This is my favorite time of year. I’m out of the office, meeting with many of you while watching the Dawgs compete on the gridiron and the ice. I’ve also been in the residence halls and classrooms, taking in several guest lectures and speaker presentations made by many of you to our students and faculty. Your knowledge and experience is always an inspiration.

And let’s be honest, holiday break is right around the corner.

As you flip through this issue of Crimson & Gold, I call your attention to the Honor Roll, in which we recognize those who have generously improved the services and activities of the Alumni Association with their gift to the Alumni Opportunity Fund. Thank you.

For this, my fourth edition of “Off the Porch,” I again hit the road to meet with some alumni in different and interesting career fields.

Brian Sullivan (E’99), is the branch manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Cadillac. Upon arriving at his Big Rapids office, I found Brian out back hosing down a recent rental return. He laughs as he comments that there are not many 9-to-5 management jobs where you might have to wash a car occasionally.

“We have a culture of service with Enterprise, which is why Ferris grads are doing so well here,” says Brian before breaking off our conversation to assist with a rental return. Enterprise currently hires a number of our fellow alumni, and is proud that their focus on employee develop-ment and management training has allowed several of those to move up in their company.

As branch manager, Brian is responsible for the vehicles, business transactions, employees and overall customer satisfaction in his territory. Doing that calls for the personal touch. The “cycle of service,” as he calls it, “drives” a successful business. This is critically important when realizing that more than 50 percent of Enterprise customers are repeat business.

It’s not all polish and smiles, however. Brian has assisted with situations involving missing/stolen vehicles and re-possessing vehicles from people who didn’t subscribe to the “renting it means returning it” concept. By the time I left, I had the lingo down, and was throwing my two cents in on every managerial consultation.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is a dedicated partner with Ferris. They generously support the Office of Career Services “Partners In Success” initiative, and actively recruit our students by sending staff to campus for job fairs and career seminars. They also have supported the College of Business, Business Golf Outing, the FSU Alumni Association Golf Outing and a scholarship that will be facilitated through our Office of Minority Student Affairs (see the “Applause” section in this issue). My thanks go out to Brian Sullivan and Cindy Brown for the opportunity to be a part of their team.

If you have a unique or exciting workplace or career, I would like to hear from you and perhaps visit and share our experience with the Ferris community.

Best wishes and happy holidays to you all.

Sincerely,

Jeremy J. Mishler, E’96

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