From CEO to blogger

by Larry Meyer
MRA Chairman and CEO

The idea came from Amy Jolley, Jim Hallan’s executive administrative assistant, in one of our planning meetings for the “Hail and Farewell; Larry Meyer Member Appreciation Tour.” I should start a blog on our website, she said, recording my impressions after each of the 24 breakfast events held around the state this spring and summer.

So here I am, a blogger, posting my thoughts about this tour along with photos from the events on the “Breakfast Blog.” You’ll see a link to it on retailers.com.

It’s a simple page, without a space for visitors to post responses. But feel free to e-mail responses or comments to me at mra@retailers.com and, if you like, we’ll post them on the blog page.

I hope to use the blog as a way to share what I’m learning from you in the discussions that occur at these breakfasts. The questions you ask and observations you make are as informative as any answers I provide, because they show what’s on the minds of retailers in Michigan.

The first breakfast, held April 23 in Ann Arbor, was thoroughly enjoyable. I look forward to meeting and exchanging ideas with many of you at the upcoming 23 breakfasts we’re holding between now and September.

The schedule for the breakfasts is listed at the bottom of the blog page. For additional information about a breakfast near you, call Kammy Johns at 800.366.3699 or e-mail her at kjohns@retailers.com.

When MRA moved to 221 Pine Street (the building before the one we’re in now), we had fewer than 10 employees, divided fairly evenly into the insurance people and the credit card processing people.

The building was divided in half by a wall, connected by a set of double doors. The doors remained closed most of the day, to be used only when someone crossed to the other area.

One day in 1982 I was struck by how wrong that arrangement was. How could we pull together as a single team, intent on a single goal, with so little contact between the two departments?

Facing these closed doors on one side sat a new hire, Judy Schafer. She had just started her first job with us after high school and had not met me yet.

Imagine how she felt when I opened the doors and loudly announced, “These doors are to remain open at all times from now on.”

Judy is with us some 25 years later, now helping to manage our Retailers Mutual business, and we laugh recalling her startled reaction at my “open doors” proclamation.

But it said a lot about how I wanted us to go forward. There was no room for an “us” and “them” mentality, and opening the doors meant more frequent communication and a change in attitude.

The doors remained open the rest of our time there, and the organization became stronger as we gradually improved our self-image as a unified Association.