"...if you say, "yes," good things happen." 

And that is exactly what Roland of TMCO did over 5 years ago when he was asked to fill a vacant Junior Achievement volunteer position serving St. Teresa School.  Roland is not a parent of a St. Teresa School student, nor is he a parishioner or even an alumnus.   What he is, is a member and leader of the Lincoln community who says "yes," begins everything with a relationship and gives the glory to God.  

When he first came to teach Junior Achievement at St. Teresa School he met Mrs. Sullivan and saw how engaged she was and in turn how engaged her 4th grade class was. "When you have a great teacher, an engaged teacher, you have engaged students." He shared that what he experiences at St. Teresa School is unique from what he has seen elsewhere. "St. Teresa School is a gem."

That relationship with Mrs. Sullivan and her 4th grade class was the beginning in his investment into St. Teresa School.  As the founder of TMCO, a growing manufacturing company that started from almost nothing back in 1974 and is now a thriving, innovating, manufacturing company of over 200 employees, Roland has a wealth of business knowledge and experience that would impress.  What is more impressive is to see how sincere his commitment is to giving back to the success he's been given which is an outpouring to the Lincoln community and St. Teresa School. 

Mr. Temme has provided many immigrants the opportunity to build a life in Lincoln with meaningful employment, along with crucial support for the personal struggles that come with a new country and culture.  He has even invited some of his employees to join him and share their stories with the Junior Achievement class providing a powerful testimony of true Christian generosity and human dignity lived in the secular business world.  Each year, the capstone to the Junior Achievement class is a tour of TMCO where students see what they have learned in "real life," including again meeting the immigrant employee they met in class on the job at the company. 

Beautiful installations of TMCO work can be seen and even sat on at St. Teresa School including benches ad the laser cut St. Teresa School logo at the front of the building and when asked about it, Roland takes no credit but gives it to God and simply shares that,  "In all cases it is a blessing to me."  God definitely has blessed him and given him the gift to inspire. Roland's example of saying "yes"  and trusting God to provide the blessings is an inspiration to The Thrive Initiative.  Here is a piece of inspiring wisdom he shared from a TMCO team update that applies in business and our THRIVE Initiative:

"Dream Big" 

  1. A business idea is like a "seed".  It's an idea that needs to be tried.
  2. Plant it!  Nothing happens unless the seed is planted.
  3. Feed it!  Nothing grows unless it is taken care of (work hard at it).
  4. Love what you do!  Unless you love your work--you cannot work hard at it.
  5. Share your success!  Perhaps the most important.

The St. Teresa School community thanks Roland and TMCO for their generous support and inspiration!