Russell MacKenzie, UGM Director of Food Services, helps assemble plates at UGM's City-Wide Thanksgiving Dinner.
The connection between a waste management company and UGM Food Services may not be the most obvious one from the outset. However, Chuck Conklin, manager of Wheelabrator, Inc., has become one of the Mission’s best corporate partners – buying cases of turkeys at Thanksgiving, cases of hams at Christmas and providing a monthly stipend for the purchase of aluminum foil, latex gloves, plastic wrap and other kitchen necessities.
Last week, Chuck brought Melissa Lohnes, corporate communications officer for Waste Management in Boston, to the Mission to see for herself the impact accomplished through Wheelabrator’s partnership with the Union Gospel Mission.
Melissa filmed video footage to show the various ways Wheelbrator helps the poor and homeless. The videos will be shown internally to illustrate corporate responsibility – how a business can use its resources to make a positive impact on the community in which it does business.
Chuck doesn’t just write checks. He gets personally involved – driving to Wal-Mart to fill his truck with pallets of turkeys and hams and then delivering them to the Mission. Guys who work in the kitchen and warehouse on a regular basis recognize him, know that he is committed to serving and helping them.
When you meet Chuck, it’s obvious he’s not in it for the recognition. Still, by spreading the word, he’s serving as an ambassador for UGM and setting an example for other business leaders to follow.
~Russell MacKenzie, UGM Director of Food Services
6 min read
From 2001 to 2026 This year, Union Gospel Mission of the Inland Northwest celebrates 75 years of changing lives in our communities. Over the years,...
1 min read
Phil Altmeyer, Executive Director, Leanne White, Content and Communications Specialist: June 4, 2026
In the 1980s, I was part of Campus Crusade, a ministry working with students—future leaders—on a college campus, believing they'd make an impact on...
5 min read
In our previous newsletter, we reflected on the Mission’s early years—those initial twenty-five years driven by courageous women and men who launched...
1 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director : January 20, 2013
“And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we...
1 min read
Former Director of Women's Recovery Spokane and beloved friend of UGM, Becky Wall shares her family’s involvement in the UGM community and what that...
1 min read
Barbara Comito, former marketing director : April 16, 2013
Meet the Hefling family: Maliaka, Izzy, 4, Noah, 9, Silas, 6, Roman, 2, Joe, and Maranatha, 16 mos. Inspired by Christ's miraculous feeding of the...
Barbara Comito, former marketing director