Goodwill SWFL Welcomes Three New Board Members

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Nov. 13, 2014 - PRLog -- Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Inc. (www.goodwillswfl.org) is pleased to announce that Juan D. Bendeck, Kevin B. Lewis, and Dr. John Meyer have joined the organization’s volunteer Board of Directors.

Bendeck is an attorney at Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP specializing in estate planning, estate administration, and asset protection planning.  He earned his J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law. Bendeck is a member of the Florida Gulf Coast University planned giving committee, chairman of the planned giving committee of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Humanities Council. A long-time Southwest Florida resident, Bendeck is also a former Gulfshore Business magazine “40 under 40” honoree.

Lewis is a recognized leader in behavioral healthcare and is Chief Executive Officer of SalusCare (previously Southwest Florida Addiction Services), where he has worked for more than two decades.  Lewis is president of the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, has previously served as president of the Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida, and is immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Fort Myers. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University (Mich.), and his Master of Social Work degree from Florida State University.

Dr. Meyer is the Dean of the School of Business and Technology at Florida SouthWestern State College. He has served in public and private education for more than 16 years, and also has more than 20 years of business and leadership experience.  He is an active researcher and author on the Workforce Now project, a regional research initiative to identify current and future talent requirements for our region.  Dr. Meyer holds a DBA in management from Argosy University and an MBA from Hodges University.

All three are enthusiastic about their new roles with one of Southwest Florida’s largest and most impactful nonprofits.

“I have a passion for seeing people reach their full potential,” Lewis says about becoming a member of Goodwill’s board.  “Goodwill has been a longtime component of this community. It’s easy to agree with a mission like Goodwill’s.”

Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Inc. (http://www.goodwillswfl.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves people with disabilities and disadvantages by offering life-changing opportunities to achieve independence.  In 2013, Goodwill provided vocational and social services to 37,000 Southwest Floridians in Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Hendry, and Glades counties, through programs and services such as Goodwill Job-Link centers, the Goodwill L.I.F.E. Academy charter school (http://www.goodwilllifeacademy.org), and affordable housing for people with disabilities.

For more information about Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, please visit the agency’s website: www.goodwillswfl.org.