Responsibility, Integrity, and Intentionality Matter

Devine and his niece, taken at his Jobs for Life Graduation in October.

In December, Advance Memphis hired Devine Owens, a LAUNCH grad with a photography business, to take pictures at our Jobs for Life graduation. First thing this morning, Devine came by (before heading home from working all night at KM Logistics) to find out if his business partner had ever gotten the pictures to us, which he had not. Upon learning this, Devine expressed great disappointment and insisted on refunding the money Advance paid him for his services because he hadn’t fulfilled his responsibilities in a timely manner, but he still wanted to follow through and get the pictures to us by early Monday morning. Steve wouldn’t accept a return of the full amount that Devine had been paid, but they settled on a $10 refund. Devine left Advance to cash his paycheck and within 10 minutes was back with a note and the money.

The note and money from Devine.

Devine was counting on his business partner to deliver the pictures, and when he couldn’t get in touch with him, Devine took full responsibility without any excuses. He immediately was willing to do whatever it took to correct the situation. His level of customer service and integrity is noteworthy and brought some encouragement to the start of 2015.

As we at Advance continue to look for ways to do a lot with a relatively small staff, we are thrilled to be able to intentionally hire our LAUNCH graduates to use their skills and abilities to help care for and serve this community better. As Devine is further trained on the types of pictures we need taken, and how to upload them and display them on our video slideshow in the lobby, graduates will more quickly see their photos up and be able to celebrate and be encouraged all the more on their accomplishments thus far. It’s a win across the board!

A little responsibility, integrity, and intentionality can make a big difference. In December, Devine also earned his high school diploma through our GED/HSE program. We’re looking for great things in his life in 2015!

STORY UPDATE: Devine’s business partner met us at the office first thing Monday morning with all the picture files: a job well done!