After 10 years of exceptional contributions to the town of Guilderland, last week marked the end of Jane Schramm’s term as executive director of the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce. As of Monday, July 16, Schramm has been the executive director of Senior Services of Albany.
Schramm, who fellow board members and friends consider to be the heart and soul of the GCC, began with the organization when it was in a small office space near Stuyvesant Plaza, with only a few members.
Now a thriving organization with more than 600 members, many believe Schramm’s motivation and creativity have molded the GCC into a major outlet for the local community and business professionals. Through her hard work and dedication, she has inspired others to want to do positive things for the community.
She’s the reason that I’m as involved as I am, said Linda Singer, a member of the GCC board of directors, co-owner of Singer’s Jewelers, and president of Liza’s Legacy, a local nonprofit organization that helps victims of domestic abuse.
`I’ve learned the most from her than any individual. She’s dynamic, she’s dedicated,` Singer said.
Schramm, who is 46, and the mother of two young daughters, said she will miss working with her fellow board members and volunteers the most.
`This is my last week, and it’s very bittersweet because I’ve loved working here,` she said. `I’ve enjoyed so much having wonderful people working with me.`
Schramm, a proud Guilderland resident, has lived in the Albany area for about 20 years. She has experience in a few different fields and has held a variety of jobs that have led her to where she is today.
Originally from Wisconsin, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin, where she studied occupational therapy and movement and music therapy. While she enjoyed what she studied because of the psychological aspects and working with physically challenged people, Schramm also had experience working in government, since she worked for a legislator after she graduated from college.
She relocated to the Capital District because her husband, whom she had met in college, decided the job market in his field looked a lot more promising here. Not wanting to come to the area without securing a job first, Schramm began to think about what career opportunities would be available for her.
As a kid, she had been athletic and very involved with her local YMCA, and decided to take her first job in Albany at the downtown YMCA as an aquatics instructor. She enjoyed the job and thought it was a great fit, but was soon ready for the next challenge. When a change in staff occurred, she was able to take on a position as marketing director of the Albany YMCA. The job became an opportunity to do more organizational things and be more involved with the local community. Eventually, her networking abilities once again led her to another job as the city ombudsman, or director for volunteer services and community service in Albany under Mayor Gerald Jennings. Though the division no longer exists, for two years, Schramm worked with the city offices and 4,000 volunteers to handle community service related complaints from constituents.
A few years later, while living in Guilderland, Schramm found out about an open position at the chamber of commerce through a friend. Happily married with no children, she felt it was a time in her personal life and career that she was most prepared to take on the responsibility.
`I thought I’d give it a shot and see if we had a match, ` she said. `They decided to take a chance on me, and I decided to take a chance on it, and we’ve been happy ever since.`
Schramm hadn’t been looking to leave the chamber, but Senior Services sought her out.
`I was approached with what I personally felt was a wonderful, new career,` she said. `It was literally out of the blue, but when I learned what the job entailed and how I would be involved and what I’d be doing, I gave it a lot of thought and just determined that it wasn’t a bad idea.`
Alan E. Okun, president of the board of directors at Senior Services of Albany, says he chose to hire Schramm because of her outstanding networking and fundraising experience and abilities.
`We believe she will bring excellent leadership and exuberance to the job, and that she will put her heart and soul into providing services to the senior community, ` he said.
Schramm said she enjoys working directly with people and decided to take the executive position with Albany Senior Services, which is a nonprofit organization that works with various facilities to provide food servicing and transportation programming to senior adults, because she would be overseeing a much larger staff.
After having such a great rapport with her fellow board members at the chamber, Schramm says she is looking forward to managing a talented staff at Albany Senior Services.
`When you have a really good team you do so much more together, and I think it’s going to be a good dynamic,` she said.
Singer, who has worked closely with Schramm at the Guilderland Chamber, believes she will continue to be successful because of her outstanding character.
`When she commits to doing something, she follows through with it 200 percent,` she said. `She just a woman of her word and a total woman of valor.`
In honor of Jane Schramm, the board of directors from the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce is presenting An Evening with Jane, a dinner and cash bar at the Italian Community Center from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25. The cost is $20 for the event, with an optional $5 for a gift contribution. Those interested in attending should RSVP to 456-6611.“