This last installment of the Saturday Six Pack was really good. And I think I’d say that even if it wasn’t my show. It was interesting and topical, challenging and funny. There was just a lot to like about it. We talked with an inspiring ex-felon, a fiery union organizer, and a local man whose deep religious conviction led him back to Ypsilanti to open an aggressively community-fucsed coffee shop. Among other things, we discussed recidivism, the commercialism of higher education, and sustainable business practices. We talked about ethics and the desire to build things that we can be proud of, things that can make our communities stronger. I don’t know that it’s always the case, but this is the kind of episode that, for me, demonstrates what community radio can be.

Here, for those of you who won’t just scroll down and listen to the whole episode, are just a few of the highlights.

After kicking things off with an awesome new intro song by our recent guest Frank Allison, we jumped right into the thick of things with Paul Hickman and Calvin Evans from Urban Ashes, an Ann Arbor-based producer of hand-made photo frames and custom-made furniture built from urban salvaged wood.

We talked with Hickman [pictured below], the founder of the company, about the path that brought him to Michigan, and the circumstance that led to the launch Urban Ashes. We talked about how, after burning out from years in the fast-paced world of themed-environment construction in Las Vegas, he’d relocated to Berkeley to take a job at EcoTimber, where he learned everything there is to know about the then nascent field of sustainable building materials… an education that would serve him well several years later, when he’d move to Michigan just as the devastation of the Emerald Ash Borer was becoming apparent. And that’s when the idea for Urban Ashes started to take shape, as Hickman began to consider alternate uses for the ash trees that were being cut down and either burned or turned into mulch to deter the spread of the virulent pest. With a considerable amount of work, a network of mills was formed, a product line was developed, and a local urban salvaged wood industry was born. According to Hickman, it occurred to him fairly early on in the process, though, that just doing that wouldn’t be enough. He didn’t want to just build a green manufacturing company around the creative reuse of trees that would otherwise just be destroyed… he wanted to do it with a team of people who needed a second chance in life, like ex-felons.

Urban Ashes picture frames are now available in 220 locations across 42 states, and the company is growing. Currently there are six employees in the company, and they’re preparing to hire four more. They’re also expanding beyond picture frames, into furniture and in-store display units for businesses in the retail and hospitality industries. And they’ve expanded beyond just harvested ask trees, working with all kinds of repurposed wood.

Key to this growth, as noted before, is Urban Ashes’ dedication to hiring from the ex-fellon labor pool. And that’s what much of our conversation during this episode of the Saturday Six Pack centered around. [Presently, three of the company’s six employees are ex-felons.]

Urban Ashes Human Relations and Operations Manager Calvin Evans, who joined the company after serving 24 years in prison, explained in detail what he and Hickman were hoping to build. Not only do they want to expand their own hiring of ex-felons, according to Evans, and construct programs to support them in their successful transition back into life outside of prison, but they want to provide the infrastructure so that other interested companies might participate as well. Both Evans and Hickman paint a picture of a facility were, in the future, companies in a number of different sectors could join together to train and support people reentering the workforce from prison. [They’re already beginning to build this infrastructure at their facility by Ann Arbor’s airport.]

Evans [seen above] says he wants to lead by example and demonstrate to other former prisoners that they, like him, can accomplish anything they set their minds to it.

We talked for over an hour. We talked about the diminishing educational opportunities in prison. We talked about the problems people encounter on the outside, after being released from prison. We talked about the circumstances that led Evans went to prison, and how he made his mind up early on that he wanted to build something upon his release that would help other ex-felons. We talked about how prisoners are taken advantage of by companies who pay them pennies an hour for their work while behind bars. And we discussed the need to provide young people with “a meaningful alternative to selling drugs” and an appreciation for the importance of not just having money in the short term, but creating generational success. We talked about the peer-to-peer mentoring programs Evans set up in prison, and what it’s been like for him going back into Michigan’s prison system now, as a motivational speaker. [Trust me. You should listen.]

[If you would like to listen to episode thirty-one of The Saturday Six Pack, you can either download it from iTunes or scroll the bottom of the page, where you’ll find the Soundcloud file embedded.]

At the 51-minute mark, after saying goodbye to Evans and Hickman, we played a song by our friend our friend Peter Larson. [This week’s contribution was a cover of a song that he’d written for us a few weeks ago, performed by Pete and a friend in Kenya.]

Then, at the 55-mintute mark, we invited in Judith Kullberg from the EMU Faculty Senate and Howard Bunsis from the EMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to discuss the controversial Eastern Michigan University presidential search, which is being done behind closed doors, without any input whatsoever from the university community. We talked about the concept of “shared governance” in higher education, and how, according to EMU’s own policies, the regents are supposed to actively confer with the broader university community when making decisions like this. In spite of this, however, it would seem that Eastern’s regents have no intention to even bring their finalists onto campus to meet with he university community before making their decision, as has long been the tradition.

As Kullberg makes clear, this isn’t something that’s just happening at EMU. We’re seeing an increasing loss of public control over institutions across America, she says. “The corporate elite,” says Kullberg, “is finding ways to keep the people out of the process.” They’re systematically decreasing transparency and finding new ways to silence dissent. And that, she and Bunsis argue, is essentially what’s happening at EMU. And this isn’t terribly surprising, given the present makeup of the university’s Board of Regents, who are all political appointees. Seven of EMU’s eight current regents were placed in office by Republican governors, and most of them come from the corporate world… “If we look at the kinds of decisions that the regents have been making,” says Xullberg, “they definitely have a view of the university as a large company.”

Bunsis is clear that the faculty union, which he represents, isn’t asking for the power to choose their next president. He knows it’s ultimately the job of the regents to make that decision. According to him, however, he feels as though a better decision would be made if the regents consulted with those who, like him, are closer to the mission of the university, which is teaching students. He doesn’t care, he says, if they bring in a non-academic to be their next president. “All we want is a voice in the process and a seat at the table,” he says… an opportunity meet with the finalists and talk with them about the unique challenges and opportunities that EMU faces.

Again, I’d just encourage you to listen. We talked quite a bit about the search firm contacting the EMU presidential search [Parker Executive Search], the recent scandals they’ve been involved in, and their role in all of this. [Among other thins, Parker Executive Search helped place a corporate executive in the office of president at the University of Iowa, over the warnings of faculty, only to have it come out later that he had falsified several items his resume.]

Here are Kullberg and Bunsis talking with me about the possibility that someone truly horrific, like former Speaker of the House John Boehner, could be named their next president.

Then, at the 1:22-mark, Billy Kangas, the Director of Coffee and Cause at Ypsilanti’s Cultivate Coffee and Tap House, came in to talk about everything from the relationship between Cultivate and Ann Arbor’s Grace Church, to his personal motivations for wanting to create a safe, welcoming space for the people of Ypsilanti, regardless of their religious belief. We talked about the overlapping vocations of bartender, barista and pastor, and how he sees his role within the community. Among other things, we talked about how he and his partner came to start Cultivate, their dedication to fighting hunger, and their promise to pay employees a living wage… So, if you’ve wondered about the backstory of that beautiful little garage-turned-coffeeshop in Depot Town, we’ve got your answers.

Thanks, as always, to AM 1700 for hosting the show, Kate de Fuccio for documenting everything with her camera, and Brian Robb for running the board, making sure the bills paid, and insuring that the toilet paper stays stocked.

If you like this episode, check out our archive of past shows at iTunes. And do please leave a review if you have the time, OK? It’s nice to know that people are listening, and, unless you call in, that’s pretty much the only way we know.

Now, if you haven’t already, please listen for yourself, and experience the magic firsthand.