Today’s workers bring an extraordinary amount of past work and life experiences to the workplace, and many company executives are finding that the unique backgrounds of Marketplace Chaplains are just the connection employees need in order to survive and thrive in today’s hectic and stressful world.  Marketplace Chaplains’ diverse work-histories and life circumstances give them an edge to better reach and serve the needs of employees struggling with real-life problems.

Marketplace Chaplains is the country’s original and leading workplace chaplain provider with more than 2,700 men and women serving across 44 states, 4 foreign countries and 1commonwealth, providing much needed help and hope to over half a million employees and their family members.

“Some employees may expect an older pastor, religious-type figure to show up at their office, but that’s certainly not what they are getting with me,” said Dallas Chaplain Joseph Bennett, whose previous workplace resume prior to service with Marketplace Chaplains, included being a professional clown bringing joy and smiles to many.

“Having chaplains with broad experiences is certainly beneficial for us as we have such a diverse dichotomy of employees and family situations,” said The Whitmore Manufacturing Company CEO Jeff Kilpatrick, in Rockwall, Texas.

“I have found that some employees simply do not want to talk about personal things with co-workers and/or management, so having chaplains in our midst with multifaceted life experiences is very helpful to our employees who have vastly different needs and problems,” continued Kilpatrick.

Among the chaplains represented by Marketplace Chaplains, there are three West Point graduates, a former helicopter pilot, a former police detective, and a textile salesman.

“I try not to bring it up unless someone else mentions it, but I believe everything you do in life prepares you for something you will do in the future,” said Michigan Division Director Greg Duvall, who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and flew U.S. Army helicopters during combat missions in Somalia.

“I think my military experience is why I’m so fired up about how chaplains are able to connect with people, and that experience has really helped me bond with employees and their individual needs,” continued Duvall.

Duvall, oversees a large group of Marketplace Chaplains who serve client company Gordon Food Services large number of employees in Michigan.

“I had an employee tell me he had to be out because of a change of command for his National Guard unit and he wanted to share that with me. Because of my military training, I understood what a big deal that was for him.”

Anita Lundquist, Activities Director at Victoria Gardens, a senior living & care center client in Allen, Texas, said the three Marketplace Chaplains who serve her location all have different histories, differing experiences, and come on opposite days to serve her senior-aged clients.

“As a chaplain, you have to be able to relate to a lot of people, and it’s a huge benefit to have three unique chaplains with three different perspectives who can help so many people. When we have new people (clients) come to Victoria Gardens, it is the chaplains who are often times the first people they speak to because we want them to know they have someone who cares and is available to them,” added Lundquist.

Marketplace Chaplains’ President and COO Dick De Witt, an Air Force veteran himself, said, “It’s no surprise chaplains help so many.  We are filling a unique niche in the business and senior-living world by constantly caring for others with compassion, helping the hurting men and women of America’s workforce and the aging population.”