Meet Your Neighbor… Frank Bressi

By DONNA NICKEL

Frank Bressi's a talker, but he's not comfortable talking about himself. Oh, he'll tell you all about his love of his wife and family, his city, and the company where he spent his career. He'll talk about his community service and business ideas, but he makes a point of mentioning and praising others involved with those projects. Frank was surprised and a bit hesitant when approached for this interview. He can thank his neighbor and friend Jan Kotila for recommending him as a Meet Your Neighbor subject. Our Town thanks Jan too because Frank's a neighbor worth knowing.
Frank was born in Canton and was raised by his father Sam, a steelworker and his mother Treesa, a homemaker. The defining moment of his life came at age 14 when a cousin introduced him to a 14-year-old North Canton girl named Linda. Both graduated from high school in 1967, he from Glenwood High School, and she from North Canton. They were married in 1970. “Linda's the love of my life, I really mean that,” Frank said. Linda was a familiar face at the North Canton YMCA where she spent 10 years as a secretary and also taught swimming.
The Bressis have lived in the same North Canton home for 32 years. The couple's son Shane and his wife Christy live in the Greentown area with their three daughters Alex, Bella and Sammi. Their daughter Tifni lives in Columbus with her daughters Jaime and Jesse. He counts spending time with his granddaughters and his pet chihuahuas as his favorite pastimes. .
After high school, Frank studied business at the University of Akron but quit two quarters shy of a degree. (Years later he completed his courses at Malone College and was awarded a BA in business administration.) “In 1970 the Hoover Co. was the only company that was hiring in the area. I thought I was stepping into a temporary job but I ended up staying there for 35 years.” He started as a fork truck driver and worked his way up to supervisor, foreman, general foreman, and spent his last five years with the Hoover Co. as director of LeanSigma. He retired in March 2005 but has recently been called back as a consultant.
Frank's father-in-law, brother-in-law, wife, son and other relatives have worked at the Hoover Co. and he has formed many lasting friendships with his co-workers. His ties with the company are emotional and he “feels sick” about the recent developments at the Hoover Co. “I'm devastated because I grew up with it and so did much of my family and friends. For 35 years, I worked to build it up, and along with everyone else there, made it the premier company it is. To see what's happened to it is heartbreaking. That's why when I'm asked to return as a consultant, I say, “of course” because I want to do all I can to make it look good to TII. I'd love to see some of the operations stay here, but who can say what will happen? It really hurts every time I walk past the place because it's like family to me.”
Frank wasn't one to take early retirement lying down. “I'm busier now than ever.” He and his wife run Mighty Wind Christian Outreach, a non-profit ministry out of their home. The Bressis and a couple from PA, Ottie and Ruthie Stratton started the ministry in 1990. “We collect clothing and food, offer financial counseling, help with paying bills, basically we help in any way we can. We help a lot of single mothers and others who seem to fall through the cracks. Here we are in North Canton, a pretty affluent area and some people might be surprised that there's a need in our area. But I can tell you, the need transcends all areas.”
It was a long ago crisis that led the Bressis to their ministry. “I was in the army reserves for six years and in 1971 we were stationed at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX and we had no money. Back in those days, the army paid about $110 month. We found we had to rely on help from friends and family.” At one point, the young couple turned to a local mission for help. “It left a lasting impression on us.”
The ministry's name came to the two couples while sitting on a porch overlooking the PA mountains. “We were thinking of names for the company when a huge wind came from up out of the woods. The name Mighty Wind just came to us. To us, the Mighty Wind is the Holy Spirit, so it has biblical significance and it's powerful. It described what we want to do, which is to blow into people's lives and influence them.”
The non-profit company keeps Frank plenty busy. “Drive by our house and on any given day you'll see piles of clothing on our porch that need sorted. It's a passion. I feel it's a calling from God.”
In his retirement, Frank has also fallen victim to the entrepreneurial bug. He is starting a business with his brother-in-law Gary Gaumer, another Hoover Co. employee called B & G Home Inventory.
The partners will conduct inventories of homes, making an asset inventory, taking video and still photos of all major assets, pulling and recording all serial and model numbers. They'll then put all the information on a disc and even store the disc in safe location. “Heaven forbid if something catastrophic would happen, but if it did, people would have a complete inventory to give to their insurance agency.” He said they are already working with a local insurance company to provide their service. “It's something everyone knows they should do, but people just don't take the time to do it themselves.”
As if that isn't enough, Frank and a friend plan to start another business selling oak and hickory furniture made by the Amish. After he gets the businesses off the ground, he'd like to get more involved in the community, perhaps with city government. “I love North Canton and I want to help out. I don't like to sit around.”