Michigan mom, grandma got confidential job making face masks for Biden inauguration
DETROIT – Parker McFarlane watched in awe as his mom and grandma coordinated a team of printers who powered through 96 hours of production at the family's Plymouth, Mich., shop to meet a deadline for the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden.
"It's like you're doing this to help protect the president," McFarlane, an Albion College freshman, told his mom.
Becky Zbozen (pronounced Zuh-Bo-Zen), chief operating officer of Hatteras, Inc., told the Free Press, "It’s just been an honor that Ford has trusted us to make inauguration masks. We’re just honored."
The Ford-UAW team produced 15,000 custom-made masks with printed inaugural logos by Hatteras and donated to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) that will be used on Wednesday by those attending ceremonies.
"We only had a couple of days, working 24-hour shifts to get these printed, get them shipped to D.C., make it through security clearance and the Secret Service and triple checked," Zbozen said. "It’s just been an honor that Ford has trusted us to make inauguration masks. We’re just honored."
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She and her mother, company President Claudia Nesbitt, worked around-the-clock on face masks donated by Ford Motor Co. as part of the automaker's reinvestment in America as payback for government contract work during the coronavirus pandemic.
There's an emblem on one side with the name and the other side marked "59th inaugural ceremonies."
"We started at the very end of December, and it was confidential," Zbozen said.
Their company, founded by Nesbitt in 1977, has a long-standing relationship with Ford.
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Ford reached out to offer to help, as the company has done nationally in communities needing face masks for children and adults. There is no Ford logo or marking on the face masks made for the inauguration.
“As a storied American company that employs more autoworkers than any other manufacturer, it’s a huge honor for Ford to support a tradition so fundamental to our democracy," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. "We’ve been a leader in COVID mitigation efforts since April, and donating these masks only furthers our commitment to keep families and communities safe as we gather for this important moment in history.”
Angela Ayers, government policy initiatives manager at Ford, coordinated the effort.
"We asked how we could help," she said. "This is part of our continued commitment to help the country. These inaugural masks produced by Ford UAW workers will help keep both policymakers and those in the Capitol complex safe during the ceremony. We're grateful we can help in some small way."
The company donated an additional 4 million face masks to the presidential inauguration committee that were used by 500 different groups nationwide on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, said Dan Barbossa, Ford spokesman.
This latest effort is part of Ford's goal to donate 100 million masks by the end of 2021.
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"This is aligned with our mission of helping the country protect against the coronavirus," said Ayers, the great-granddaughter of a heat treating furnace maintenance worker who started at Ford in 1912 and spent 45 years at the company in Canada.
The face masks will be handed out as part of the COVID safety protocol prior to the ceremony, during the health and temperature screening, Ayers said. "Hopefully this is the last time anyone will have to wear a mask at an inauguration."
Trump, too
The same family printer worked with Ford to create special custom-designed face shields for PresidentDonald Trump.
Now her work will benefit a new administration.
Seeing the effort through her son's eyes has been inspiring, Zbozen said.
"There isn't an instruction manual showing how to navigate a business through this pandemic," she said. "Everyone is struggling. Everyone is trying to hang on. When you do have a project that stands out, it gives you a new jolt of energy. It's like you have a little part of history. It's like a breath of fresh air."
Her son is among thousands of Michigan students who saw both prom and graduation canceled because of COVID-19.
"It's very cool and very important to me that we're representing the U.S. and helping out the president," McFarlane said. "This is all just very special."
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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at 313-222-6512 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mother-daughter team in Mich. printed inauguration face masks