'He gets everybody committed to community service'; Sleeper is Isaiah Thomas Award winner.

AuthorEckelbecker, Lisa
PositionLocal

Byline: Lisa Eckelbecker

WORCESTER -- Business is personal for Michael D. Sleeper.

Big corporations get treated like partners in his family business, and individuals from humble backgrounds get a place in the company fold, Mr. Sleeper's friends and acquaintances say. The chairman and chief executive of Imperial Distributors Inc. also uses something personal, community service, to shape the culture of his business.

"He gets his team so excited. He's a multiplier of a thousand,'' said Christopher J. Crowley, executive vice president of Polar Beverages of Worcester, a friend who has traveled on business trips with Mr. Sleeper. "He gets everybody committed to community service.''

For his efforts, Mr. Sleeper has been chosen to receive the Isaiah Thomas Award for service to the community.

The award is one of five Visions Community Awards that the Telegram & Gazette will present during a 4:30 p.m. ceremony Monday at Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St. Gov. Charlie Baker is the keynote speaker, and the event is free and open to the public.

The Isaiah Thomas Award is given to a Central Massachusetts resident who has made outstanding contributions to society, especially over a period of time. It was created in 1950 by the AdClub of Greater Worcester and incorporated into the Visions program in 1999.

Other Visions Community Awards are for young leader, public service, academic achievement and cultural enrichment.

Mr. Sleeper, 72, and a resident of Worcester, is known as a person devoted to Worcester, and he uses similar terms to describe his own activities in the community.

"I think some of it has to do with my love for Worcester,'' Mr. Sleeper said during an interview in his Worcester office. "I talk about it being beautiful Worcester. I never say Worcester. I say beautiful Worcester. It's kind of a bit of a joke, but in a way, it's not a joke, because that's kind of the way I think about it.''

Born in Worcester to Frank and Ethel Sleeper, Mr. Sleeper grew up with the business his father created in 1939. Frank Sleeper started by assembling and selling first aid kits door to door, but decided he could display and sell more health, beauty and household goods with a display cabinet in grocery stores. He persuaded one store to take on the merchandise. More stores followed.

As a teenager, Mr. Sleeper worked after school in one of his father's warehouses. When he got a driver's license, he started delivering goods to stores.

A graduate of Worcester public...

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