Our basic philosophy for the last eight to 10 years has been to focus on basic human needs. We found that unfortunately, since the recession, there are so many people that are hurting, that can't even afford food on the table or shoes on their feet or a shelter to live in, that we could not ignore them. So we reevaluated a lot of our giving and started to focus on basic human needs,
-Michael Broidy
Episode Summary
What’s a hybrid non-profit? What’s the best way for a corporate entity to give back to the community? How does giving differ across private and public companies? What does charitable giving look like in the middle of a pandemic – and moving forward? Get all these answers and more on this latest episode with co-hosts Enrique Alvarez and Kristi Porter as they sit down with Michael Broidy, Senior Vice President of Schottenstein Stores Corporation. Hear the Columbus native trace his charitable philosophy from the example set by his father during childhood all the way to the multiple initiatives and programs that span Schottenstein Stores’ multi-billion dollar portfolio.
Episode Transcript
Intro/Outro (00:18):
[inaudible]
Enrique Alvarez (00:19):
Good morning. And welcome back to another episode of logistics with purpose. My name’s Enrique Alvarez and I’m with Kristi Porter. How are you doing today? Christie?
Kristi Porter (00:26):
I’m good. I’m excited. We have yet another great guest in conversation ahead. And just from our, uh, pre-talk I know it’s going to be a really good one. So I’m excited for everyone to hear.
Enrique Alvarez (00:38):
I know it’s going to be a very interesting conversation with a very interesting company as well. That has a huge organization and is helping a lot of people, but they’re doing it in a very special way. Um, unlike other companies or organizations out there, so it should be fun. It should be interesting. And it’s going to be super exciting for about, so I guess without further ado, let me, uh, let me bring on the call to Michael Broidy. Senior vice-president of corporate affairs of the shut-in steam stores corporation. Michael. Good morning. How are you doing today?
Michael Broidy (01:11):
I’m fine. How are
Enrique Alvarez (01:11):
You? I’m doing great. Thank you for asking and thank you so, so much for having, uh, giving us a time to be here with
Michael Broidy (01:18):
Us today. It’s really my pleasure.
Kristi Porter (01:21):
We’re thrilled to have you on, and we’re just, um, already talking about what a great conversation we’ve had before we hit recording. So, um, yeah, this is going to be another special one and we’re excited for people to hear more about, um, what you guys are up to. So before we get into what you’re currently doing, though, let’s talk a little bit about your background. So to start us off, will you please tell us a little bit more about, um, where you grew up in your childhood?
Michael Broidy (01:45):
Sure. Christie, good morning to you too. I am. I’m actually a native of Columbus. I grew up on the south side of Columbus and a half of a double living next to my grandparents. And, uh, later in life, we moved to a suburb called Bexley, which a complete opposite of where I grew up, but it was an interesting experience and I’ve stayed in Columbus for the most part my whole
Kristi Porter (02:06):
Life. Wow. What was it like growing up next to your grandparents?
Michael Broidy (02:10):
It was wonderful. It was certainly one of the things that has influenced me to be so close to family as now I’m a father and so on. Uh, it was a great way to grow up and I certainly would encourage others if they have the opportunity to have an extended family, like my siblings. And I, did
Enrique Alvarez (02:28):
You have grandkids now? Michael, as well?
Michael Broidy (02:30):
Not yet. My son has, my youngest is married, but, uh, even with little hints, they still haven’t had,
Enrique Alvarez (02:38):
What is, what is one of those things that you’ll probably do to your grandkids? Something that maybe your grandfather’s or your grandmother did to you
Michael Broidy (02:45):
Continue to spoil them as much as I possibly can and then hand them back to my son and daughter.
Enrique Alvarez (02:52):
That’s what grandparents are all about. Yes. Michael, looking back at your story and it sounds like it’s very, and you had this rich family experience that they basically kind of gave you and pass you on some of the values and culture that they had. What are some of the early year kind of experiences that you can recall that really shaped who you are now and kind of started pushing you in the direction that you’re in now? Uh, any kind of particular stories that you want?
Michael Broidy (03:20):
Well, I thought about that. The first thing that came to mind is when I was growing up, we were, I guess you consider poor, but we never thought of ourselves as poor because of the way our family active. Um, it, it was amazing when I think about it now, as, as an adult growing up with two other siblings, with two others in a, probably a 900 square foot, half of a double, I had a wonderful childhood and I, I don’t think of anything that was, that I didn’t do or could have done given our circumstance. That’s the first thing I think of that. The second thing I think about is that my father, I used to sit down with my father while he was working at home. He was a pharmacist. So it was my mom. They both were working pharmacists, but my dad would sit at his desk and write all kinds of checks.
Michael Broidy (04:08):
And one day I sat down and watched him and I asked him what he’s doing. He said he was writing checks donations, and here I am a little kid. I didn’t really think much of it, but as I go cut older, I thought about it. We didn’t have a whole lot of money, but my dad was still writing charitable checks in a small amount, but a lot of them to charities in the community. And as I got older, I asked him and he basically said to me, you know, everybody has problems worse than you. And we have a responsibility to help those, no matter what our situation is. And I think that type of philosophy, that type of life affected me in the way that now I want to help others. I’m in a part of a job that is charitable in nature and it makes me feel good that I’m continuing his philosophy of doing what I can to help others who may need the help more than we need. So that’s the thing that comes to mind when I think of my childhood.
Enrique Alvarez (05:07):
That’s a very powerful example and that’s great. Thanks for sharing it. Yeah.
Kristi Porter (05:12):
Sounds like an amazing memory. Um, and a great example to learn from. So I guess, uh, fast forwarding just a little bit, now that you’re more established in your career, which we’ll talk about in a second. Um, and then looking back on those early years as you started your professional career, if you were to look back and have a conversation, uh, with your 21 year old self, so what preferred professional or personal advice would you give yourself as far as to be along the lines of giving? It could be along the lines of career advancement, but just trying to think of how you could further shape your own life in your career. What advice would you give to your 21 year old self?
Michael Broidy (05:50):
That’s a very good question. If I was talking to my 21 year old self, I would say enjoy being, don’t be in a hurry to grow, to grow older, enjoy as many experiences as you can before you have so many responsibilities that some of those things are put on the shelf. That’s the first thing I think of number two, I would think a little more pragmatically, I’d say be financially knowledgeable, start saving at an early age because the more you start saving an early age, it will help you at an older age due to compounding. And so on. A lot of people aren’t financially literate. I would suggest that that’s a very important, maybe the third thing I would suggest is that never get tired of learning. What I’ve learned in my life is I never thought that I’d be in this position. This is not what I thought I would be doing. I’m so glad I’m doing it, but I wish I would have had more knowledge of all the opportunities that one has when they’re young to go in different directions and to learn more about so many different aspects of life. Don’t stop learning because you’ll never know when that will come. And that’s what I would suggest.
Enrique Alvarez (07:02):
Well, I’m, before we jump into your professional journey, cause everyone’s very interested in knowing what happened from the time that you were with your grandparents, do all those incredible experiences and, uh, learnings, uh, that they passed on to you to where you are now. But before I ask you that quick question, what else would you have rather done? Cause you were mentioning a little bit about some of the other options. Is there something outrageously different than what you’re doing that you would be, or
Michael Broidy (07:28):
Yeah, there there’s so many, so many interesting occupations out there. I mean, if I had my druthers, I probably would have gone into something animal related. I love animals. I would have become a vet or something like that, but I wasn’t pushed in that area. My father and mother thought we’d become pharmacists, great profession, but because they were pharmacists, I decided I didn’t want to become a pharmacist profession. Right. We don’t necessarily want to do what our parents did. I, I got a degree in business. I thought originally I was going to go into the business world, but I got sidetracked and got into the nonprofit world and ultimately got back into business world. I mean, it’s not something I would have planned for it the way I ended up in this job. But I think along the way, I learned that the more I know about a lot of things, it comes in handy. Right? Keep
Enrique Alvarez (08:17):
Learning. What’s your favorite
Michael Broidy (08:20):
Animals? Oh my gosh. I love animals. I’ve got cats. I’ve got dogs. I’ve had fish. I’ve had birds. I love elephants. I mean, that’s one of my favorite things I love. I’m just a real animal lover quite honestly. And if you put a hurt animal in front of me, I’ll take it in, in a second. If I could, if I had more room, I didn’t have a farm seriously. I could
Enrique Alvarez (08:39):
Totally relate to that. And mighty the same way similar. I’d probably not as, as much as you are, but similar. My daughter would love to be a veterinarian now she’s 12 now. And that’s one of the things that she keeps saying. So, but thank you. Uh, tell us a little bit more about your professional journey and how you mentioned a bit of business. You mentioned a little bit about all the things. How did you decide to go into business and tell us kind of how you, your professional journey transpired?
Michael Broidy (09:04):
Well, I’ll tell you the story about how I got this job. I was before this, I was doing two things. I was regional director of a hybrid nonprofit securities company that benefited the state of Israel. And as a hybrid nonprofit, I had a volunteer chairman. My chairman was J shots. And let me tell you, anytime you have a chairman as powerful and as great as Jay shot and Steve, you cannot fail. He’s that good? So we did very well in my position. We became the highest gross grossing office in the country. Uh, we met all of our goals. We were just fantastic. At the same time I was doing clinical psychotherapy. I’m a licensed psychotherapist. So I had a small family practice. I only mentioned that because after six or seven years of working in my hybrid nonprofit, we met all of our goals. So I said to Jay, one day, Jay, um, um, to a point where I need a new challenge, I’ve loved working with you, but I need to find something else that will challenge me. And he said, before you decide, think about working for me, what really? I said, what would I do? Cause I really didn’t know his business that he said, Michael, I know that if you work with me, you’ll find a way to help me and my business. That was my job description.
Michael Broidy (10:23):
So I went back to my wife and I said, really don’t know what to expect, but an opportunity like this doesn’t happen very often, really want to give it a try. And that was 25 years ago. Wow.
Kristi Porter (10:36):
A blank slate that you can create on. That’s really a lot of fun. That’s what I’ve done. And what is the hybrid? Nonprofit
Michael Broidy (10:43):
It’s run like a nonprofit, but it’s a securities agent. It’s really a very strange combination. It’s called the development corporation for Israel, better known as Israel bonds. So you have to have a series seven license and sell securities, but you have volunteers that help you in the process. Very strange combination. Isn’t
Kristi Porter (11:03):
Yeah. Well it sounds like just one of many interesting experiences you’ve had, but thank you for clarifying that.
Michael Broidy (11:09):
I mean, nobody could have a better chairman than Jay shot,
Kristi Porter (11:12):
So yes. Let’s talk about him. You’ve mentioned him, you’ve mentioned the shot and seen stores. So for those who are unfamiliar, possibly with the name, they must live outside of Columbus for one thing. But can you tell us a little bit more about the different brands as well as highlight some of the different causes that you guys supported corporate?
Michael Broidy (11:30):
Sure. I’ll give you a little history of over a hundred years ago, Jay’s grandfather and grandmother came to America from Lithuania settled on the south side of Columbus, where I live and started business with a pushcart, a pushcart selling little things that pushcart became very popular so much so that the opened a little storefront and they called it shot and see from that little storefront on the south of Columbus started the entire shot and steam legacy of stores where now we have over 1600 stores, basically public companies, American Eagle designer brands, which is the SW. We have 18 to 20 private companies, including value city furniture shot in the steam property group, SB 360, which is a liquidation asset management company. And so on that we are a multi multi-billion dollar company and it all started with a push card on the south side of Columbia.
Enrique Alvarez (12:25):
Wow. That’s, that’s amazing story. It’s incredible.
Michael Broidy (12:28):
I know it’s a great story. Now, American Eagle, I can tell you, which is now has over a thousand stores around the country. One of the great success stories of, of in, in the retail started from a liquidation that we were doing. They had one store. Jay came up with the idea with a lifestyle brand building on that one store. And that one store then became a thousand stores and a multi-billion dollar public company, DSW, which is also part of the designer brands, a public company on the stock exchange started because they provided shoes to our shot in the scenes department stores. Jay came up with the idea, well, if we have some overstock, maybe we ought to create a storefront where we sell the overstock shoes. We were open a few hours a day, a couple days a week. It became so popular that we became larger. We opened up more, more often that store, that little idea became DSW, which now has over 500 stores around the country is dominant in the off price and the value oriented shoes. All these things came out of Jay and his creativity. Wow. Amazing person to work for.
Enrique Alvarez (13:39):
Yeah. It must have been an incredible mentor and an amazing figure. And a great example. What if, if you had dude you’ve been working with him for so long in different areas and for different times of your career, if there were a couple things that you can point out as of why he’s such an amazing entrepreneur, what, why what’s the secret sauce of being so incredible to transform something into something completely different and an amazing at huge proportions besides having the right bloodline. But yeah, the push cuts on incorrect.
Michael Broidy (14:11):
I think the bloodline has something to do with it because what I’ve learned being around he and his family is that they, they talk live, breathe business. When Jay was growing up at the table, his father would talk business all the time. He would learn so much from his father just being around him. When he was young, he would be in the stores. He would learn and observe when his, when he became old enough, his father started him at the bottom where he learned everything about running a store. He wasn’t just all of a sudden becoming a manager or a precedent he learned from, from basically listening and doing. And he’s doing that with his family. So his kids learn the same way at the dinner table coming into the stores, as kids and watching and listening and learning. It becomes part of their DNA from a very young age and you can see it in their kids. And now his kids, kids, his grandkids are in the stores learning and listening. And they will be probably as sharp if not sharper than the generation before them. It’s just what they do.
Kristi Porter (15:18):
Sounds like that generational connection much like you had with, you were talking about your grandparents and your father’s giving and everything as well. So it’s also just surrounding yourself where you’re in a position to learn from
Michael Broidy (15:30):
Listening and learning and being a close family. That’s right.
Kristi Porter (15:34):
Yeah. And so you mentioned DSW, you mentioned American Eagle, you mentioned, um, I’ve been in those stores. So you mentioned yes. If you have them. So what are, I know each one has its own giving priorities as well. So do you want to share with us about some of the giving priorities that each of those brands has as well?
Michael Broidy (15:53):
Sure. First of all, you have to understand that when you’re a public company, you have different accountability than you do as a private company, Jay and his private companies can do what they want to do, obviously within certain parameters based on the needs of the family, of, uh, of the associates and so on. But in public companies, we have to be very careful about how we do our charitable giving, but even so here’s the parameters of what we look at. Look at a variety of different factors in order to make we look at what are the needs of our customers, what are their interests? We look at the needs and interests of our associates in a public company. You also have to look at the needs and interests of your shareholders and our leadership. You take all that into account. Then you have to do a strategic understanding of what’s important in the community itself and all the communities in which you have a presence.
Michael Broidy (16:41):
So you would think that giving money is a simple process. It is not. If you do it right, you have to take all of those factors into account. Before you start to think about where you want to place your money. Now, what we find is that each of our companies, American Eagle, for example, has a certain niche. Their customer is a younger customer, a younger hip cool customer, but they have certain interests that they have priority. Our DSW customer is basically women. If it wasn’t for women, men could not keep us in business women that keeps us in business.
Kristi Porter (17:14):
The Mary Small men’s section compared to the women
Michael Broidy (17:18):
To sell men’s shoes. But the turnover on shoes for women is about eight times more than what we, so I’m not surprised, but our women have certain interests. So we have to take that into account for our DSW group, for our value city furniture brand. We have a mixture, we have a very diverse customer. We have a younger, but not as young as American Eagle. So their interests are a little different also. So you can see that from a customer point of view, each of those companies have a different demographic. So we look at different interests on charitable giving that will deal with their interests. That’s just one factor though. So all those other factors have to play a role before we make a decision.
Kristi Porter (18:01):
Yes, indeed. You, um, you talked about the D so was this just audience research that you’ve done? Was it actually going out and talking to people? Uh, how did you decide to kind of narrow in, on different, um, you talked about DSW and the women’s causes and American Eagle being younger. So was that just based on your own research or did you have conversations with people or how did that come about
Michael Broidy (18:25):
It’s research? But we also do some, some studies of our clientele, so to speak, we find out what they have an interest in. We find that, that, you know, women’s issues obviously were very important to our DSW clientele. We also find out that health issues are very important at DSW health issues are also important, what was educationally and over at American Eagle and so on and so forth. So what we, what I try to do is I try to coordinate between the brands. So there’s not too much duplication. We certainly have a limited amount of resources that can be used. We want to use those in the most effective and efficient way possible. And if we duplicate that, certainly isn’t a very good idea. So part of my job is to help them understand what their needs are based on those factors, but also to make sure that they don’t do the same charitable endeavors as the other companies that come in with the shots.
Enrique Alvarez (19:16):
Well, it sounds like a, like a really fun and also very important job to have. I mean, it’s, uh, I mean, from this conversation, then also the one that we had before, it sounds like something really, really interesting. And could you tell us a little bit more about how it actually reflects into the community when it comes to, uh, Columbus and every, every other part that you guys play a major role in
Michael Broidy (19:39):
Sure. We, we strongly believe and reggae that a majority of our charitable giving should be in our hometown, not all of it, but a large share American Eagle is based in Pittsburgh. They have the same philosophy, but DSW value, city furniture or property group, a few other, our companies are based here in Columbus. So we get deeply involved in the, in the Columbus community. We are our basic philosophy for the last eight to 10 years has been to focus on basic human needs. We found that unfortunately since the recession, that there are so many people that are hurting, that can’t even afford food on the table or shoes on their feet or a shelter to live in that we could not ignore them. So we reevaluate it, a lot of our giving and starting to focus on basic human needs. And we’ve given a tremendous amount of money to what was called the Mid-Ohio food bank, which provides food all around the community to the community shelter board, which helps the homeless to make sure that they have a place to stay and other basic needs organization. That’s where our Columbus focus has been. In addition, we give to a lot of other things we give to Ohio state university for educational needs. We give to the Komen race for the cure, which is a huge organization around the country and is the largest funder of breast cancer research in the, in the nation. We believe that is something very important to our associates and to our customers. And so we have several of those organizations that we give to on a consistent basis. Wow,
Kristi Porter (21:12):
That’s incredible. Um, and you talked a little bit also about not just the shot and scene stores corporation, but, uh, the history of the companies. Um, there is an incredible history of giving back as well. Uh, both as you mentioned, locally in Columbus and around the country and around the world as well. So, um, through your job and just through the, the history of the company, there must also be some lessons learned in how to best support charitable causes, um, with so many brands. So can you tell us a little bit more about some of the things you’ve learned?
Michael Broidy (21:46):
I can tell you what our philosophy has become, and that is that I’ve learned from day one that for Jay and his family giving back is a responsibility that they take very seriously. It’s not something that we do for marketing purposes. It’s not something that we do because, you know, we want to promote it. It’s something that’s part of who they are. And so they give a lot on their own privately, but they expect the companies to also reflect that same philosophy. So what you’ll see from our company is that there are times when we’ll promote what we’re giving, because it’s important for our customers to know certain things and to, and to participate in those things. But the majority of our charitable giving is done quiet. We do it because it’s the right thing to do. We do it because we want to help the community. And we want to help make the communities in which we have a presence healthier and stronger. So for many companies, they do it for the right reasons, but they promoted a lot. We don’t promote our, our Phillipo our philanthropy as much as many others, because it’s not part of what the shot and seeing is believing. And I personally believe that’s a really good way to do what we do.
Enrique Alvarez (22:57):
It’s a very unique way of doing it as well, right. Especially now because a lot of other companies would claim that the more you promote or maybe promotes not the right word, the more you actually let others know what you’re doing, then you can also, um, rally the support of others, maybe influence others to do the same and just make the community kind of participate more. But, but it’s amazing. And it’s, it’s interesting what you guys do and it’s, it’s really, really, uh, especially at the level of special. Yeah.
Michael Broidy (23:24):
Well, there’s certainly a place for cause marketing and to let your people know what you’re doing and you’re doing the right thing, don’t get me wrong. We do that at times, we have what’s called the value city arena and at the drone shot and steam center, which is a huge arena on the campus, Ohio state. Obviously we have to promote that. And there’s certain things that we’ll, we will be doing around mental health that we will be promoting within our companies, because it’s important for people to also participate in that. But the majority of what we do, we feel we do it and we don’t want necessarily people to know about it. We just want to make a deal.
Enrique Alvarez (23:58):
That’s an incredible example for so many companies out there. Right. Cause, uh, yeah, if you over promote some point, it feels a little bit like you’re just doing it for the promotion, all aspects of it, as opposed to use really, really caring for the cost is that you’re supporting. But no, it’s a, it’s a great, great, um, example for a lot of other companies out there. And it’s, it’s great to have you here and thank you very much again for sharing all this information. It’s, it’s incredible.
Michael Broidy (24:24):
Thanks for having
Enrique Alvarez (24:25):
Me changing a little bit, the, um, changing a little bit, the, the, uh, shifting gears a little bit here, uh, the pandemic, right? Uh, it hit, everyone, hit everyone in different ways. Uh, not only businesses, but of course, organizations and charitable organizations like the one that you’re running. Could you tell us a bit more, uh, about how the pandemic was, uh, impacted your, what you do on a day-to-day basis and what you guys had to do to creatively continue to support the people that need the support the most without having, I guess, all the resources that you usually
Michael Broidy (24:58):
Well starting in March of 20, uh, our stores, all of our stores were closed and think about that over 1600 stores shut down, no income, what we were able to do, thanks to the leadership of Jay and, and our company leadership is that we were able to keep our doors open, thanks to some of the online sales that we have created, um, which, which we put a lot of time in and helping the state of Ohio and our other states where we have a presence give back to open stores by creating tremendous safety measures that we would put in our store, which we did. And we’re very proud of, of how safe our stores have become, um, during a very difficult time, charitable wise, when you don’t have any money coming in, it’s hard to give money out,
Enrique Alvarez (25:43):
Right? How do you donate, right? How
Michael Broidy (25:45):
Do you donate when you don’t have any income? And you basically want to keep your, your head above water before you sink completely. But let me tell you something, our company didn’t stop giving on the charitable level. What we did is we had to reevaluate how we did it for our associates and for our community. For example, it’s very important that our associates take part in what we’re doing, the more you think outside of yourself and get beyond your own boundaries. The more you’ll see how it is important to give back. That’s an important part of what we do, but everybody’s working from home. Our home offices are closed, the only thing open or our stores. So how do you involve your associates when they’re not around? But we found a way, and for the Coleman rates for the cure, for example, we created certain activities that would allow a small number of people over a period of time to come back and be a part of.
Michael Broidy (26:40):
So that even though 400 of our home associates, couldn’t all come together 10 or 15 at a time could, and then an hour later, 10 or 15, all behind thinking to help. So while we’re always worried about our own health, our pandemic, we wanted people to think about others and all the concerns that they have. So we became last year, the largest corporate contributor to COVID race for the cure in Ohio. And we did that well under very difficult circumstances, but we felt it was important not to forget there are others hurting, not just us. That’s an example of what we do. Could we have done more? Absolutely. But we tried to do somethings
Enrique Alvarez (27:23):
Something that sounds simple, right? Just don’t think about yourself all the time. Think about others, but, but it’s, it’s difficult and it’s been even more difficult during a pandemic and all the challenges that people have actually been going through. So
Michael Broidy (27:36):
In the, in, in December of 20, we brought our three companies together who were on this campus, DSW property group, and value city furniture. And we held in one of the coldest days, you can imagine a Turkey giveaway or the middle HIO food bank where people would drive through and we would with masks on and with distance, give them a Turkey and other food stuff so that they would have a holiday with food. And I can tell you, I had more associates and wanting to volunteer for that. And we need help. Is that
Enrique Alvarez (28:10):
Yeah. That, that validates everything you’re doing right. When you, when you really see it in the associates and the people that work for the company, just so selfishly giving back. Right. Right.
Michael Broidy (28:21):
So that’s another example.
Kristi Porter (28:22):
And outside of the pandemic with that many stores, you’ve talked about kind of how the different brands give back how with so many employees, um, nationwide, how do you guys keep the employee? How do you keep the charitable efforts in front of employees? You mentioned the Komen when, during the pandemic and the Turkey giveaway, but, um, back in the, you know, 2019, and before, how do you keep that many employees engaged in causes and informed on what you’re doing? It’s such a high level when there’s so many people,
Michael Broidy (28:54):
Uh, good question. We do it in two ways. I’m sure we can do it better, which we continue to try to try to do better, but there are some organizations that we support, like the Coleman that have a national scan. And so we try to get all of our stores on the furniture side to be involved with the Komen race for the cure. So we sell things for a dollar that people can put on the wall. We support cones. We have contests for each of our stores around Coleman. That’s one of the ways. So DSW also has ha has support or soles for souls, which is a national organization. So they get all of their stores involved in collecting shoes, which then are given away, domestically and overseas. So, number one, we try to identify organizations that have a national footprint that all of our stores can do. The second way we do it is we have, we give leeway to all of our stores to be involved locally and to get their stores and their associates involved in local needs. So if a manager of a story sharp they’ll do something that is important to that community. And those associates will be involved in a charitable endeavor in their community. So we look for national organizations and we look for local. Those are the two ways we try to keep our associates at fault. Yeah.
Kristi Porter (30:10):
Sounds good to me.
Enrique Alvarez (30:13):
No, that’s, I mean, it sounds like a really great strategy to cover both ends and then kind of push forward. And at times it
Michael Broidy (30:20):
Works at a time, so you can do better.
Enrique Alvarez (30:22):
It sounds like you’ve been doing an amazing job and it sounds like you guys do an amazing job. So we’re really privileged here being able to not only talk to you, but learn a little bit more about how incredible this, a legacy that they shouldn’t steam family has actually created without really having to promote it, uh, much, uh, which is, which is speaks to the character and culture and values that you guys have. And it’s awesome. Thanks for,
Michael Broidy (30:48):
And she knows it starts at the top and that culture and that character and those values are at the top and they’re all brought down and we all buy into it.
Enrique Alvarez (30:58):
Yeah. Is there anything that you guys will do slightly different now after the PennWell I’m not saying that we’re behind the pandemic, but hopefully it will be soon, but, uh, is there anything that you have learned from, from the, from the, from last year, anything that you will start to do slightly differently or that you’re going to adjust to, uh, going forward,
Michael Broidy (31:18):
Uh, charitable giving is a fluid process. If you do it right, you, you need to always stay in touch with the needs of the community, the needs of your customers and the needs of your associates. And those certainly aren’t fixed. They change. So will the pandemic change? Some of our priorities probably we’ll have to stay very aggressive and very proactive in staying in touch with what those are. But I can tell you that one of the areas that we’re going to be deeply involved in that has been asked exacerbated by the pandemic or mental health issue, mental health issues, when everybody’s stuck in their house, they can’t socialize. They can’t get out. It’s really hurting a lot of people. And a lot of people don’t know how to deal with things as well as maybe they can. It could, and there aren’t a lot of services available, especially if you don’t have the resources to pay for those services. So I believe that our company and our, and the family that I work for, we’re going to get deeper into mental health and supporting mental health issues. And that will be an exciting area. And I think we’ll be able to make an impact in that.
Kristi Porter (32:24):
Yeah, I have no doubt. Um, well, it sounds like you are able to see just a lot of good on a daily basis and continue to be inspired. Um, so during the last 18 months of the pandemic, I’m curious just with all the causes that you get to interact with and the sounds like an incredible family to learn from, and the team you’re surrounded by. So what has kept you hopeful and inspired during, um, what is, has been such a difficult time for so many?
Michael Broidy (32:53):
Well, first of all, how fortunate for me to be able to use the power of the shot and the steam family and the shot and steam, the 38 companies that power to do good, how many people have that opportunity? So I feel very blessed to be in a position and I will continue to take that position very seriously as we move forward, because we can make a difference in so many people’s lives. We have made a difference, but we must make sure that we continue to make a difference in helping people be healthier, feel safer and feel that the community in which they live is safer. So w I, I feel, I feel like that’s my responsibility to make sure that we use that power properly.
Kristi Porter (33:37):
Yeah. Well, thank you so much for your time today. This has been incredible to learn more about everything you guys do. And, um, I know you’re not one to promote the families, not wanting to promote all the good things that we’re doing, but we’re happy to shine a light on it. And, um, just as a consumer, I always like to know who’s giving back and which brands to support. So thank you for all the time you’ve given us today and, um, to learn more about you. So for those listening at home, how is, um, how can they connect with you? How can they, um, support the causes that you’re interested in, learn more about them? Uh, what’s the best way to create the next impact?
Michael Broidy (34:13):
Well, first of all, each of our companies have their own websites. So I would encourage people to go on those websites, learn about what the priorities are of each of those chat and see the affiliate companies. And if they have an interest, send it in, I can tell you that I get, as you can imagine, a lot of requests on my desk relating to different needs, and we’ll look at every one of them. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll fund those, but we come sometimes an idea that we aren’t aware of comes across our desk and we say, Hey, that’s something we need to look at. So that’s the main thing. If you can’t find the website for some reason, uh, look, look me up on Chatman, Steen stores, corporation, feel free to call me or email me. Uh, if you want, I’ll be happy to give my email address. You can put that out later and we’ll take a look. Uh, we’re always interested in listening and learning, uh, and then see how there are new ways that we can help support.
Enrique Alvarez (35:06):
Michael, thank you so much. This has been an incredible conversation with you. I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s great to have, uh, you and this show and people like you, and it clearly is making a possibly impact in the world. So thank you so much on behalf of me and the supply chain now, team and backdoor and everyone that I know. I mean, what you do is critical and a lot of people depend on what you’re doing. So thank you.
Michael Broidy (35:31):
Well, appreciate the, uh, the promotion, even though we don’t like to promote this case, it’s not so bad.
Enrique Alvarez (35:37):
We feel so proud about you guys. We just want to make sure that, uh, that yes, that, that we acknowledged the fact that you’re doing something that very few people are doing very few organizations kind of behave the way you’re behaving. And it’s something that it’s, it’s important and it’s different and it’s incredibly, um, it’s a good example to follow. So, um,
Michael Broidy (35:58):
They will the two at vector. I believe me, we’re not alone. I think I’m talking to someone who also understands very well, the importance of giving back. So thank you.
Enrique Alvarez (36:09):
Thank you as well. Michael Christie, thank you very much for everyone that’s listening. This was another episode of logistics with purpose, please. Uh, follow us if you’re interested in conversations, like the one that we just had today with Michael, and thank you so much, have a good week and see you next time.
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Michael Broidy is Sr. Vice President of Schottenstein Stores Corporation, a privately held company based in Columbus, Ohio. Some of the Schottenstein-affiliated companies include American Signature Inc./Value City Furniture; DB Inc. (DSW), American Eagle Outfitters, and Schottenstein Property Group. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Family Foundation. A graduate of The Ohio State University with a BS in Marketing and an MSW in clinical psychotherapy. Broidy later received certification from the Gestalt Institute of Southern Ohio. Broidy has been honored by the JDRF with its “Promise Ball” Award, received the Alan Tarshish Young Leadership Award and was inducted into the Central Ohio Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.
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