In a video clip from CNN, Erin Brunett reported on a church that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. While watching the video, I couldn’t help but notice Screenflex panels spread throughout the church—in case you don’t already know, Screenflex manufactures portable room dividers, often used in churches and schools to help them better manage their facilities. I decided to reach out to the President of Screenflex, John Maas, to inquire how they were helping the church during the aftermath of the hurricane.
When he learned of the damage, John didn't go to anyone else; he knew he was going to take care of these people. John made a phone call to Congressman Gregory Meeks’ office in Washington DC. Gregory Meeks’ office directed him to the pastor of the church, who was still dealing with the day-to-day frustration of the storm’s aftermath. The pastor spoke about all the water they were dealing with and how many in the local community were bringing them food. The church was quite old, with the lower level being essential as it was utilized in their daycare operation. This area was for children—from the CNN video, you could see little cubbies and plastic containers.
John and the pastor spoke about how, in situations like this, you really appreciate the way people come together. When you are doing good things for others, it can often circle back to you in miraculous ways. John assured the pastor, “I know you’re not asking for anything from us, but you are going to get up and rolling. Screenflex has the church's order already in the computer.” The pastor repeated the number back to him, desperately in need of Screenflex's products. John assured the pastor that their order would be 100% taken care of. The church has been a Screenflex customer since 1999.
John was one of the developers of the Screenflex product and built this family company. He was so excited to see his product in this church—a place that gives back to the community—that he simply couldn’t help but reach out to them. John is proud that his small business was able to help those in need from the storm.
John's father was an architect who had worked on over 300 churches. When John finished his schooling, he wanted to go into construction. One of John's father’s partners at the architecture firm went to work in a Lutheran church group. The way a Lutheran church group is established is by first building a small facility, which is then slowly built into a multipurpose building until the congregation grows large enough to build it into a sanctuary. The idea is to take baby steps. The multipurpose room—a large open space—is used for bingo classes, a wedding reception, or whatever else the community needs. When John and his father had spare time, they started messing around with this idea of a folding system to divide the space into separate rooms. They began developing the early stages of the Screenflex product out of their garage and sharing it with other church groups. Before long, they had plenty of investors and the team moved to full-scale manufacturing of their room dividers.
What started with humble beginnings in a small Lutheran church group is now a multi-million dollar success story. Today, John could not be happier to give back to the church community.
Please follow Business Insider on Twitter and Facebook.