Mike Kozel has worn many hats through the years – family man, successful businessman, and serial volunteer.
For as long as anyone can remember, Kozel, 66, of Canton, has been taking on projects – large and small – for the betterment of others or the community.
Maybe it started when he sold candy to raise money as a Boy Scout. Or maybe it was when he volunteered at a school for special needs children as president of his high school’s chapter of the National Honor Society.
“You’re helping other people, and you feel good about it,” said Kozel, a Chicago native who moved to the Atlanta area in 1998.
Kozel, a married father of two with five grandchildren, put himself through college, attending classes one semester and working at John Deere the next.
“It took an extra year, but it helped pave the way,” he said.
Kozel received a degree in industrial engineering from Brady University in Peoria, Illinois, and then spent 11 more years with John Deere, best-known as a manufacturer of agricultural and turf equipment. By that time, he was tired of small-town living and moved to a suburb of Chicago.
Senior positions in high-tech followed with IBM, NCR and others. Some of those jobs required skills in leadership and sales, which Kozel put to good use as his charitable work evolved from coaching for his children’s sports teams to fundraising for worthy causes with organizations such as United Way and Junior Achievement.
For instance, IBM exceeded its United Way goal in two months under Kozel’s direction.
In his work with Junior Achievement, he mentored the president of a company JA formed to help students with a desire to learn various aspects of building and running a manufacturing business.
“Helping develop teenagers and show them a solid path forward is very rewarding,” Kozel said.
But his longest and most financially fruitful volunteer effort has been on behalf of TurningPoint, a nonprofit offering rehabilitative services and therapies to breast cancer patients, regardless of their ability to pay.
Kozel’s involvement with Alpharetta-based TurningPoint started more than a decade ago. His daughter-in-law was in physical therapy school and doing an internship with TurningPoint. As part of the internship, she was expected to do some fundraising for the nonprofit.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“She approached me and said: “Hey Mike, what can we do?” Kozel said.
He is heavily involved at Echelon Golf Club in Alpharetta as a player and president of the Men’s Golf Association, so naturally, he suggested a fundraising golf tournament.
Since it was going to be held around Christmas, Kozel suggested it do double fundraising duty. Each participant is expected to bring a new toy for Toys for Tots, and the money raised from players’ entry fees goes to TurningPoint.
After that first tournament, Kozel was able to present a check for about $1,000 to TurningPoint founder Jill Binkley.
“You would have thought I gave her a million dollars,” he said. “She just cried and cried.”
The golf tournament, now in its 15th year, raised $70,000 last year for TurningPoint, about $400,000 since its inception, Kozel said.
He sits on TurningPoint’s board of directors and is slated to become its chairman next year.
“Volunteering for nonprofits has always been a way of life for me,” he said.
Kozel retired from the work world in August of 2021. He recently took over as president of the homeowners association at Red Gate, the community where he lives in Canton.
Former board member Dee Bland helped recruited Kozel for the HOA board.
“He’s the real deal, and he knows how to get things done,” she said.
Kozel considers himself a blessed husband, father and grandfather.
“Family first,” he said. “Golf is a close second.”
MORE DETAILS
Key to volunteering for a nonprofit
“Believe in the cause and give your all to grow and make the people successful. Their success will drive the success of the nonprofit.” — Mike Kozel
About the Author
