Goodwill Industries - CEO Keith Trost
Posted by Chuck Chase on Nov 04, 2016
Nate Salazar introduced Keith Trost, CEO of Goodwill who has a degree from Rutgers University, spoke about the direction of the organization. Keith said that prior to joining Goodwill he was employed by the Sears organization for over 30 years and retired in 2014. He rejoined the workplace once he realized he didn’t really enjoy retirement.Keith was hired as Goodwill’s CFO and later replaced Dan Buron as CEO when he left for the Traverse City area to head up another Goodwill. Keith said that there were challenges at Goodwill as in any organizations but was excited about their new retail facility that will be opened next spring and located on US223 behind Discount Tire.
Goodwill Industries, Keith said, works with severely handicapped individuals in Lenawee and Monroe counties. Goodwill continues to expand their community inclusion programs, Keith said, while helping their clients find jobs in the community.
He also spoke about the strides the company has made in terms of their recycling dollars saying that anything that goes into a landfill costs the company money while those items they can recycle make them money! The company has been able to reduce their costs from $125k down to $25!
Keith said that Goodwill has, over the years, pursued and been quite successful with their E-Commerce business which accounts for about 3.8% of Goodwill’s business nationwide. Keith said that he recently signed a contract to provide services in Washtenaw County! Thanks for enlightening us, Keith.