Laurie Koehler, the VP of Business Administration at A-1 First Class Moving & Storage, agent for Atlas Van Lines, has worked for the Brooklyn-based moving company since 2012. The Atlas Van Line-affiliated moving company has also been a partner of Move For Hunger since 2012 and has helped out with several different food drives, including the upcoming Brooklyn's Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon on October 10.
Laurie graciously agreed to speak to us about working for a dedicated partner of Move For Hunger and what she would like to see in the future:
MFH: "A-1 First Class Moving & Storage has been a member since 2012, do you have any words about how you've felt working with Move For Hunger in the past?"
Laurie: "Well, I think what you guys are doing is really outstanding. When [Move For Hunger] was first launched, I was just like, oh my gosh this is the greatest thing. I know that it has grown exponentially since then and I think it's just awesome and I wish that we could do more. But it's a matter of staying on top of the crew, staying on top of operations, and making sure that the customers know. We send [Move For Hunger information] out with every estimate, every move confirmation, and that we donate to Island Harvest. I think what you guys are doing is just fantastic."
"Is there anything in the future you would like to see, either as a company you'd like to see you guys move forward with or personally?"
"Oh my gosh, getting the movers to even do the paperwork... We got some labels that we put on the boxes so that the boxes are specifically for Move For Hunger, but I still think there needs to be someone to champion and cheerlead. I know the sales team is on board but the coordinators also need to mention it to the customers when they are coordinating, because the sales team is in there and then the coordinators really are the ones who take over the move. I really think that, really in a nutshell, I think that in the company I would like to do better, and I think it starts with more training for the people that have contact with the customers directly."
"The next event where A-1 First Class Moving & Storage is working with Move For Hunger is the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon. Was there anything that really drew you into getting involved with that?"
"I think that email came in and I forwarded it to the president of the company [Matt Schwartzberg], my boss, and suggested that the timing is right for us to do something. He probably got the email as well, it's his decision, so I'm sure that's what happened. I was like okay, let's do something good. I remember seeing that come by and I was like yeah, you know what, we need to do something now."
Move For Hunger would like to thank Laurie and A-1 First Class Moving & Storage for their support and wish them luck on their future events!
