SAGINAW, MICH. (October 18, 2012) – “As we get ready to celebrate our 150thanniversary next year, this reunion is a wonderful thing.”
So said Louis J. Furlo, Sr. earlier this month, as nearly 100 former employees of Saginaw’s Morley Brothers corporation and their spouses gathered for the 42ndAnnual Mor-Girls and 15th Annual Mor-Gang Reunion.
Furlo, Chairman of the Board of Saginaw Township’s Morley Companies Inc. and one-time President of Morley Brothers, said attendees came from all around the country to have lunch, listen to a speaker, reminisce and share news.
“These are faithful people who loved working for Morley Brothers and who love being together again,” said Furlo.
Earl Begg, a Morley Brothers and Morley Companies retiree who helps coordinate the annual reunion, agreed.
“It’s a good feeling to see everyone and how everybody still cares about each other,” he said.
Reflecting on the fact that some attendees worked for the company as long ago as the 1950s, “Not many businesses would still have such a loyal group,” he added.
Women who previously worked for Morley Brothers, the Mor-Girls, had already been meeting for 12 years when Furlo purchased Morley Incentives in 1982. In 1997, former male employees joined the reunion, calling themselves the Mor-Gang.
By that time, Morley Incentives had evolved into Morley Companies, Inc., consolidating its businesses – Group Travel, Interactive, Research, Performance Improvement, Business Theater, and Exhibits, Displays & Experiences – into one entity.
The Morley of today is still growing. Beginning as a Saginaw hardware business in 1863, it’s presently in the process of occupying the 229,000-square foot AT&T office complex at 4075 Bay Road. This building joins its 200,000-square foot Schust Road campus. Morley also continues to regularly add to its workforce of over 1,500 associates.
“Lately they’ve been growing like gangbusters,” Begg said. “It was and still is a good company to work for.”
“Morley helps bring growth to Saginaw Township and the region in terms of jobs, tax revenues and a vibrant local business community,” said Saginaw Township Assistant Director of Community Development Bridget Smith. “We are thrilled with their success.”
According to Furlo, so are the members of the Mor-Girls and Mor-Gang.
“They have a lot of respect and want to know everything about what we’re doing,” he said. “They’re very, very proud of the last remaining remnant of their company and the progress of Morley Companies.”
About Morley
Morley’s product offerings include group travel; business theater; business process outsourcing (BPO); market and clinical research; exhibits, displays and experiences; and performance improvement programs.
Founded in 1863 in Saginaw, Michigan, today Morley operates from over 400,000 square feet of buildings on its 25-acre campuses in Saginaw. Morley also maintains sales offices in Detroit, Los Angeles and the greater New York area, and has partners in Dubai, Lebanon, Mexico, Switzerland, Brazil, Singapore and the Pacific Rim. It employs over 1,500 associates who serve a diverse group of Fortune 500 clients, operating programs throughout the world.