A little down the road from the Hiram Farm is their office, a two-story Victorian style home, that houses the day to day tasks of the farm’s staff and current director, David (Dave) Lundeen. He plans to retire in November of 2018.

The Hiram Farm is a learning community for autistic adults. In November of 2017, a new pole barn was added and they increased the number of farmers from 25 to 32 as of December 2017. They describe the expansion process to be slow in order to meet the needs of each individual farmer. That is what they are known for and that is what they will continue to do.

Many adults enter this program right after high school. Lundeen said that without a program like this in the community, many of these individuals would have nowhere to go.

Lundeen has been apart of the farm since 2015 when he was asked to come in as an interim director. His office is at the back of the house, just beyond the gallery of arts and crafts.

“Everything in here was made by one of our farmers” said Lundeen. “When it’s cold out they don’t have as much to do outside, so they work on projects that can be sold in our gallery.”

The wood shelves and cloth covered tables showcase ceramics, woven rugs and pot holders as well as wood workings with messages on them, including a few Cleveland Indians themed pieces, which happen to be Lundeen’s favorite team.

“They recieve help from our staff members, but it brings them much pride to complete these projects,” Lundeen says.

In order to complete the next steps of their expansion, the farm has applied for a grant from The Portage Foundation.

Previously, The Portage Foundation helped them build a new pole barn, which houses things like food and hay bails for the animals as well as ta pig. Hiram Farm has two steps left to complete in their capital plan which includes building another greenhouse and putting heat in the two greenhouses and the one hoop house. A hoop house is a greenhouse that is heated by the sun and cooled by the wind.

A new building, that would go next to the farm house, is in the planning stage and would help them reach their goal of working with 50 farmers and allow them to complete meaningful work.

Currently, the farm has a waiting list of 18 farmers, the largest it has ever been.

These people cannot join the farm until more space and staff are available. Once the new green house is completed they expect to be able to accommodate closer to 38 farmers. “Right now we're going to the Portage Foundation to help with those processes, they are very helpful. We look at them as a partner,” Lundeen said.

Linda Fergason, the director of the Portage Foundation, visited the farm for the first time roughly four years ago, when she began with the foundation.

“It was a wonderful experience, you can read about something on paper and learn about it, but it truly doesn’t compare to seeing the real thing in person,” Fergason said.

Fergason attended a luncheon, convened by Lundeen, that included several community leaders.

“It was a kind of, ‘think tank’ for everyone to look at some of the challenges faced by a non-profit organization. A way for everyone to come up with more ways to have a more broad reach, raise more money and of course to take care of the mission of an organization such as Hiram Farm.”

Lundeen entered his role at the farm, as the Associate Executive Director, Missy Bookbinder put it, at a time of chaos. “I think it's the best way to describe it, was that there was someone in a leadership position that wasn't suited well for this environment, for this job, for the demands of the job,that created an environment that wasn't good to be in. Everyone was scared, no one knew what was going to happen,” Bookbinder said.

Previously to coming to Hiram Farm, Lundeen worked for a National Organization call the National Benevolent Association (NBA).

Prior to Lundeen’s time with the NBA, for 19 years, he worked with The Cleveland Christian Home and Adolescent Treatment Center. He also spent a couple of years running an adult mental health center.

In the beginning, staff members shared many concerns over their job status, causing them to ask questions such as, “I have kids, am I going to be able to buy groceries at the end of this week? What is really going on here?”

Originally, the board asked Lundeen to help get the current executive director to more stable place with the farm, but it wasn’t working. The board then asked Lundeen to step in temporarily.

“Dave came in and was very straightforward and honest with everyone. He worked really hard, especially at the beginning to get everyone to calm down, because they were working with chaos and not sure if they would have a job tomorrow,” Bookbinder said.

Bookbinder was amazed at Lundeen’s impact on the staff and farmers. The farmers had no idea what was going on. Dave created an environment that allowed staff to go home decompress, and come back the next day without the farmers feeling the frantic nature of what was actually happening.

“I'm a person who cannot work without a vision,” Lundeen said.

The first step for Lundeen to make his vision come to life, so to speak, was to create a vision board. He made it a very collaborative process with the staff. The vision board is a three-year plan, that changes and grows at the end of each year. This way everyone knows where they are as a team and it motivates them to know if they are on track or not.

Lundeen was not oblivious to the situation he entered when the board brought him in to help the farm. He could feel the tension and the chaos but more importantly, for him, he noticed the passion from the staff. When things felt as if they were falling apart, they didn’t leave, they stayed with the farm and saw it through.

Lundeen takes every project one step at a time, piece by piece in order to stay calm and organized. “I don't expect the chaos to change overnight but I expect to bring something to the table that people can support,” Lundeen said.

Lundeen noticed real changes happening around the three month mark, financial issues were being resolved and the farm’s cash flow was operating properly.

Lundeen has spent his entire adult life in social work. He has a masters in social work and in business administration.

Bookbinder said that Lundeen jumped in very quickly, he got his feet wet right away, and that he had a calming effect on those around him. The staff became comfortable with the fact that Lundeen was there and they could count on his honesty and forthcoming nature.

“Sorry I'm getting emotional he's retiring soon,” Bookbinder said as she held back tears. “He's kind and caring and really has been a mentor to everyone. He's worked well with every single person.”

Dave’s years of experience keeps him on his toes, and as Bookbinder can attest, not much throws him off his feet.

“On his first day, at the farm, someone threw their boot and it hit Dave in the back of his head and he just kind of fixed his hair and continued on the tour as if nothing had ever happened.”

Bookbinder says, that he takes everything in and is calm when deciding what the solution is. Specifically with getting the organization back to a comfortable financial situation, finding grants to help support their mission and rebuilding the farm name.

Many people in the community were asking questions as to determine the farm’s status, Lundeen allowed for those kinds of questions to be answered. The farm was staying open and not only were they operating sufficiently, they were growing.

“I had been to the farm before when I was the head of the mental health agency, to see if we could replicate it in the city somehow. I also knew the board president at the time through working at the church and various other organizations,” Lundeed said. “I got a call about three years ago asking if I would come and consult with the board on some issues after looking at it and talking to the facility director it was decided that I should come on and be an interim director and then I decided to stay on being and be the executive director.”

Lundeen will have been apart of the farm as of August 2018 with plans to officially retire in November, unless they find his replacement prior.

Lundeen spends his days overseeing the farm operation, working with the board to make sure they are financially viable and working with the staff. He loves the program because of the interaction he gets with the farmers. He finds that because of the smaller size of the organization he doesn’t have to worry about things as much.

“I love the farmers and what this program does, it's just fun, it's not a large agency like I was used to, I don't have to worry a lot, I have my office back here so I can see the farmers everyday going back and forth,” Lundeen said.

The farm accommodates a large range of autistic adults with varying functional abilities. They have had farmers with anger issues, one in particular would throw things, whatever was available to him including lawn mowers. Over time he learned to walk around the pasture when he felt anger. He would go throw rocks in the field to allow him to work out his frustration. Now he is very productive, his parents credit the farm to saving his life and making him a much happier person.

There's a farmer that's very anxious, very communicative, I have fun with him, he's able to do work that would pay him a minimum wage job, but he also loves to stand around and talk and that’s a part of his anxiety,” Lundeen said. “So, I’ll walk up to him and ask him what would you be doing if you weren’t talking and we’ll laugh and he will go back to work. He’s a big sports fan so we'll have lots of conversations about that during breaks and before he clocks, out so there's that kind of relationship with two or three of the farmers that are higher functioning but not able to really hold jobs in the community because of their anxiety.”

Another farmer that Lundeen has watched over the years needs to be challenged. He would love to just sit on the sidelines all day and throw wood chips, but this doesn’t help him develop. They try to get him up and moving as much as possible. He can ride the adult size tricycle back and forth from the farm to the farm house where Lundeen can see him from his office. When he stays busy his happiness is much more apparent.

Lundeen works with all aspects of the farm, everything from the farmers themselves to the staff members and their daily tasks.

He doesn’t take things personally when it comes to work, and makes sure that the staff know this, in order to maintain a level of respect between each other while working. He is comfortable sitting down and addressing what doesn’t work in any aspect.

Bookbinder finds that it's much more productive to be able to go to her boss and ask for help. He won’t just tell you how to fix it, he will ask questions like, “what do you need to move forward?” and then follow up and say, “How are you doing today? Let me know what you need.” He’s that type of person to everyone on the farm. It's been amazing to be around him and see what he does and how he does it with everyone. He's a great person and a great boss to work for, Bookbinder said.

Lundeen is known by the staff for more than his work ethic. They find his sense of humor to come in at the best times. Bookbinder thinks he is hilarious, he is such calm guy, that often he will catch you by surprise, and you will have to ask yourself, “Did he really just say that?”

Because of Lundeen’s lifelong connections, the farm was able to become an extension of his impeccable reputation in the best way possible. He also traveled the country working with various congregations trying to help them startup ministries before retiring, the first time around.

Lundeen is always pushing people to reach new goals. “It can be exhausting at times, I'll find myself thinking, ‘Hey, Dave give me a break, I need a second to breathe!’ But at the same time it helps keep us moving forward as opposed to treading water.”

Lundeen stays honest with himself in all aspects that he can. One of the reasons he left his job after 19 years, was that he felt he was no longer doing his job to the best of his ability anymore. He felt burned out. After deciding it was time for him to leave, he started his first round of retirement, not realizing how short lived it would actually be.

“It was interesting because my board wasn't happy that I was leaving but I had set up for someone to replace me so there would be good people in place, so that it wouldn't be such a major loss. I do a good job at firing myself. I don't want to work where I feel like I'm not contributing or where I don't feel like I make a difference. I was happy in retirement,” Lundeen said.

Lundeen marks this as a personal loss, in his career. Leaving this job and closing this agency, made him feel that he wasn’t doing his due diligence.

After just barely dipping his toe in the retirement pool, Lundeen realized he enjoyed a challenge and coming to the farm was just that for him. While he doesn’t enjoy the day to day tasks he knows he could handle them. The challenge of fixing things and putting the puzzle pieces back together is what brings him the most joy.

“I have announced my retirement for November it's not that I don't feel like I'm doing my job, it's become more health-related than anything, Lundeen said.

Lundeen knows that if he stayed on part time he could keep the program afloat, but the farm needs someone full time in order to get where they want to go, having someone full time is necessary.

Lundeen is a permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church and has already made arrangements to do some part time work. “I'm 70-years-old, I get to retire sometime. I don't know if i’ll like it though.”