Korkowski set to retire from Free2B!, Levine to succeed him

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by Tammy Sakry
Staff Writer

For the last decade, Cliff Korkowski has been the driving force behind Free2B!, but he will soon be leaving for another adventure: retirement.

Korkowski joined the fledging non-profit group in 2001 as its executive director.

In 1999, there was a growing concern among Anoka County churches and other community groups on how they were going to take care of the people seeking aid after they lose their welfare eligibility, said Korkowski, who was the interim president at Anoka Technical College (ATC) at the time.

“The initial planning group numbered in excess of 120 leaders in the community,” he said.

“Free2B! was created because social ministry and county social service agencies saw the need for developing a safety net for individuals who fall between the cracks in services before they can become self-sufficient.”

When Free2Be! was incorporated in 2000, the group had identified two critical issues that would need to be addressed to keep people from falling through the cracks: reliable transportation and child care.

Reliable transportation was required to get people to and from work and they would need child care if they were working, Korkowski said.

Free2B! opened a child care center, sought to do car repairs and give donated vehicles.

The Free2B! Car Care Program began in June 2000 in the parking lot of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Anoka and a child care program was started in the Crestview Community Center in Columbia Heights, but closed in 2003 because of low attendance.

The beginning

Korkowski’s first exposure to Free2B! was when Tom Buchman, one of the Free2B! founders, asked him to come to a Saturday car care event to help out with car repairs and cleaning in the summer of 2001.

Korkowski accepted.

Before the summer was out, Korkowski would take on a much larger role with the non-profit.

When the Free2B! Board began questioning the viability of the car care program in 2001, Free2B! Treasurer and Boardmember Al Sannerud suggested the board hire Korkowski to do a feasibility study of the program.

Although the Free2B! board members knew what they wanted to do, they did not how to do it, Korkowski said..

“Free2B! was struggling,” he said.

The board had no idea how it was going to raise the funds or how to keep the car repair events going, Korkowski said.

The board also did not have a plan for how Free2B! would give out cars, he said.

Korkowski looked at what it would take to make Free2B! work, wrote a program plan, a three-year financial plan and a four-year budget.

He also set a drafted a plan on what the non-profit would need to operate, including office space.

Korkowski was later asked to be the Free2B! executive director.

When he started he had a laptop computer and a little office cubicle at the Anoka County Human Service Center in Blaine, he said.

For the next six months, Korkowski was a one-man show, doing everything from answering the phone, filing and grant writing.

One of the first things he had to tackle was the checkbook.

The board did not have a handle on the finances, Korkowski said.

If the dollar amount was bracketed in the registry, it meant it was a check written to someone. If it was an unbracketed amount, it was a deposit. No balance was indicated, according to Korkowski.

After getting the finances under control, Korkowski sought ways to expand the repair program and fund-raising efforts.

In 2002, Free2B! was encouraged to grow the repair program from once a month to twice a month, he said.

Free2B! was already working with East Main Tire and Auto, Anoka, and Victory Auto Service and Glass, Fridley, came on board to expand the repair Saturdays from once a month to twice a month.

During the first few years, Free2B! served about five to 10 people by giving them vehicles and repairing between 60 to 80 vehicles, Korkowski said. Since then, more than 800 cars have been donated to needy families and over 3,000 cars have been repaired, according to Korkowski.

The staff at Free2B! has also grown.

Korkowski was joined by three part-time staff members, who do the finances and work with new clients to assess their needs.

“Fund-raising has been the biggest challenge for Free2B! because it is such a unique program,” Korkowski said.

“The challenge is to have foundations recognize car care as important even though it is not directly on their priority list.”

But Korkowski took on the challenge and has forged relationships and secured grants with several foundations, including the Bremer Foundation, and sought out ways to create unique partnerships with businesses, financial institutions, service clubs, faith organizations and chambers of commerce.

With the help of the community, Free2B! has an annual budget of approximately $300,000 and is able to maintain a $75,000 three-month operating budget, Korkowski said.

One of the biggest supports is the automotive community as more than 20 auto service businesses have committed to repairing one car a month without labor charges, he said.

“Victory Auto Service and Glass provides shop space for volunteers, assistance in evaluating cars and discounted labor and allows us to have parts direct billed to make the program work,” Korkowski said. “John’s Auto and Cotten’s NAPA provide tremendous financial help with parts purchases.”

Community members have helped the program by volunteering for the car care program and events.

“Sometimes we have to turn away volunteers because we have so many. It’s a nice problem to have,” Korkowski said.

About 120 people a year volunteer for the Car Care Saturdays and the other events.

To help raise funds, Free2B! has held raffles, Lyric Arts plays, chili cook offs, ProKart racing, car shows, wine tasting, fall festivals with wine tastings, a summer food fest and the Taste of Blaine, which features food from local restaurants.

Moving on

After getting a pacemaker last year, Korkowski began to contemplate the future.

“I questioned how long I should continue working,” he said.

With family members vacationing in Florida over the winter and that “my wife and I love to travel and we always talked about going south for the winter,” Korkowski decided it was time to do the things he enjoys.

The pair decided to retire to Alexandria, their hometown, and have a rented condo in Naples, Fla., an area they have been visiting for 30 years, for the winter.

Korkowski said he will be doing the things he loves, like reading, walking, exercising, fishing, golfing and being on the water.

While he recently ended his membership with the Blaine-Spring Lake Park Lions Club, Korkowski intends to continue his Anoka Rotary Club membership.

Looking back at his years with Free2B!, Korkowski said he is proud that he could help so many people and bring the whole community together.

New director

Before Korkowski can retire Dec. 31, he has to train in the new executive director, Gary Levine, who starts Dec. 1.

While there is no way he can fill Korkowski’s shoes, he can lend his strengths to the program, said Levine, who was one of 24 applicants for the job.

Levine would like to see the program grow and he plans on looking into ways Free2B! can be involved in other aspects of transportation, he said.

Having someone new come into the program allows a fresh prospective on how things are done and the opportunity to find more efficient ways to make the already good organization work better, said Korkowski, who worked with Levine at the technical college.

The non-profit already has an active website and Levine plans to find ways to take advantage of social media to reach potential Free2B! clients.

Although Levine is the new executive director, he is not new to Free2B!

Levine joined the board of directors four years ago.

“I felt it was a worthwhile non-profit to be involved with,” he said.

Free2B! has done a lot of good things and his knowledge in customized training and developing community partnerships will benefit the non-profit, Levine said.

Levine is also a member of the Anoka Rotary Club, Ramsey Foundation, MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce, where he has been a board member and past chairman, and the Anoka Area of Commerce.

His last position was at Dunwoody College of Technology’s customized training account executive. Prior to that, Levine was dean of customized training at Anoka Technical College.

About Free2B!

According to its website, “Free To Be, Inc. helps residents in Anoka County, age 21 or older, who are welfare to work, immigrants, unemployed, underemployed, disabled or senior citizens, by providing assistance with car repair, car donations, vehicle maintenance, resource management and basic budgeting for diverse populations.

The Free2Be! website is www.freetobeinc.org.

Tammy Sakry is at tammy.sakry@ecm-inc.com