RecycleForce COO Dustin Jones joined the organization just over a year ago – right when the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting to become a reality for Indiana.
“I started about a month before COVID really hit,” says Jones. “I vividly recall when the governor and mayor issued lockdown orders on Friday, March 13, 2020 – Friday the 13th. It caused a dramatic shift in thinking about RecycleForce.”
Jones had spent a lot of time thinking about RecycleForce prior to March 2020, having worked with the organization as an economic development consultant with his former company, Ginovus. He helped the board and leadership work through a 2019 study of its operations and future plans, establishing a new strategic plan with a six-to-seven-year timeline. Critical to that plan was – and remains – the building of a new headquarters for RecycleForce at the old RCA facility in Sherman Park.
“I’d helped identify opportunities and potential locations for a new headquarters, and the analysis and conversations with the city pointed to Sherman Park. All the major puzzle pieces for a groundbreaking are there, but not quite put together in a way to announce anything yet,” says Jones, adding that COVID adaptations took precedence.
“With COVID, we had to rethink our strategy – were we an essential business? We concluded that we were, serving an at-risk population, often homeless, with nowhere to go if we closed our doors even temporarily. So, we successfully made that argument. But how do we continue to conduct operations in a safe manner for our employees? We identified COVID safety protocols, best practices, and put them in place. We adapted like everybody else has had to do.”
Jones’ first year was not what he expected, but it has been rewarding. Financing for the new facility is in place through the New Markets Tax Credit program, including an investor to buy the credits. Designs for the facility are readied and bids for rehabbing the building are being sought, but no date has been set for a formal groundbreaking announcement.
“Stay tuned,” says Jones. “Despite the adversity of 2020 and the continuing challenge of COVID, we’re ready to begin serving more and more people and execute on our plans for the future.”