History
Blue Jacket, Inc. is a spin-out agency from Allen County Community Corrections where several of its original programs were developed. Much of the entity’s inspiration came about through the Allen County ReEntry Court, a widely acclaimed initiative that is overseen by Honorable John F. Surbeck. It has incubated the majority of FY 2005-2006 and launched officially in October 2005.
Blue Jacket, Inc. was created, in large part:
1) To fill the gap between the pre-employment training provided by Allen County Community Corrections and actual employment
2) To provide services to people with criminal records not active in the adult criminal justice system.
3) To provide real transitional job opportunities
4) To provided the same services, and more, at a much cheaper rate than if operated within the County government.
5) To eventually offer these services to other jurisdictions.
For the felony offenders whom Blue Jacket, Inc. serves, many of them designated as high-risk, it is expected that 67% will return to prison within two years of release or commit a new crime. It is Blue Jacket, Inc.’s goal to reduce this rate below 15% for those that graduate the training. Typically, upon leaving the prison system, offenders face many barriers. Employers are reluctant to hire them, landlords will not rent to them, many do not have a driver’s license, many have child support obligations with little means to pay, and few can manage a simple budget.
Blue Jacket, Inc. intends to operate as a social enterprise, diversifying its funding capabilities as to not be reliant on grants or government subsidies. The first enterprise launched is a Construction Initiative.
so•cial en•ter•prise (n.)
Any earned-income business or strategy undertaken by a nonprofit to generate revenue in support of its charitable mission. "Earned income" consists
of payments received in direct exchange for a product, service or privilege.
Board of Directors:
President David Gutting
Vice President Elliott Neubauer
Secretary Craig Keoun
Treasurer Bradley Schroeder
Mark Bloom, JD
Councilman Thomas Hayhurst, MD
Chancellor Mark A. Keen, PhD
Hon. John F. Surbeck
John Tippmann
Bennie Lewis
Norman Guy
Commissioner Bill Brown
Staff:
Anthony Hudson, Executive Director
Stephanie Rothrock, Accounting Manager
Javier Zaragoza, Facilitator
Denise Klausner, Employment Services Program Manager
Ann Lamar, Employment Consultant
JC Combs, Construction Instructor
Mike Tapp, Director of Security
About Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket, Inc. is named after Wayapiersenwah, or Chief Blue Jacket; an intelligent, strong entrepreneur and diplomat and one of the greatest Shawnee war chiefs.
He fought on the banks of the Wabash River in 1791 delivering the worst defeat the United States Army ever suffered at the hands of Native Americans. Chief Blue Jacket led the confederated Shawnee, Miami, Delaware, Huron, and Potawatomi nations alongside Chief Little Turtle with their strongest resistance in Downtown Fort Wayne. Later in 1794, he again tried to push the Americans from the same area and was defeated by General Anthony Wayne, ending organized Indian conflict east of the Mississippi River.
The story of Chief Blue Jacket surrounds the legend that he was an abducted white settler named Marmaduke Van Swearingen, then adopted into the Shawnee Nation rising through the ranks to become Chief and was known to be friends with Daniel Boone. Recent DNA testing concluded that the Chief Blue Jacket was not white but actually Shawnee.
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