” states Don Stone, chair of Goodwill’s Board of Trustees.
“Someone once said, in order to guarantee the continuing success of an organization the most important thing a CEO can do is groom their replacement. By mentoring, encouraging, providing opportunities for advancement and seeing to it that requisite leadership skills were developed, he did exactly that and the evidence is in the hiring of of Michelle Roberts as his successor.”
“Michelle is intimately familiar with how and why Marion Goodwill has achieved a very high level of success. With her knowledge, enthusiasm, commitment and vision for the future of the organization, and with the support of the Board of Trustees, she will guide it in efforts to continue to fulfill its mission to reach and shape lives and positively impact the communities it serves.”
