Care Providers Oklahoma – Jim Stafford's BlogOKC

SidexSide OKC works under the radar to lift people up

jobfair3 — Participants in SidexSide’s latest job skills cohort meet with prospective employees at a recent job fair.

The 1993 movie ‘Dave’ starring Kevin Kline revolves around a community-minded man who runs a Washington, D.C.-based temporary employment agency with a goal of ensuring everyone who needs a job can find one. Dave has a saying: “Everybody works on Tuesday.”

It’s a wonderful movie that tells the story of how Dave so closely resembles the President of the United States that he is recruited to stand in for the President, who then takes advantage of Dave’s presence to hook up with an aide. When the President has a stroke, Dave is stuck in the job.

The story takes off from there, and I encourage you to watch it. It’s a feel good fantasy.

But reviewing Dave is not the purpose of this post. I recently discovered a local not-for-profit skills training and employment agency called SidexSide OKC that made me think of Dave and his “Everybody works on Tuesday” motto. Check out SidexSide’s website.

In a mission statement on its website, SidexSide says it exists “to build a bridge between underemployed talent and local employers.” The agency provides paid skills training and employment opportunities to people who are referred to it from partner entities like the TEEM, Palomar, Sunbeam Family Services and others.

The “underemployed,” as SidexSide calls them, are placed in cohorts of about 12-15 people and coached up, so to speak, in a nine-week training course that requires them to be present and on-time for each session. Part of the course involves classroom sessions, followed by job shadowing with potential employers who partner with SidexSide.

I stumbled upon SidexSide recently when it held a job fair that included a Long Term Care facility that participates in the Care Careers Oklahoma, a workforce development initiative of Care Providers Oklahoma, where I work part time.

My mission at the job fair was to shoot photos and post them on social media for Care Providers.

SideSide door SidexSide has offices on the second floor of a downtown building, which also houses a bicycle sales shop. You could walk around the building a dozen times and not spot the glass entrance door that displays the SidexSide logo.

I know, because it took me several tries to find it.

Anyway, when I walked in I discovered a large room filled with people sitting at tables and chatting with one another. Then a bell rang and one person got up from each table and sat down at a different table.

Turns out, this was a sort of ‘speed dating,’ get-to-know-you job fair.

I met several SidexSide employees, including Matt Tecmire, Director of Employment Services, Ricardo Lara, Career Navigator and Community Liaison, and Liz Honeyman, Programs Support Specialist. Those folks gave me a quick overview of how the agency operates before introducing me to Chad Jordan, SidexSide’s founder and Chief Executive Officer.

SidexSide Chad — Chad Jordan, SidexSide’s founder and Chief Executive Officer

Chad told me that SidexSide began about a year and a half ago with a federal grant, and that it now has support from several local entities. It lists multiple referral partners, education partners and employment partners on its website.

As we were chatting, I began to see the image of the fictional Dave in my mind, and his drive to make sure everyone has a job.

SidexSide works to ensure that folks who might be struggling because of life’s circumstances are provided paid skills training and long-term job opportunities.

Obviously, some great brainstorming went into this endeavor. And, from what I can see, SidexSide’s awesome work is being done below the radar of most everyone in our community.

My colleague Tanecia Davis, who is Director of Workforce Development for Care Providers Oklahoma and manages the Care Careers program, had a similar reaction after the SidexSide experience

“Today, I had the pleasure of visiting SidexSide OKC for their career fair, and I was thoroughly impressed by the exceptional work they are doing to support underemployed individuals,” she said in a Facebook post. “Their primary objective is to help these individuals with the necessary resources and skills to secure sustainable employment.’

It’s encouraging to know there are people like those of the SidexSide team who are out there working for the greater good every day in Oklahoma City.

Say it with me. ‘Everybody works on Tuesday.’

BONUS CONTENT: Watch this video with SidexSide board member Teresa Rose, Executive Director, Communities Foundation of Oklahoma, as she talks about the mission and impact on our community of SidexSide.

The best reunions are always happenstance

RipStell2 — Photographer Rip Stell shoots my photo as we greet one another at a recent event in OKC.

First of all, let me say that I’ve never been to my high school reunion, not even the 50th anniversary reunion in 2021. I was sort of the invisible man at Fort Smith’s Southside High School.

So, it’s not like anyone is missing me.

Plus, my favorite teachers are now deceased. I loved you, Judy Massey and Tom Oliver.

I’m not so big on family reunions, either, although I’m not sure why. Maybe, it’s because you have to listen to your Crazy Uncle yammer on about what’s wrong with the world?

But there is a reunion that warms my heart every time. It’s the impromptu reunion of unexpectedly running into an old colleague or friend from your past life. It can set off shouts of joy and hugs all around.

That’s exactly what happened this week at the Journal Record’s event that honored Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs and Financial Stewards. My friend and boss, Steve Buck, President/CEO of Care Providers Oklahoma, was one of those honored at the event.

Anyway, as I was watching the honorees take the stage for a brief moment in the spotlight, I noticed a couple of photographers who were recording the event.

Although his back was to me the entire time, I recognized one of the photographers as Rip Stell, whom I knew from my tenure at i2E, Inc., here in OKC. I couldn’t miss him because he was taller than the other photographer and wearing his signature black shirt.

So, after Steve and all the other CEOs had been honored, I saw Rip sitting at a table not too far from where the Care Providers Oklahoma team was seated.

I jumped up and began walking toward Rip when he saw me and quickly jumped up himself. Rip gave me a big bear hug and then gave me a photographer’s pose with his camera to his eye while I shot my usual bad iPhone pic.

RipStell1

We had only a few seconds to chat, but it was a grand reunion.

Rip lives in Tulsa and was shooting this event on a contract. Over the years, he shot many Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup (now called Entrepreneur’s Cup Sponsored by Love’s Travel Stops) business plan competitions that I worked on behalf of i2E.

The Love’s Cup was sort of a rapid-fire event, which required Rip to be ready for group and individual shots one after the other. His photos were outstanding year after year, with an eye for both the posed and the candid shot.

You can check out his work at Ripstell.com.

After sharing a moment, I quickly went back to the CPO table.

However, the Rip Stell reunion made my night. I’m so happy for the random encounter, Rip.

May fate bring us together again.

Damar Hamlin: ‘We don’t get to choose our calling’

Damar players — Players huddle in prayer for Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin after he collapsed on the field in January. (New York Times photo)

We’ve all experienced moments in our lives that are burned into our memories, and we’ll always remember exactly where we were when we witnessed it or heard the news.

The Twin Towers. John Lennon’s death. The Kennedy Assassination.

On Jan. 2 of this year, millions of Americans watched as Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin made a tackle in an NFL game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, stood up, then collapsed on the field.

My wife and I were among those who witnessed it, watching from our living room.

Damar lay motionless on the field as trainers and emergency personnel rushed to his side. I was struck by the reaction of the players, many of whom turned away and appeared to be in grief or in prayer.

Team and security personnel surrounded Damar and blocked any views by intruding network cameras or even his own teammates. Players on both teams gathered in a big prayer circle.

We feared the worst as the minutes passed. My wife speculated that he already could be dead, even though we didn’t know what had happened. Here’s a recap from the New York Times written a few days later.

Damar Hamlin had had a massive heart attack, and his heart stopped. The emergency personnel and training staff used defibrillators and brought him back to life, more than once, apparently. After many minutes, he was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a Cincinnati hospital.

We were as anxious as anyone else and silently praying for his life. We weren’t optimistic.

But you probably know the rest of the story. Damar escaped more near misses with death on the way to — and in — the hospital. Still, he grew stronger by the day and was released nine days later.

He continued to improve, and under doctor’s supervision began working out again and was eventually cleared to rejoin the team this summer.

Damar is again on the Bills roster and played his first minutes of action this past weekend.

Then he flew to Oklahoma City on Tuesday to share his story with an audience of about 1,000 Oklahomans at the annual Champions of Health Awards Presentations at the OKC Convention Center.

Champ Damar1 — Damar Hamlin shares the stage with News9’s Robin Marsh during a ‘fireside chat’ at the Champions of Health Awards Presentations.

I had the good fortune to be in that OKC audience as an employee of Care Providers Oklahoma, one of 11 health care related organizations that comprise the Champions of Health Coalition. All are working to improve health outcomes for Oklahomans, and the Champions of Health Awards recognize organizations or individuals that have devised innovative programs that could be replicated in other communities.

Anyway, the highlight of the night was Damar Hamlin’s presence and the perspective he shared in a “fireside chat” with News9 TV personality Robin Marsh. Check out the video that my CPO colleague Tanecia Davis shot of Damar speaking during the chat.

Robin introduced Damar and told him that millions of Americans had prayed for him that night from their living rooms, just as his teammates did on the field.

Soft spoken, Damar didn’t go into details of the incident, but instead focused on his mission since. Today, he’s working to ensure that the technology that saved his life is available by every sports team nationwide and that people are trained in CPR.

I was struck by one comment in particular by Damar about this mission.

“It’s kind of like a calling, & we don’t get to choose our calling,” he told us.

Amen.

Robin asked Damar about his youth and how he progressed from high school to college to the NFL. He shared the story of his personal journey, and something else stood out.

“I found a mentor,” he said. “I found someone who was older than me and successful and worked with them.”

Amen again.

I’m a big believer in cultivating a mentor and then following their example and advice. Although I never had a formal mentor, I’ve had some folks in my life who provided sage advice along the way.

Like millions of my fellow Americans, I’m so glad that Damar Hamlin survived this near death experience. Survived and emerged with his new mission, his calling.

And we don’t get to choose our calling.

BONUS! Read my blog post over at Care Providers Oklahoma website that provides more details about the Champions of Health Awards Presentations and winners.