Text and Photos
By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — Three days from Cardinal Services’ 70th anniversary, many members of the community gathered Friday, Sept. 13,  at the nonprofit’s renovated and expanded Warsaw building to celebrate its transformation.

As people toured the facility, they used words like “amazing,” “beautiful,” “impressive” and “it looks so different.”

“This day has been a long time coming,” said Donna Elbrecht, Easterseals Northern Indiana Inc. CEO, at Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “… We couldn’t be here without all of the support from this wonderful community, our staff, our board, our donors and volunteers.”

She thanked all the employees, participants and families who showed a lot of patience during the renovation.

“It’s always difficult to be torn up, even though we know great progress is being made, shift around and continue to provide great services for individuals,” Elbrecht stated.

She mentioned that they also are celebrating their direct support professionals this week. “We would not be able to do what we do every day without their tireless efforts, commitment and passion for the work,” she said.

Elbrecht stated she’s been blown away watching how everyone came together to support the new vision for Cardinal Services. She especially thanked Executive Director Vickie Lootens for her determination and compassion for the community, employees and participants.

“I’ve seen her stay focused on the goals. I watched her raise the money, and then switch her focus to all the details to make everything a perfect new opportunity for people. Vickie’s leadership and dedication is inspiring, and I’m just so glad I get to work with her all the time,” Elbrecht said.

She also thanked the Cardinal Services Board of Directors before turning the microphone over to Board Chair Adam Turner.

“Wow, this is awesome,” Turner said. “I’ve had the honor to serve on the Cardinal Board since January 2020, if you can all think about what was happening then. And I’ve had the opportunity to serve as the Board chair the last two years. And while I know it sounds really cliche, it’s not cliche if it’s true, but I truly have gained more from this experience as Board chair and service on this board than whatever little contribution I’ve been able to make to this organization. I’ve gotten so much from this experience.”

Whether it’s from the capital campaign, to the pandemic, to the construction project and Friday’s celebration, Turner said, “We’re here to cut the ribbon and mark an exciting milestone for Cardinal’s history. What an awesome thing to be a part of.”

He thanked Robinson Construction for all their hard work in making it all possible.

“As some of you have already had an opportunity to go through the building, if you have not then you will be thoroughly pleased and impressed as you walk through and see the results of all of their hard work. It really is amazing, Thanks, Robinson Construction,” Turner stated.

He thanked all the sponsors of Friday’s event, including platinum sponsor DePuy-Synthes; gold sponsor Zimmer Biomet; bronze sponsors Core Mechanical, Crossroads Bank, 1st Source Bank, Robinson Construction, Blue River Digital and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce. He also thanked the ribbon-cutting ceremony committee for all of their hard work in organizing the event.

Warsaw Mayor Jeff Grose spoke briefly, proclaiming Sept. 13, 2024, as Cardinal Services Day.

Anne Hill, Cardinal Board of Directors member and a human resources leader at DePuy-Synthes, said, “It’s been an absolute pleasure serving on the Cardinal Board of Directors the last six years. While we have faced many challenges during this time, it’s been wonderful to witness the growth and maturity of this incredible organization. We overcome unprecedented obstacles as a result of the Covid pandemic, faced uncertainties and changes to our capital campaign and forged an amazing partnership with Easterseals. I am so proud to stand here today, being a part of this moment, knowing that we are a stronger organization because of this journey.”

Another incredible growth she said she witnessed while on the Cardinal Board is the “powerful partnerships and local support that Cardinal receives from our local businesses and donors, including my company, DePuy-Synthes — and I might as well go ahead and mention very soon to be named Johnson & Johnson MedTech. Not only has DePuy been a generous supporter of Cardinal’s annual fundraising luncheon, our employees also take advantage of Johnson & Johnson’s generous 2-to-1 donation match program.”

One other “super cool” thing that happened this past year is that “we transitioned our former partnership with the on-site CCI program to now have individuals we serve working within our facility,” Hill said. “The involvement of local businesses in our community has led Cardinal to thrive.”

On behalf of the Cardinal Board of Directors, she thanked corporate sponsors CTB, Lake City Bank, Zimmer Biomet, Miller’s Merry Manor, G & G Hauling & Excavating, Silveus Insurance, Core Mechanical and Maple Leaf Farms, among others.

“But just know that we at Cardinal count ourselves incredibly lucky to have such tremendous support from our community,” Hill said. “To quote the great Mother Teresa, ‘I alone can not change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.’ I encourage all of you to keep creating ripples. Those ripples became tidal waves that led to this beautiful moment today.”

Lootens said she was overwhelmed by the support she saw at Friday’s ceremony by the community and could not thank everyone enough on behalf of Cardinal and what it means to all of them.

“In three days, on Sept. 16, we will celebrate a monumental milestone — exactly 70 years from the day that families first came together to establish what has evolved into the Cardinal Services we know today. From those humble beginnings, offering services in a living room in Milford, to this, a testament to the vision, hard work and dedication of so many,” she said.

She expressed her deepest gratitude to Cardinal’s supporters.

“This day wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of everyone who contributed to our ability campaign — a campaign to impact lives. I also want to thank our ability council and each and every donor. Thank you. Your belief in our mission has helped us transform lives, and today we stand in celebration of that shared vision,” Lootens stated.

She named and thanked the lead donors, including CTB, K21 Health Foundation, Zimmer Biomet Foundation, Dr. Dane and Mary Louise Miller Foundation, 1st Source Bank Foundation, Chad and Jeanne Phipps, Olinger Family Trust, Bill and Vicki Morton, AWS Foundation, Don Wood Foundation, Kosciusko County Community Foundation, the entire Deeter family and Mike and Rebecca Kubacki.

“Your unwavering support continues to make a profound difference. We are so grateful,” Lootens said.
She also thanked Cardinal’s leadership through Easterseals Northern Indiana, and acknowledged her “amazing” team. She gave a big thank you to all the employees and volunteers who helped with the final touches of the ceremony.

“Finally, I want to take a moment to recognize someone very, very special to Cardinal Services: The first donor of our ability campaign. This gentleman has been part of the Cardinal family for many, many years and was the first to help with the renovations and get them off the ground,” Lootens said before calling Mark Warren up to stand next to her so they could get ready to cut the ribbon. “And, also, Mark and his family are founding family members. So, let’s go cut that ribbon, Mark!”

Tours

Before and after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, people could take tours of the facilities.
Michelle Boxell, Cardinal Services community relations manager, said the building was renovated and expanded.

“We renovated the existing building, and then we added 3,000 square feet of Opportunity Lab onto it,” she said. “The Opportunity Labs are spaces for training individuals in areas that Kosciusko County has high need for additional workers, so in manufacturing, in health care and in hospitality.”

She said Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation did a survey several years ago on the county’s needs. As Cardinal began its capital campaign, they looked at where those needs were.

“Because if we’re going to do Opportunity Labs, we want to fill those needs. So we have individuals from our services who go to those labs and get trained for jobs and placed in jobs, but also members of the community who want to come in and take advantage of the labs there and get trained. That’s what we want them to do. They’re perfectly able to come in and do that, and then the companies that support us … get the first crack at some of those people who get trained” in their area, she explained during the tour.

Outside of the building was the gaming trailer that can be rented out. It can have up to 24 players at one time. To book, call (260) 456-4534.

Going into the lobby, one of the first things a person sees are Cardinal’s values of quality, respect, innovation, diversity and accountability. Beyond the offices, there’s the lunch room where the karaoke club also meets a couple times each week. RedBird Art Studio has moved to the other side of the cafeteria.

There’s a training lab and event center, the CNA Lab, classroom space, the Cardinal Café, the market and robotics.

Cardinal has an on-site clinic, and rooms for clubs like STEM and Culinary Clubs.