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2021 Culture Week Recap

At Keeley Companies, we pride ourselves on our world-class culture and we will take any opportunity we can to celebrate it! On February 14, we kicked off this year’s culture week with each day’s activities centered around a different cultural pillar. Along with celebrating our pillars, we took the opportunity to recognize some of our amazing Keeley’ns who are dedicated to our culture and who went above and beyond in 2020. Congratulations to the following Culture Award winners!


Keeley Companies Person of the Year: Chad Johnson

KeeleyWay Person of the Year: Julie Panagos

#KeeleyCares Giver of the Year: Daniel Bradley

KeeleyU Career Growth Benchmark Award: Theron Harrison

KeeleyOne Person of the Year: Ramona McCook

KeeleyLife Champion of the Year: Sabrina Shea

KeeleySafe Person of the Year: Mike Rupinski


Sunday, February 14: KeeleyWay

On the first day of Culture Week, we focused on the KeeleyWay, our strategic growth model for “Achieving Results on Purpose.” It takes buy-in from all levels of the organization and has resulted in incredible growth across Keeley Companies.


“We wholeheartedly believe that if you get the people right, the results will follow.”

-Rusty Keeley, CEO of Keeley Companies


The KeeleyWay strategic process includes 5-year visions, 3-year business plans, future organizational charts, annual budgets, and scorecards for each company and group. Our one-of-a-kind i404 action planning process keeps us accountable with Keeley’ns creating meaningful actions plans to achieve our vision and exceed our scorecard goals! Watch the video below to hear from Rusty Keeley as he explains the KeeleyWay.



Learn more about the KeeleyWay here.



Monday, February 15: #KeeleyCares

#KeeleyCares, our Philanthropic Foundation, is at the heart of everything we do. 2020 presented our communities with some unique challenges, but #KeeleyCares stepped up as we were able to continue giving back to our local communities across the country. Our Keeley’ns generously donated over $2,000,000 and spent 20,317 hours making a difference! Click here to read more about our efforts in 2020 and watch the video below.



In 2020, we were proud to add SEVEN new charities to our Wall of Compassion! Thank you to the Keeley’ns who made this possible. We can’t wait to grow our partnerships and to continue doing amazing work with these organizations. The seven new members of the Wall of Compassion are:

  • Pacific Jaycee’s

  • American Red Cross

  • 5P Minus Society

  • Randy’s Rescue Ranch

  • Bethel Community

  • The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis

  • Batten Disease Support and Research Association


“The people that make up Keeley Companies embody everything good and are truly making a difference.”

-Mary Sly, Vice President of #KeeleyCares


Finally, during Culture Week, we launched a Diaper and Wipe Drive. The pandemic has greatly affected people’s ability to afford diapers and wipes for their children. Keeley’ns took the the opportunity to donate diapers and wipes that went towards deserving charities in our communities. A big thanks to everyone for their continued support!


Learn more about #KeeleyCares here.



Tuesday, February 16: KeeleyU

KeeleyU is our innovative Learning & Professional Development Program. KeeleyU creates an engaging environment that promotes the career growth of every Keeley’n and there are many ways to get involved with KeeleyU no matter where you are in the country. While our instructor-led courses have always been offered on a virtual platform, they are typically held in one of our state-of-the-art training rooms in our St. Louis offices. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, KeeleyU has been able to pivot, and hold all instructor-led courses 100% virtually. We can’t wait to get back to in-person sessions soon! Our online Learning Management System (LMS) offers hundreds of courses for Keeley’ns to take advantage of at their own pace to earn education credit. Finally, our KeeleyU team hosts Roadshows to bring the benefits of KeeleyU to our field crews across the country. These roadshows cover various topics from leadership training and cultural initiatives, to safety courses specific to that particular job.


“My personal mission is to challenge and equip people to unleash their potential. My passion is building people, launching projects, impacting organizations, and making a difference in the world.”

-John Regan, Vice President of Learning & Professional Development


At the end of the day, Rusty Keeley held his semi-annual CEO address that was available virtually for every Keeley’n to attend. Rusty discussed our 2020 results and his vision for 2021 and beyond! This was an exciting session, and we are excited to watch this vision come to life!


Learn more about KeeleyU here.



Wednesday, February 17: KeeleyOne

KeeleyOne, our newest cultural pillar focused on Diversity & Inclusion, champions a culture that supports the equity of our People. We are committed to recruiting and developing diverse talent while listening, educating, and engaging in conversations for a better tomorrow. We are excited to evoke change within Keeley Companies and beyond!


“We are all created equal, we all deserve opportunity, and we should all walk through life based upon the principles of the golden rule.”

-Rusty Keeley


To celebrate KeeleyOne, we welcomed Zach Schaefer (Dr. Z) to speak to our Keeley’ns on how to facilitate and navigate difficult conversations. Diplomatically navigating difficult conversations is a vital workplace skill and a trait of effective leaders. Dr. Z helped us revisit the fundamentals of workplace communication that “gets things done” without burning bridges or glossing over problems. Thank you, Dr. Z!


Learn more about KeeleyOne here.



Thursday, February 18: KeeleyLife

KeeleyLife is our Health & Wellness pillar dedicated to helping Keeley’ns become the best versions of themselves. KeeleyLife focuses on four main areas: physical health, nutritional habits, mental health, and financial education. During Culture Week, we welcomed our partners at ConnectCare3 to teach our Keeley’ns about healthy eating principles and understanding the strong connection between nutrition and health, especially when it comes to the heart. KeeleyLife partners with KeeleyU throughout the year to bring educational opportunities to our people that want to make positive and healthy changes in every aspect of their lives.


“My mission is to empower all Keeley’ns to take their mental, physical, nutritional, and financial health seriously. Our education and resources offered through KeeleyLife have one single goal – help Keeley’ns improve their overall health and well-being.”

-April Lopinot, Vice President of Human Resources & KeeleyLife Committee Leader


KeeleyLife also offers virtual yoga, regardless of fitness level! Join Keeley Companies Health & Wellness Coach, Melissa Swank, every other Tuesday on our Facebook page at 4:30pm CST.


Learn more about KeeleyLife here.



Friday, February 19: KeeleySafe

Our number one priority every day is making sure our people get home safe. Safety is at the forefront of everything that we do. To celebrate KeeleySafe, we announced that our annual Safety Week will be May 3 – May 8! Last year, we celebrated Safety Week with a fun game of KeeleySafe Jeopardy. This year, we will be keeping the competitive spirit alive with an educational game of KeeleySafe Family Feud. We can’t wait to watch out leaders test their safety knowledge and see who is crowned the winner!


“Every Keeley’n deserves to go home safe every day. Our Safety Culture built on ZERO empowers every team member to do their part in making sure this can happen. Safety is personal, and it is my personal mission to make sure every team member goes home safe to their family every day.”

-Ray “Safety Ray” Boehm, Sr. Vice President of Risk Management

Everyone has their own personal reasons on why they choose to be safe every day. Here at Keeley Companies, we call that our “My Why.” Watch the video below to hear from Keeley’ns across the company on their “My Why” and their reasons for staying KeeleySafe.



Learn more about KeeleySafe here.




Thank you to our Keeley’ns for an amazing week! We are so proud of our culture, our people, and of course, our partners.

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