Dave Putnam had the privilege of introducing one of the most unpretentious and realistic speakers our club has had the learning opportunity to hear from, Margo Walsh, founder and principal of MaineWorks.

(Photo: Dave Putnam, Margo Walsh, and 1st VP Don Zillman.) 

Margo began her presentation with an apology for her casual attire. However, her attire, in reality, was what is often referred to as work clothes. When you start your day at 4:30 in the morning in order to get one of your clients to a construction site, one’s apparel is inconsequential and most appropriate. No sooner did Margo get the client to work and she had to turn around and get back to the 7/11 parking lot in Portland to transport other clients to jobs.
 
MaineWorks is a job placement, temp-to-hire firm. The distinction MaineWorks has in the business community is their clients. They concentrate on the placement of convicted felons. Margo realized the need to find a place for this very willing work force. It should come as no surprise that people who come from incarceration into an unwilling, uncaring and unknowing community frequently return to a life of crime, in order to have the money to survive. It is estimated that about 65 to 75 percent of convicts return to court within the first 3 months following release. While we, as a society, accept the credibility of that old bromide “idle hands are the devil's workshop,” we do little to find a remunerative alternative.
 
Margo had a great job with Goldman Sachs, as a recruiter, prior to her realization of need and combining it with her talents to create a “for-profit” company serving a neglected population. Any person following current events would agree that we have somewhat of a perfect storm and “house on fire” situation with the drug epidemic that is rampant. In proof of that point is the profile of the client she was serving that morning. When the son of the Chief of Police of a remote Maine town becomes a heroin addict driven to crime to support a habit, you have all the proof you need. Overcoming the pain and prejudice of drug addiction requires a type of special assistance that few rehab programs realistically provide. It’s not enough to tell this needy group that they need to find a job in order to avoid the pull of narcotics. Advice is simple but making It come to fruition is much more difficult, when you combine drugs and the stigma of being labeled a felon. Margo realized that this group, typically between the ages of 19-25, is very willing to work and that contractors are often in need of common laborers. She identified a group of open-minded contractors willing to give a second chance to convicts and has made MaineWorks an award-winning success story.
 
MaineWorks is providing a service to businesses, felons, addicts and society and not getting any public funding, nor asking for any. MaineWorks has taken a mutual need and determined effort and proven that second chances are worth taking. The clientele may be unusual, but the business model is rather traditional....they provide employees to needful employers. While it may be traditional, it's not easy to convince many employers to take a chance on these troubled souls. She reduces the fear that many employers have by vetting every employee and having them prove their sincerity by taking on certain menial tasks at MaineWorks or doing volunteer work.
  
Margo and MaineWorks has taken on an enormous challenge that is growing larger every day, and approaches it with the simplicity of the AA/NA credo of "one step at a time" and "every day is a new day and new challenge." She knows it's never going to be easy, but it's always going to be necessary......so she has taken it on with an open-minded, unvarnished determination.