Jim Nigro is a retired McKay Press executive and former Greater Midland trustee, whose 11 years on the board included helping guide the organization through the building of the new Community Center. Greater Midland President and CEO Terri Johnson sat down with Jim to talk about his journey from Cleveland to Midland, his role in leading McKay Press into the digital age, and the heart and soul he and his wife, Kate, have put into serving Greater Midland. They also discuss how, since his Parkinson’s diagnosis, Jim has found a supportive community in the Rock Steady Boxing program – going from “reports to support.”

Terri: Let’s start by talking about your background. How did you come to live in Midland and work for McKay Press?

Jim: Back in 1998, my wife Kate and I were living in Cleveland with our six-year-old and our one-year-old. A boss I’d had, Elsa McNamara, became president of McKay Press, and she needed a vice president of sales and marketing. She asked if we’d be willing to move to Midland. I thought Michigan was a great state. I said, “Kate, let’s make it a five-year stop. We can go camping as a family, because Michigan has so much to do outdoors.” She went a little reluctantly, because we were comfortable in Cleveland. But almost thirty years later, we’re still here and we’ve absolutely loved it. I’ve been retired for three years now, and I love that, too. How can you not love Midland? There is so much to do. I’ve heard it described as a town of about 50,000 people with the amenities of a city of 500,000, but since so many people work at the same companies and know each other, it can feel like a fishbowl of 5,000!

Terri: Can you tell us more about Kate and your children? I know that Kate has had a strong marketing career and has been such a valuable contributor to Greater Midland as a member of the Tennis Center board of directors.

Jim: Yes – back in Ohio, she was actually my boss at a company called Advo. She took a hiatus to raise our children, and she got back into the workforce by starting her own small marketing agency. In Midland, she was hired as director of marketing at the Midland Center for the Arts, worked for Bolger + Battle after that, and then joined Dow, eventually becoming global communications director.

My son Mike lives in Detroit and absolutely loves it. My daughter Kelly and my son-in-law Luke are living with us while they line up a house in Chicago – so my granddaughter Louise, who is 18 months old, is here as well. We’ll soon have our own spaces again, but Kate says I’m really going to miss having my granddaughter here. She’s 100% right, because waking up and seeing her big smile every morning is the best!

Terri: From a professional perspective, you and I worked together so much through the relationship between McKay Press and Dow. My favorite time of year was when McKay handed out personalized calendars. [Laughs]

Jim: Yes, I miss those personalized calendars! They were a huge hit with customers and really demonstrated the technology of digital one-to-one printing.

Terri: People have their devices now!

Jim: Somewhat related to that – one of the biggest things Elsa and I did was recognize that the digital age was coming. We shifted our capabilities so we could marry a database with the imaging, because we knew long print runs on big web presses were going to be a thing of the past. That also included ramping up direct mail, which McKay now does a considerable amount of. So, yes, we put a different face on McKay as we prepared it for more precise, targeted marketing in the new age of digital communications.

I worked with great people on our senior leadership team as well as our department managers and, of course, our very capable operators. We had great leadership throughout my tenure. Today a woman is in charge of operations, which is a first for McKay Press, and I think that’s fantastic.

Terri: Let’s shift to Greater Midland. You became a member of our board of trustees in 2014, a role you held for 11 years. What did you think of Greater Midland before that, and did you look at it differently once you became a trustee and got to look “under the hood”?

Jim: I knew it was a staple of the community, because when I first came here, it was the first place I joined to get exercise. I remember listening to folks in the sauna, and that’s how I learned some of the things going on that weren’t in the newspaper. I knew people really cherished being able to go to a facility like this, work out, and be part of a community. So, I knew Greater Midland was special from the get-go.

It was hard not to recognize, as a trustee, that many of our assets were old and inefficient. As examples, the Community Center roof was leaking, the pool was in constant disrepair, and many spaces weren’t being utilized sufficiently. For the sake of our bottom line, we had to do something about it. The new building initiative was a breath of fresh air. And I’ll just say this: I don’t think we could have had a better leader at that time than you, Terri, because you did a brilliant job navigating us through the entire process. I had always looked up to you, including when you were a trustee previously, because you were so involved and engaged. You made solid, tough decisions and asked the insightful and sometimes tough questions.

Terri: Wow, thank you, Jim! When I joined as CEO and had the honor of working in the organization, it was a challenge to shift from being a trustee to reporting to the trustees and facilitating the meetings. But after every meeting, you would send me an email, and it would always be supportive, even if it raised topics like “think about this” or “consider doing this.” You truly cared and were engaged. Kate also took this approach on the Tennis Center board, putting her heart and soul into it. It’s really “the Nigro way,” where you don’t just check the box by going to a meeting – you take those responsibilities seriously.

Tell us about how you’ve become a regular at the Community Center through our Rock Steady Boxing program – which, for readers who might not know, is a non-contact boxing class that helps people with Parkinson’s disease and related diseases to manage their symptoms and remain independent.

Jim: I am a longtime member of Midland Rotary. A fellow Rotarian, Tom Erickson, who has Parkinson’s disease like me, asked me whether I was familiar with the Rock Steady Boxing program. He said it’s a great program because you get to mingle with people who have the same neurological disease, build community, and get exercise tailored specifically to Parkinson’s. I thought that sounded great, so I gave it a whirl. Valerie Faber, the wellness director for the Community Center who facilitates Rock Steady Boxing, was so supportive. I went to my first class, and I felt like these are fun and interesting people, and they’re my kin, because we all have this disease. That’s how I got involved.

The way I see it, I went from getting reports to receiving support. As a trustee I was seeing the numbers. But now, as somebody with Parkinson’s who has specific needs, I’m feeling the support from Greater Midland staff and this Parkinson’s community. I knew that Greater Midland was a gem as a trustee, but this experience has really opened my eyes – we’re truly amazing. The staff and trainers are so incredibly invested in my wellness. It’s like family, and I don’t think I can say that about any other organization I’m involved with.

Terri: Yes – and it’s the type of thing you can’t see on a financial statement. You have to experience it.

The participants in Rock Steady Boxing have nicknames, and yours is “Bobcat.” How did that become your nickname?

Jim: I went to Ohio University for a graduate program, and they’re the Bobcats. But I actually had the nickname as an undergrad at Baldwin Wallace College, where I was a wrestler. They had these colonial buildings, and to strengthen our grip and forearms, we would actually climb those buildings. Can you imagine? [Laughs] I did that with one of my wrestling partners, Greg, who was also one of my fraternity brothers. We climbed basically every building on campus.

Terri: I love that. [Laughs]

What advice would you give Greater Midland to have even greater impact? How can we be even better?

Jim: That’s a great question. You do a wonderful job communicating what’s going on and getting the voice of the customer. And everyone here is so passionate about helping others. If there’s one thing we might consider for Rock Steady Boxing, it’s talking more about our conditions. Asking each other: “How do you handle this?” or “Does this happen to you?” It’s a fantastic program, and the instructors are the absolute best, but I might recommend building in more information sharing. I recognize that Rock Steady is a national program that has a specific curriculum which the trainers need to stay within, but I think more information sharing could benefit all of us.

Terri: That’s great feedback. I really like that idea!

You know, my heart gets full when I hear you talk about what you’ve given to Greater Midland, and how you have found this supportive community now. From your perspective, you can see what it’s doing for you, and that’s a great thing.

Jim: Rock Steady Boxing is my only Parkinson’s community. I don’t have any other group like this, so it serves a purpose in terms of networking with people who understand what we’re going through. When I was first diagnosed, I was reluctant to continue getting involved in certain things, and to share the reason why, because I was afraid of labels. Now it’s like, who cares? People can learn from me, and I can learn from others. Everybody carries something.

Terri: And are you feeling good?

Jim: Thank you for asking. I have good days and better days. That’s my pat answer to that question, Terri. I’m not letting in the bad!

To learn more about how the Rock Steady Boxing program is helping people in our community and how you or a loved one can get involved, visit our Rock Steady Boxing page.