United Way and Pratt & Whitney Collaboration

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
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more at okhill CTE dot org.Now here's your host for Pulse of the
Region, Kate Bowman. It isanother great day here in the iHeartMedia Studios
for a recording of a Pulse ofthe Region. I'm Kate Ballman, and
today we are here in person.I wish you could see it. We
have a packed studio today. Idon't even know we've we've ever had this
large of an audience, which isso exciting because today we are getting the

(01:10):
pulse about partnerships and the significant valuefor corporations to engage their employees within the
community. So our guests today arejoining us from the United Way and from
Pratt and Whitney. So first,from the United Way of Central and Northeastern
Connecticut, we have President and CEOEric Harrison. Eric, Welcome to Pulse
of the Region. Good morning,Kate. Good to speak with you again.

(01:30):
Fantastic. I was gonna say youand I've been at evens this week.
I think every day a lot happeningexactly, such good stuff. So
thrilled to have you here with ustoday. And joining you is from Pratt
and Whitney. She is the vicepresident and chief human Resources officer, Jill
Vicki. Jill, welcome to theshow. Good morning. I'm thrilled to
be here this morning. Fantastic.Well, we're thrilled to have you and

(01:53):
thrilled to talk about just a lotof great things happening at both of your
organizations and also together in a partnership. So first things first, we'll do
some brief introductions or for both ofyour organizations. I think reminders to our
listeners who you know, you're bothsuch great members here in our business community.
But Eric, first, tell usa little bit about the United Way

(02:13):
and really the impact that you're makinghere in the community. Yeah, so
it's hard to believe that we're actuallyturning one hundred years old, so our
impact is almost a century next yeartwenty four, So really excited about that.
We have a lot of activity that'shappening right now. You know,
just this past week, we're veryinvolved with our volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
This is when we do free taxservices to individuals and families who are

(02:37):
making up to sixty thousand dollars ayear. So just had a press conference
last week with a governor really turningout those results and so, you know,
really proud to share some of thatwork that we've been doing. And
that's on the volunteerism side. Youknow, in terms of corporate engagement,
you know, we're really reinventing ourorganization and thinking of new ways to partner
with companies. You know, Ithink traditionally, you know, when you

(02:58):
think of United Way, you thinkof payroll deduction, you think of the
workplace campaigns, the thermometers, theballoons. Yeah, but you know,
now we're thinking of, you know, what type of partner are we going
to be with organizations moving forward?So the workplace is very important to us,
but we also think of volunteer engagementactivities with companies. Are gonna be
talking a lot about our partnership withPratt Whitney today. Fantastic And with that,

(03:22):
Jill would love you know, Prattand Whitney another long standing business or
partner in the business community here.But can you talk a little bit about
the organization. Absolutely so. Prattand Whitney is a world leader in the
design, manufacturing, and servicing ofthe world's most advanced aircraft engines and auxiliary
power systems for commercial, military,and business aviation. We're headquartered actually close

(03:49):
by East Hartford, Connectics, say, right across the bridge. Absolutely,
and we have actually forty two thousandemployees globally in over eleven thousand here in
Connecticut. So, as you canimagine, this partnership is quite important to
us. Pratt and Whitney's purpose isconnecting people, growing economies, and defending
freedom all over the world. Andwe actually have quite a bit in common

(04:11):
with United Way as we will sendcelebrate one hundred years in business in twenty
twenty five. Oh my goodness,look at that. So I feel like
we need a double party here orsomething break celebrations exciting great And speaking of
the anniversaries, is Eric, youare coming up on one year anniversary as

(04:31):
president and CEO at the United Wayof Central and Northeastern Connecticut. So give
us kind of the insight after yourfirst year, you know, what what
everything looked like. Yeah, so, and actually just a little over a
year, so about fourteen months now. But who's founding right, Yeah,
yeah, not you at all,not me at all. No, you
know, it's it's been a tremendousyear. You know, within the first

(04:51):
hundred days, I was meeting withalmost one hundred business leaders here in the
community doing a listening tour. Andyou know, it's interesting to see the
evolution of how you know, we'rekind of getting off the zoom meetings now
and you know, doing more thingsin person. But in the beginning,
it was a lot of zoom meetings, a lot of you know, thirty
minute calls with leaders throughout the community, and so it's really helped me get

(05:12):
a better understanding of the lay ofthe land, some of the challenges that
we have in the community, someof the headwinds that we're facing both in
terms of the economy and that individualsare having with their own homes. I
mean one thing in particular, youknow, coming from California, had a
lot of experience with housing and homelessness, and Connecticut had actually been a leader
in reducing homelessness, and now that'sa rising trend, and so that's something

(05:33):
that you know, we're looking atin a different way. And so I
would say that, you know,as things evolve and the more that you
know, we have been engaging withcommunities, I've really learned about, you
know, some of the pressing needsthat we're having to address now. So
what we're doing right now is anorganization, we're doing a listening tour and
doing community conversations within the community.So these are just intimate gatherings of you

(05:56):
know, a dozen people or moreto really get an understanding of, you
know, how we're going to bemost relevant to organizations and to individuals here
moving forward great and certainly have awonderful team and you kind of doing all
this great work, and part ofthat includes your Board of directors, which
I from my understanding is you havetwo new board members, if you could

(06:16):
share about that. Yeah, sowe yeah, we have. We have
a great group of leaders UM andso Jill actually just recently joined our board,
so we're really excited about that.We also have Bertiermaza who's a president
general manager of Fox sixty one Mand CW twenty UM and you know,
we also have individuals that continue toyou know, partner on a lot of

(06:39):
our committees, UM and and allin all sorts of ways. That's great.
So, Jill, I guess welcometo the to the board. Would
love to get your perspective on whatinspired you to be you know, kind
of participated this level. Yeah.No, this is an amazing opportunity not
only for me personally but professionally tojoin the board. UM. It's a
way for me to give back tothis amazing organization and honestly the community that

(07:02):
I live and work in. I'ma local resident. I can see the
value that United Way provides to ourcommunities. I feel that I can be
impactful on the board, not onlypersonally, but in the spirit of the
role that I have at Pratt andWhitney to really reinforce that relationship and lead
by example. Quite honestly, Ilove that. And certainly some exciting news

(07:25):
to share too today about Pratt andWhitney and United Way a new collaboration together.
So if you could touch verse highlevel on just what is this collaboration.
Absolutely so, Pratt and Whitney andUnited Way are nearing a hundred nearly
a century of collaboration together. Aswe mentioned from the beginning, I was
going to say, this is absolutelywe do. We do very good,

(07:47):
so quite honestly, in the spiritand in honor of this collaboration and recognition
and not only Prett and Whitney,but raytheon technologies renewed focus on volunteerism,
I announced in March this new collaborationwith United Way in central and northeastern Connecticut
that they are our volunteer partner ofchoice in the state of Connecticut. This

(08:11):
will provide so many great opportunities forConnecticut based teams to build camaraderie and community
through volunteer programs organized by a UnitedWay. That's wonderful and with eleven thousand
employees, there's going to be alot of opportunities here right, yes,
absolutely, that's great and can youtalk about you just really how important is

(08:31):
it for your employees and also forPratt and Whitney as a company, just
to really make sure that you cangive This gives these opportunities for employees to
take advantage of. Absolutely our employeeshave always cared deeply about the communities where
they live and work, and theywant to give back in different ways,
especially through volunteering. Volunteering provides individualopportunities to build meaningful and personal connections with

(08:54):
community as well as with their colleagues. In fact, studies show that when
a workplace provides its employees with opportunitiesto volunteer for causes that they personally care
about, it creates a great senseof belonging and quite honestly retention with the
company. I'll give a few examples. Just last week, in partnership with
United Way, they helped organize andrun a clean up effort in Wickham Park

(09:18):
in East Harford, Manchester Town Line, a beautiful park that I knew in
love growing up and still enjoy today. So that's amazing for that, And
personally, I had a chance withmy HR team here in Connecticut. Through
United Way, they led an eventwhere members of my local HR team we
assembled stem kits and the energy andwas just amazing in the room. You

(09:41):
could just feel like, not onlyyou feel good about doing something for your
community, but quite honestly, asa team, you feel good. It
creates that camaraderie, camaraderie and collaborationdefinitely, And you touched on one thing
there is, you know, thattalent retention, which is I think we're
almost maybe you're a little nauseated byit at some points, and I'm sure
especially for you because it's such ahot topic nowadays, but it is truly

(10:03):
having that engagement level really does seemthat's what people are I read a article
recently where, for the first timeand possibly forever, you know, all
of a sudden, it used tobe all it cared about, employees cared
about was your salary, and nowall of a sudden, things like what
are your volunteer opportunities are coming intoa very close second. So I don't
know if you could touch on thatat all. Yeah, absolutely, you

(10:26):
want to work for a company thathas purpose, and Pratt and Whitney makes
products with purpose. But we're aboutthis community. As I mentioned, we're
celebrating a hundred years and we havegenerations upon generations of families that have benefited
from our organization. And so thefact that it's tied to United Way again
within the communities that we live andwork is just tremendous. Definitely. And

(10:48):
Eric, what does this mean forfrom the United Waste standpoint on having Pratt
and Whitney and again those eleven thousandemployees, you know, looking to engage
with the work you're doing well,I think it really sets the ball are
for other companies, so we cango out to other companies and say it,
Look, here's a model that's reallyworking in the community. You know,
our volunteer opportunities are a year round, so you know we can do

(11:11):
things like the kid projects that Jillmentioned, We can do those in corporate
offices, right, we can youknow, assemble those, we can bring
it to the company. And thenwe have you know, seasonal opportunities when
it's sunny outside and spring and summerwhich are more outside in the sun.
And I think, you know,to Jill's point about sort of the talent
management and the employee engagement, thatis a really important component of volunteer engagement

(11:31):
for us. Because you know,as things are opening up, companies are
trying to figure out how do webring teams together. There's so much remote
work that's happened, and you know, I think I think this is a
really good way for companies to partnerwith United Way, Like we're partnering with
Pratt and Whitney definitely. And Iwould say, Jill, have you seen
that when you know, since itis, I believe Pratt and Whitney's at
a hybrid schedule most in most apartments. Is are you seeing where a lot

(11:54):
of employees now are kind of comingin more when there are opportunities like absolutely,
And this was a great example ofthat. In particular, my team
is considered primarily hybrid, so wehave work in the office as well outside
of the office, and this wasa great example of pulling people in,
having a chance to collaborate and reallybeing purposeful in engagement, right, honestly,

(12:16):
so fabulous opportunity, wonderful And what'snext kind of in this partnership,
is there an event that Pratt hasvolunteers scheduled for at or is the next
one to be announced? Yeah?Actually, I'd like to chime in because
we are celebrating a great STEM dayactually in our East Harford hangar coming up,
you know, local middle school students. I believe we anticipate roughly two

(12:39):
hundred and fifty middle schoolers to joinus and more than one hundred and fifty
employees supporting this STEM day. Soit's really a great representation and great partnership
with United Way. That is incredible. Oh I love it. I want
to come over, Come on over, I say, am I welcome?
Yeah, fantastic and eric a lotof other things coming up for the United
Way as well. I don't knowif you could kind of share, you

(13:01):
know a little bit about those.Yeah. I do want to touch briefly
on two of our affinity groups becauseI think they're very important to the work
that we do. Definitely. Oneis our Emerging Leader Society so better known
as ELSUM. We're a convenor oflocal Young Professionals UM. And this is
actually I was really impressed by thisgroup when I was, you know,
new to the region and saw,you know, this really dynamic group doing

(13:22):
great things UM. So annually ELSthey host a case competition, which is
an immersive innovative It's like an eightweek shark tank style experience UM and so
they will they will focus on aparticular challenge and they we get corporate leaders
and judges that will review their theirShark Tank presentations and they're incredible. We

(13:45):
had them on the show this pastDecember, I believe it was, and
it I mean, I don't knowif you could talk about maybe the last
year's or the winners or some ofthe projects, because I know I was
floored by them. Yeah, what'swhat's interesting about it is, you know,
because you know, we have averse environment, we were actually the
winner this year was actually out ofstate. So we we do this nationally.

(14:05):
It's not just in Connecticut, Sowe have participants that, you know,
from all over the country, youknow, through whatever employer that we're
partnering with. So I believe thewinners this year actually were most majority of
them were out of state. Okay, So you know it is it is
a national competition, which is prettycool, very neat. That's great.
And then also to a lot ofworks being done under the initiative your Women's

(14:26):
United, So and if you couldtouch on that and kind of talk about
the opportunities for involvement there. Yeah, So Women United, we have opportunities
both in terms of voluntarism and alsothe membership engagement. And so this is
a group that we've had around forover a decade now and their focus is
really helping women and families achieve financialstability. So we have a big event
coming up in John June eighth,or Power the Purse event, and so

(14:48):
a lot of women members will bethere and you can hear more about how
to get involved. I feel likethat's one of the key events here in
the region. You always know Powerthe Purse, that's it. Yeah,
yeah, it's one of the firstthings. When I first Rye, people
talked about that right away and Isaid, well, what is the power
of the person? They said,it's it's actually over a thousand women at
the convention center. I'm like,wow, feeling not what I was expecting.

(15:09):
That wonderful I expecting. But yeah, that's great. It's a great
event. Fantastic And our tickets stillavailable for that event. Yes, tickets
are available online which is Unitedweight Inc. Dot org. Perfects all right,
and now, Jill, what elseis upcoming for Pratt and Whitney in terms
of kind of anything I need othertypes of volunteer opportunities, different things or
and I'm sure you guys have somany different programs initiatives happening. We do

(15:31):
absolutely and in particular this month Aprilis RTX you know, connection and volunteer
and really what we can do togive back to our community. So and
it's not just about this month.I mean the corporation really and the company
really does value what our employees dofor the community, whether it's through volunteerism,
through company match for organizations that peoplemake personal contributions, the company does

(15:56):
a match associated with that. Sonice. There's events throughout the year,
you know, just in support ofas I mentioned, the communities that we
live in work. That's great.And you yourself have been you know,
a big volunteer from what I've beentold, so and you know, if
you could talk a little bit justabout that work for yourself as an individual,
Yeah, it's it's so rewarding toactually give back in a way that's

(16:18):
you know, it's time and weall know that time is such a precious
resource that you can never get back, but when you give your time and
your energy, it's just such agreat feeling. So I know, for
me personally, I take example,from my daughter who loves volunteering. She
has really set the stage and youknow, I think instilling that in our

(16:40):
children in our organization is just key. Definitely, that's very good. What
are some of her passion projects?Oh, her passion projects are the Blood
American Red Cross. She actually organizedtwo drives at her local high school,
East Catholic High School, so sheand a friend initiated that and reinvig you

(17:00):
rated that back at the school.So she's pretty proud of that and the
fact that her friends UM and thestaff are saving lives. She's also a
big proponent of UM Instructors of theHandicap in Manchester. So on every Sunday,
this kid gets into a pool witha big group of students to help
them really build their skills. Soit's amazing. So I love seeing that.

(17:23):
That is I was going to say, certainly inspiring. So that's great,
And you know, Eric, itis so much. You know,
all of us think, hey,volunteers, it is so important for organizations,
but really, I mean the UnitedWay and a lot of your programs
don't run without volunteers and without thatsupport. If you could just talk a
little bit about that importance and alsothe importance from the corporate community in supporting

(17:45):
Yeah, I did want to touchon that because I think it's really important
for people to realize that, youknow, what key role board members play
in helping the capacity of nonprofits andmaking them, you know, as as
professional as possible. You know,Jill also our in Benefits and Compensation committee.
She uses her HR expertise with agroup of other volunteers, and I

(18:06):
have to say that, you knowthat that level of expertise is something that
we you know, we value tremendously. You know, when I was interviewing
for this position with the Executive SearchCommittee, you know, a little over
a year ago, and you know, after I would finish it every interview,
I'd say, you know, Iam so impressed with these board members.
You know that that was really whatdrew me to the position, was
the caliber of our board of directors. So I would just encourage any professionals

(18:30):
within the community, whether it's ourorganization, and thinking about serving on a
committee. You don't have to bea board member to serve on one of
our committees. So we have avariety of those committees. But just think
about other nonprofits as well. Howcan you you know, use your professionalism
to to help the capacity of othernonprofits in the community. Perfect, and
a lot of events coming up tofor United Way. You had mentioned the

(18:52):
Power of the Purse on June eighth, but then I think the list,
we may need another hour to gothrough the list. It feels like that's
certainly in the our organization. Ifeel like we have something all the time.
But just briefly, if you goto our website unitweight inked dot org,
you'll see the landing page of thefirst event that's coming up, and
that's on May fourth, and that'sour third annual Commercial real Estate and Building
Industry Breakfast. So that's a breakfastwith a commercial real estate industry. The

(19:17):
funds raised for that event go toour homelessness partners and homelessness services. So
great event. It's had a lotof momentum in the past couple of years.
So that's the first one. Youcan scroll the next one on our
web page, which will be theLive United Golf Tournament, and that's on
May twenty second at ten am.So this is the third annual Live United
Golf Tournament as well. Definitely lookingfor you know, if you want to
put a foursome together at your companyor just individually you can attend as well.

(19:41):
And then lastly, we do havethat Power of the Purse that's coming
up on June eighth, but allthree events are on our landing page at
United weight ink dot org. Perfect. So a lot happening, and Eric,
I know there's been I've been speakingwith a lot of people about the
real estate event because again another bighot topic between talent attraction, retention and
the real estate here, you know, specifically within Hartford in downtown is there's

(20:04):
a lot, a lot of changesand a lot of good things ahead.
So I don't know if you couldtouch high level a little bit on just
the content that will be spoken aboutat that event. Yeah, I mean,
we have this great group of volunteersthat this committee came together a few
years ago. It's modeled actually aftera breakfast that started with a commercial real
estate industry in Boston, which hasraised I believe over a few million dollars

(20:25):
and this or this breakfast in justa few years has gone from three hundred
thousand to over half a million.We're approaching this year, so we're really
excited about We have our ninety sponsorsfor this breakfast my goodness, which I'm
sure you can appreciate. You know, it's not it's not an easy feat.
So just just a shout out toyou know, our commercial real estate,
you know, Breakfast Champions. Thereis an honorary award every year for

(20:47):
the founder of this breakfast that we'llbe presenting um. And then we'll also
be you know, really talking aboutwith our homelessness partners, you know,
some of the needs that are goingon the community for homelessness services and housing.
Fantastic. That's wonderful. So well, hopefully we'll see people everyone smiling
faces at those upcoming events. Andwe have a few additional minutes here on
the show. So Jill, Iwant you know one thing for me.

(21:10):
Pratt and Whitney is again long standingmember here of our business community, doing
so much. But can you talka little bit too, is what is
the global kind of perspective in theglobal footprint of Pratt and Whitney, Because
I think many times we say,oh, well, Pratt and Whitney,
they're right down the street, anddon't realize just the impact that really Pratt
has around the world. And ifyou don't mind sharing a little bit more
about that. Yeah, we havepresence in almost over forty countries. I

(21:36):
would say highly concentrated in Canada,Okay, Poland, Singapore, China,
New Zealand, Israel, in Turkeyis where we have our major hubs,
as well as other areas throughout theUS in particular and Columbus, Florida and
Texas. Fantastic, that's right.I think sometimes we take for granted that

(21:56):
without your own neighbor, you're downthe street from where we all live.
So that's one of fall perfect.Well, anything else kind of that I
missed in terms of on the partnershipcollaboration side that you guys wanted to add
in. I mean, just youknow, if you're a company out there
and you want to, you know, get involved like Pett Whinnie is doing.
In terms of our volunteer engagement,feel free to contact us. Contact
us. You can find our informationat unitwating dot org. And again,

(22:18):
we'd love to see you at yourupcoming events we have. We have many
on the slate coming up. Yes, perfect perfect and now since we do
have a couple of minutes left,I love to put people on the spot.
So that's Joe's given me a looklike, don't do it now,
where's it going? But love tospotlight what do you love most about living
or working here within Hartford, withinthe Hartford region. So I don't know

(22:40):
which one of you wants to takethat one first, but until it okay,
I'm happy. Nice. Well,I can share that I'm born and
raised in Connecticut, have had achance to live outside of the country as
well, but have always found Connecticutto be home quite honestly. I mean,
we get to experience the or seasons, we have access to mountains,

(23:02):
the ocean, We're you know,in between New York City and Boston,
and just like the wealth of thingsthat we have access to is just amazing.
So I'm happy to continue to residehere and raise my family and work
in this community. I'm a longtenure Pratt and Whitney and Pollee, and
I'm very proud of that that factand know like what a difference Pratt makes

(23:23):
to our community. Definitely good greatanswer, Eric, how about Yeah,
that's a new a new resident.Yes, but I echo a lot of
what Jill said. You know,I think the four seasons is something that
I definitely welcome. I grew upin the Midwest originally, you know,
and I would just say the communityhas been so welcoming to us. You
know, we have neighbors that youknow, come over and bring us cookies

(23:44):
or banana bread or you know,say hello. And I just really love
that about Connecticut so far as sincewe've been here, just feel everyone's been
very welcoming. And as Jill said, you know, we actually just recently
had our son a little over amonth ago. Congratulation, thank you.
And that's really why we came toConnecticut. We thought it was a really
good, you know, place toyou know, our you know, grow
our family. I love it.That's wonderful. Well, so close it

(24:06):
out is Joe, if you couldshare where people can learn more about Pratt
and Whitney and about all the effortsyou're doing here in our community. Yeah,
absolutely. On Pratt and Whitney dotcom we offer information about our company,
but certainly what job opportunities and prospectsare available. We're always hiring,
so looking forward to talent um youknow in particular and engineering, but certainly
all fields. Uh So I wouldshare like through that through our external website.

(24:30):
And so yes, yes, Iwould like great company work for as
you can as you hear today.So and Eric, I know you had
mentioned the United Ways website, butif you can remind people again where they
can get involved and where they canget tickets for all the upcoming events.
Yeah, so again it's it's atour website unitwe ink dot org. But
you can also email our vice presidentof Marketing and Development more a Cook,

(24:51):
who you know does a lot ofour corporate engagement projects, and her emails
Mcook at Unitedwey Inc Dot org.All right, well, thank you guys
so much for being on the showtoday, for being here in studio to
hang out with me so I'm notstuck here alone. Thank you of course,
of course, and as we wrapup the show today, we would
like to welcome a new investor tothe MHA. We refer to our members

(25:11):
as investors because they're investing in thework that we're doing in order to promote
the region. So today we welcomeMental Health Connecticut. Mental Health Connecticut is
a private nonprofit organization with six regionaloffices and a main office located in Farmington,
Connecticut. MHC is a trauma informed, person centered organization that partners with

(25:32):
individuals, families, and communities tocreate environments that support long term health and
wellness. For more information, visitMH. Khan. That's mcnn dot org.
For all the details about today's showand how you can get involved with
a United Way, you can visitMetrohartford dot com. We'd like to say
thank you to our show partner Okill, and of course thanks to you for

(25:52):
listening. I'm Kate Ballman. Goout and make today a good day here
in Connecticut.