Category Archives: Diversity

Foster Kindness, Identify Solutions and Spread Joy in 2022

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“One of the perks of being a columnist and working as an opinion editor is the email I get. I receive direct responses to what I’ve written as well as letters to the editor about issues of the day and op-eds from the community at large. I say this is a perk because I do not exist in an echo chamber or some sort of political vacuum. Because of this, I read kindness from all sides and perspectives. I also see meanness from all sides. It’s difficult to maintain an us-versus-them attitude when I have the opportunity to witness a melting pot of humanity right here in my inbox.”

I hope you’ll read the full column in the link below.

Foster Kindness, Identify Solutions and Spread Joy in 2022, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
On New Year’s Eve, when I was a kid, at the stroke of midnight we would run outside and bang pots and pans with a wooden spoon to ring in the new year. Those were the modest homemade noisemakers of our small Kentucky town.

if you missed my column about why we shouldn’t give Santa so much credit for gifts I hope you’ll read below.

Why Parents Shouldn’t Rely on Santa for Big Christmas Gifts, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Between the breaking news from the tornadic devastation in the Midwest, I worked on Christmas crafts with my kindergartner. The juxtaposition of hardship and the holidays reminded me of Christmastime with my daughter when she was young.

Where Are the Hispanic Executives? Why Representation and Mentoring Matter

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for Hispanic Heritage Month I wanted to shine a light in a dark spot and I’m grateful that my husband let me write his story to help do that. I hope you’ll read and share.

“My husband, who is also Hispanic, has worked in manufacturing for over 25 years. He started in accounts receivable and then moved to operations, working first on a manufacturing line. He’s encountered bigotry and racism while forging his own path to upper management. One of his early supervisors thought it was cute to call him “spicktacular,” and she honestly believed she was paying him a compliment. Another manager questioned my husband’s motives when he helped a Spanish-speaking hourly worker write an incident report in English for human resources.

“Now my husband is the plant manager of a local auto manufacturing plant. He is also the only nonwhite manager at his factory. Recently, my husband came home from work with quite a different story. A Hispanic hourly worker approached him to say that because of him, she has an example for her teenage son. She tells her son, “No nomas somos trabajadores.” Which means, “We are not just workers.”

“Workplace representation matters. It not only matters for aspirational employees, but a study from McKinsey and Co. also found that diverse businesses enjoy increased profits as well as better employee engagement, access to talent and consumer insight.”

Read the full column below.

Where Are the Hispanic Executives? Why Representation and Mentoring Matter, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
My husband, who is also Hispanic, has worked in manufacturing for over 25 years. He started in accounts receivable and then moved to operations, working first on a manufacturing line.

Read more from Bonnie Jean HERE and HERE.