Johns Manville STARS Celebrates Volunteers with Ice Cream Sandwiches Made by Fellow Employees

How cool is that?

When JM STARS (Striving to Assist, Respond and Serve) leaders planned a celebration of program volunteerism recently at Johns Manville Technical Center (JMTC) in Littleton, Colorado, they didn’t have to look far to find the perfect treat to say thank you.

Johns Manville (JM) Lead Network Engineer Joe Cruz and former JM employee Hunter Hedden had the scoop: The pair owns and operates Press, a gourmet ice cream sandwich truck.

“Having worked with Joe for years, I was thrilled to discover his ice cream sandwich food truck,” said Samantha Petersen, Desktop Analyst, who serves as JM STARS vice-chairperson. “It felt like the perfect addition to the event, and I couldn’t wait to share it with everyone.”

The event was the second in a pair seeking to thank Johns Manville employees for participating in volunteer events organized and led by JM STARS over the past year. The first was held at JM world headquarters in Denver.

JM STARS is an employee-led board that seeks out and identifies causes that align with employee passions to create volunteer engagement opportunities for JM employees, their families and friends. Currently, JM STARS supports about 20 projects, each championed by a JM employee.

Volunteerism is included in JM’s sustainability goals because we want to deliver a positive JM Experience where we live and work. While some companies focus community investment activities on one issue or organization, JM’s focus is on our employees.

JM’s community investment program is employee-driven, meaning we want to support the causes and programs our employees care about. We encourage JM employees to give back to their communities by donating their time and resources to issues and programs close to their own hearts.

Cruz and Hedden, too, were excited to share their idea with JMers. The friends launched their food truck business in September 2023, after coming up with the idea while on a work trip to Fruita, Colorado, a few months
earlier.

The pair made sure to honor JM’s role in the generation of their side gig.

“We chose (our brand and logo) color because it’s JM blue,” Cruz said.

JM employees lined up in the grass outside JMTC to choose from a variety of cookies, waffles and soft pretzels to sandwich an array of ice cream flavors.

“I love the idea of JM supporting JM employees, embodying our core values,” Samantha said. “It seemed fellow JM employees loved the idea too, with over 100 attendees joining in on the fun.”

While enjoying the treat, employees played bocce ball, cornhole, Connect Four, Sorry and Jenga, much to the delight of onlookers. Meanwhile, some attendees went back for seconds on the sandwiches.

To learn more about Press Ice Cream Sandwiches, visit their website.