Even with 60 years of service under his belt, Northeast Career Planning board member Sam Strasser has no plans of retirement any time soon.
“I’ve kind of gotten off many boards, but I can’t get off this one. But I love it,” said Strasser. “I’m not getting off the board until I’m not bodily able.”
The now 85-year-old Delmar resident joined Northeast Career Planning (NCP) when the company just beginning as The Workshop, Inc. He was 24 years old and had just gotten out of the U.S. Air Force.
“They had just started a new organization to do this, and I was asked if I was willing to go on (the board). I can still remember the first graduate,” Strasser said.
NCP, a Menands-based organization, was founded in 1954 with the mission to help people with disabilities, whether it be mental or physical, or those recovering from addiction or substance abuse to find jobs and gain self-sufficiency.
The organization helps provide medical exams, vocational counseling, training and personal adjustment by working with other area organizations to get the future employees ready for outside work. NCP also works closely with each individual to determine realistic job goals and has contracted with state organizations, like the state archives and Department of Education, for employment.
However, NCP’s Norton Center, formerly The Workshop, is an on-site sub-contracting packaging facility where employees can be placed. The organization also has youth services to prepare young people for future careers.
“It started in a garage, as most businesses do in these days,” said Richard Bennett, NCP Chief Executive Officer. He said that in 2014, NCP helps 1,311 people with barriers like disabilities find employment, and assisted 235 of them with competitive jobs.
Each year, the organization hosts an annual dinner that recognizes people who have made significant accomplishments. Five years ago, NCP honored Strasser for 55 years of service and named a building after him. This year, NCP recognized Strasser for 60 years with a fishing pole, cap and gown, and honorary degree.
“One of the things Sam has been known for is, he says, you don’t give a person a fish. You teach him to fish, and that lasts a lifetime,” said Bennett. That saying is inscribed on the plaque NCP gave Strasser.
Strasser said that, while he has served on several boards for organizations, like the Chapel House out of the University of Albany, he couldn’t imagine stepping down from the NCP board. He said NCP has done more good than he can describe.
“They’re thrilled to be independent and have jobs,” said Strasser of the individuals NCP helps employ. Many of those people, he said, are happy to pay taxes when they become self-sufficient so they can help other people in turn.
What makes the NCP board unique from other boards he has served on is that NCP does not kick people off after a handful of years, so there is a mix of young and old members to have a range of experience and different skills, Strasser said.
Serving on the NCP board has not come without challenges, though. Several times, the organization came close to closing its doors for good. Strasser said it wasn’t a question of is NCP was going out of business, but when. But each time, the organization found new executive directors who were perfect fits for exactly what NCP needed at the time.
The first executive director was a salesman who could sell anything to anyone, said Strasser. The second was a production foreman who got the production lines up and running with the packing business at The Workshop.
However, Strasser said the hardest challenge he has faced is getting old. He used to ski and do horseback riding, which he can no longer do. But, even though he is 85 years old and has seven grandchildren, some with disabilities, Strasser still strives to serve on the NCP board and said he loves his job. He is still corporate president of a factory with no plans of stepping down.
Overall, his hopes for the future are simple.
“I hope I’m healthy. I hope I live longer. And I hope I continue doing what I’m doing,” he said.
