By Mark Ambrogi
Zeke Turner is a firm believer in EDGE Mentoring CEO Dave Neff’s objectives.
Carmel-based Mainstreet served as the EDGE|X sponsor. A sold-out crowd of 1,500 attended the leadership conference at Grace Church in Noblesville. Turner said Mainstreet, the nation’s largest developer of healthcare transitional properties, has sponsored a few other EDGE events and has had employees become part of the mentoring program.
“They’ve had a great experience, because what you get are people who have done well in different areas of life, who want to give back and speak to younger people,” Turner said. “For a lot of young people, and I was this way, you want to grow and develop, but you don’t know where to go to get advice. This gives a structured environment where people can go for advice. Hopefully they pay that back later in their lives.”
Turner, a Carmel resident, was one of six speakers in the conference, which had CBS basketball analyst and former Indiana Pacers player Clark Kellogg as the emcee. Grace senior pastor Dave Rodriguez also was one of the speakers.
“Mainstreet’s mission is to transform lives. So, for us, it’s not just the work we do but it’s also the way we impact others and hopefully inspire them to be better,” Turner said. “Here we have a chance to speak to people, most of them younger, and actually give them a sense of what could be instead of what is and inspiring hope.”
Many of the speakers talked about their Christian faith guiding the way they lead. Turner said there was good material being shared.
“I hope people take this, are able to learn something, and go back to their organization and apply,” he said.
Turner, 39, spoke about creating a culture of excellence. He spoke how his company has a no-gossiping rule and discourages negativity.
“Culture starts with us and us acting and behaving in a certain way,” he said. “As we do that, that culture gets better. That allows us to recruit more people. There is a compounding effect that happens in organizations. It takes awhile. We’ve been so fortunate at Mainstreet to have that exist. I want other organizations to have that, too.”
Jessica Honegger’s message was to lead with a vision. She is the founder of Noonday Collection, which uses fashion to create meaningful opportunity to others.
