I never met Val Saks. And I only met her daughter 5 years ago.

We went to the same college, but not at the same time, and some alumni introduced us at a St. Patrick’s Day party when I first moved here. I’m about 13 hours from where I went to college … and Boston, MA and Dayton, OH don’t have a whole lot of similarities … but our alumni group is hundreds strong and became my family when I moved here to work for American Profit Recovery and knew not a soul.

Most of us left our families to come to Boston for grad school or careers or to follow love, but few of us are from here so our friendships are more like family. We’ve now been to each other’s weddings, grandparents funerals, baby showers and housewarmings … we’ve gone back to UD to see the changes on campus and we’ve traveled to UMass and URI and Madison Square Garden to cheer on our UD Men’s Basketball Team. We play corn hole on Tuesdays … get excited about Yuengling … we create Christmas off Campus at a Senior Citizen home every December. We have proudly brought our Flyer traditions to the east coast.

The University of Dayton taught us to learn, lead and serve and a group of alumni have walked with me the past 3 years in Making Strides. We believe in giving back and are grateful for our education, our friendships, our health and the many blessings we have in life. It started out something I plan for APR because it seemed like an important cause … when I realized my friend’s mother had died from breast cancer, it became about more.

This year Jessica Saks joined us for the first time. It was 10 years ago this fall that she lost her mother to this disease. I never met Val Saks … but I know she’d be really proud of the daughter that she raised.

We knew this day would be tough on Jess, so the first group I called to support her was our UD Alumni … and of course they came. They walked, sent donations, checked on us via text message and Facebook … they were there with us all 6 miles.

When I crossed the finish line on Sunday, October 3 I thanked the woman I never had the opportunity to meet yet brought us all together. I thanked her for Jessica … and Alisha … and Lee … and Kat … and Kimberly, Julie, Katie, Anna, Kim, Bronagh, Kathleen, Heidi and everyone who donated to any of us from afar. I would not have known any of these strong, healthy, wonderful women had it not been for where I went to college and had it not been for the mom’s who raised us and wanted us to have that foundation of faith and charity in our lives.

I never met Val Saks. But this year I walked for her … and for every mom and grandma who left us way before their time because of breast cancer. Thank you all again for helping this collection agency fight this disease.

For some of us, this cause was personal. Our MA Team had the privilege of 3 survivors walking with us this year! I have to believe they walked for their daughters and sons and granddaughters and grandsons and generations to come so that they have the same chances at survival as their family members before them.

We know breast cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer IF detected and treated early. The advancements that have been made and treatments that continue to be developed are from our efforts … from the awareness and money walks like Making Strides raises. If we continue this fight, less of us will have stories to share like one of our collectors below.

As a new(er) dad and husband, Greg walks in memory of a loss and in tribute to a woman very close to him:

I chose to walk last weekend for my late grandmother, who died from breast cancer in 1985. I know the advancements in treatment and early detection that have been made since 1985 are in no small measure due to the fund raising of The American Cancer Society, and their tireless efforts to increase awareness and help women get screened. I am proud that APR participates in Making Strides, and was happy to walk with my co-workers to help continue the fight against breast cancer.

Greg Walking

Maybe Greg’s efforts will help make sure his daughter Alli has every advantage possible if ever faced with the same fight.

Ok, we have talked quite a bit about our efforts around the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks and for good reason. Our totals are in and we raised over $15,500 for this cause. And it’s still coming in. Allow me to toot our own horn one last time on this topic.

Our employees raised over $5,000 in pledges including paying for casual dress in the office and during our annual Employee Week, our team got to pay to have members of our team and their managers wear an Uncle Sam costume for the day.

I’m especially proud of my partners in this collection agency who have agreed to donate a percentage of our September sales to this cause. That amounted to over $10,000. Let me repeat; the company took over $10,000 out of our profits to give back to this worthy cause.

Our customers helped make this happen, our great team here at APR helped make this happen, my partners in the business made a huge impact and our own Michelle Riviello helped make a huge impact by coordinating much of our efforts around this event.

Take a look at the video below of our team in action and thank you for helping us make a difference!

Any time you get a group of people from all ages and walks of life together to walk or run for a great cause there are going to be obstacles. In MA it was 40,000 people trying to get up and over the stairs of the Mass Ave Bridge … in MI it was parking obstacles to bus thousands of people to the island …

But Partner Matt Moskowitz took it all in stride as he and his family walked for the third year in a row. Read his story:

I have never been so happy to be stuck in traffic!! I participated in the Making Strides against breast cancer walk this last weekend and it warmed my heart to see how many people were there to show their love and support for a wonderful cause! There were hundreds, in fact, thousands of people arriving to walk 5 miles in support of those who are in the fight against breast cancer. I sat in our car and thought of how wonderful it is that this many people are here for a great event and it made the fact that I was sitting in traffic and waiting to get into the parking lot so much better. I was also proud of the fact that we had over 40 participants in our group all of which took time out of their Saturday to join us. I can only hope I have to wait even longer next year!!

Great Cause. Great Event. Great People!!

Matt brought his family to the walk

As I continued to ask employees why they chose to join us in Making Strides this year one theme resonated from our collection team … its a fun day to share with family and friends. Whether a collection manager, Mike; a veteran collector, Jennison; or one of our newest additions, Chuck; all three of these team members seemed to really enjoy the day.

I walked, my family walked, because it’s the right thing to do. Great causes need and deserve the support of many, we were just a few of those many. – Mike walked with his wife Jen

Mike and Jen walking

It makes me feel good to know that our team is all for the same cause, which is helping others. It’s nice to see a team of employees/friends come together, and voluntarily give their time to a charity that helps and effects so many people everyday. – Jennison was joined by her father and brother.

Jennison and Family

It was a picture perfect day with a great outcome, I was amazed to see how many people joined together to contribute to such a great cause. It was a great opportunity and looking forward to next year. – Chuck brought over a dozen family and friends to support our team

As I write this blog I watch the NFL continue to wear pink and support this cause as we did in Making Strides … because whether you’re a professional athlete or an employee of this collection agency, we all agree – its just the right thing to do.

As we continue to raise awareness about the prevention and treatment of breast cancer this month, I thought it may be fun to share why some of our employees chose to walk in this year’s Making Strides Walks with our teams in MA, MI and NC.

Sure … it looks good to your manager and its a great Facebook update to be doing something productive … but some of our employees have truly been affected by this disease. Others have been fortunate not to have been yet this day makes them realize why their support is just as important. Like this story of why from Customer Service Rep Ryan Melnechuk:

This cause really hit home for me this year when Theo (Booser, a sales rep) and I were walking to our bus pick up area after we had finished walking 5 miles with the rest of our “crew”. I noticed a fairly large sized group all wearing the same shirt with a lovely lady’s face on it and a date range underneath that lovely face that amounted to 31 years. 31 YEARS OLD! My wife is 31 years old and we just welcomed our first child into this world. I could not imagine Landon growing up without his Mother … that hit home for me.

I don’t know if this lovely lady had any children or not, the fact is she was taken too soon by this disease. That’s why I walk. I think Theo said it best after seeing this T-shirt and we both stopped to look around when he said “it’s really inspiring to see so many people in just this one place for this one cause”. I agree … it was truly an inspiring day!

Theo, Andy and Ryan Walking

Check back for more inspiring stories on why we walk. And don’t forget you too can still donate to this great cause: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/MIAPRTeam

If you are attending the More Floods annual sales meeting in October, we would love to meet you. We’ll be attending the meeting and showing you all the ways you can profit from our difference. Most of you are small business owners who need to pay close attention to many daily tasks including cash flow. You have to do this while servicing your customers at all hours of the day.

We’ll show you how you can improve your cash flow, reduce the costs for doing so and keep your customers in the process. Watch this short video and meet Justy and myself and learn more about how this collection agency can help you. See you at the annual sales meeting!

We were fortunate to have a welcomed visitor here yesterday.  Gordie from Fairway Lawns, out of Arkansas, took the opportunity to stop by and see our operations while visiting some family here in Michigan.  It was great to have Gordie here and he actually got to listen in on some calls with Mike in our Tier II department.  He was extremely impressed with the way we handled their consumers and amazed to see how professional and efficient we go about things.  It was great to hear that from one of our clients and reconfirms WHY we do things differently!  Thank you to Gordie for taking time out of his day to stop and meet everyone at this collection agency and see how we do what we do.  Come back soon !

And we have the proof…

Our mission and company goals keep us motivated; and in six, short years our exceptional practices have helped us gain recognition and respect in the collection industry once again. Recently insideARM.com honored ACA (Association of Credit and Collection Professionals) members with their annual list of Best Places to Work in Collections.

APR was thrilled to hear we made the list for the third consecutive year. This award is particularly flattering as it is based on feedback from our employees. We aim to provide a healthy work environment in all aspects and are glad to know we are on the right track with positive feedback provided by APR team members. Also, we know that happy employees foster solid relationships with customers and clients.

After a months-long process, 27 ARM companies made the cut to be included on a list of honorees for the Best Places to Work in Collections list for 2010. A ranked list broken down by company size and with profiles on all winners will be published in December on insideARM.com. Companies from across the country joined APR in entering the two-part survey program. First, employees provided information on workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part entailed a survey that measured employee experience. Combined scores determined the top companies and final rankings.

APR is honored to be part of this esteemed group not only due to the recognition from our employees but also because the Best Places to Work in Collections list is made up of companies who benefit the nation’s economy, its workforce and businesses. Many of our employees often hear from their acquaintances and people they meet, “you work for a collection agency?” And many say, “yes I do…and I love where I work…”

Last week you met our entire customer service team. Now meet their manager. An exceptional customer service team can dramatically affect a business as they are the ‘front line’ and often the first (and sometimes only) contact a customer may have with your business. American Profit Recovery is proud to have a team of employees who are motivated, positive and great representatives of our company mission and goals. We know this does not happen by accident; rather, it requires a great deal of work, creativity, personality and organization.

APR appreciates that we have an exceptional Customer Service Manager in Michelle Riviello who supervises our CSR team; keeping them motivated to be their best every day.

This collection agency aims to provide a sound and productive workplace with a little fun infused into each day. Michelle is a vital part of this process and since 2005, she has worked diligently to cultivate exceptional training sessions and tools. She wears many hats for APR where she not only manages APR’s Customer Service Team, she also handles overall operations including: marketing, human resources, charity efforts and trade show coordination. She assists new hires in working toward APR’s goal of changing the fundamental ways a collection agency operates through respect and diplomacy.

We know Michelle is a valuable part of the APR team and we are pleased to have her experience working with us every day. Following graduation from the University of Dayton, Michelle held positions that helped her acquire understanding and knowledge in communication, marketing, recruitment, training and management. Her background and knowledge are evident in her superb hiring efforts, training materials and coordination of internal human resources activities. Michelle has played an important role in hiring the best team possible at APR and she does a great job managing all internal support staff; including administrative and sales professionals.

As Human Resources’ Executive Assistant and APR’s Office Manager, Michelle coordinates efforts to help APR employees in the Massachusetts, Michigan and North Carolina offices in forming teams and raising money for local charitable events. She takes great pride in these efforts such as the Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk and the PLANET Day of Service. She coordinates APR’s Annual Employee Week designed to keep morale high through an enjoyable work environment. In her spare time, Michelle is an active member of the Junior League of Boston.

What’s all this mean? I think it translates into great customer service.