More than a dozen FordDirect team members and family participated with Ford Motor Co. by raising money for, running, or walking in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Detroit last Saturday. To date, the Ford team has raised more than $17,000.

Bring Your Child to Work Day was a rousing success today at FordDirect, with more than 100 kids visiting our office for a taste of life at FordDirect – not to mention the classic Bring Your Child lunch menu featuring kid-friendly chicken tenders and mac and cheese.

A group of FordDirect team members have started a bi-weekly acoustic jam session that meets every other Wednesday to share the love of music and learning.

The idea, says employee Andy Makar, stemmed from a January all-company meeting at which several team members mentioned their interest in playing music and experience playing guitar.

Congratulations to Sandra Moore, vice president, marketing, who has been named a Corporate Latina Executive of the Year – Honorable Mention by LATINA Style Inc. Sandra and fellow honorees will be recognized at the 21st LATINA Style 50 Awards and Diversity Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Feb. 21.

We’re excited to share that FordDirect has launched a new online Dealer Comment Box as part of FordDirect.com. This new tool is another avenue for our Dealers to provide feedback and suggestions.

FordDirect will use the Dealer Comment Box to generate ongoing feedback and complement other feedback processes we already have in place with the recognition that the importance of generating real-time and ongoing feedback is always first and foremost.

The FordDirect Cares charity committee is kicking off our annual holiday gift drive between now and Monday, Dec. 10, and gifts will support two worthy charities this year – one familiar and one new.

In 2017, we supported the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center’s “Adopt-A-Veteran” and we will continue our support in 2018. New this year is Vista Maria, one of Michigan’s largest private, nonprofit residential and community-based treatment agencies for youth suffering the effects of severe abuse, neglect and other traumas.

Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade will visit FordDirect on Thursday, Nov. 8 to speak on “Creating a Culture of Compliance.”

As first announced by CEO Dianne Craig at the Lincoln National Dealer Meeting in September, FordDirect is now providing Ford.com and Lincoln.com referrals generated through New Vehicle Marketing Service (NVMS) at no charge to Dealers. This change took place Oct. 1 and represents another major improvement in the way FordDirect offers important digital solutions to Ford and Lincoln Dealers. All Dealers have now been notified.

FordDirect Cares’ annual campaign to benefit the United Way and its partner charities will launch on Monday, Oct. 8 through Friday, Nov. 2, mirroring our Ford customer’s campaign in October. Through its research, best practices and powerful partnerships, the United Way ensures that our community’s children have access to meals, educational success, and early childhood resources.

With the theme of “Run, Read, Register to Give,” FordDirect team members have three ways to participate in the United Way campaign this year:

FordDirect and its team members have a strong tradition of charitable giving through the FordDirect Cares committee, having donated more than $75,000 to worthy causes over the last couple of years alone. Continuing this tradition, FordDirect Cares has announced it is hosting the second annual FordDirect Cares Charity Golf Outing on Thursday, Sept. 20 at 8 a.m. at Fox Hills in Plymouth, Mich.