The Best Job I Have Ever Had

I have held many jobs over the years.  My first job was as a stock boy for True Value Hardware when I was 17.  I then worked as a store detective for Jamesway Department Store before I join the Army in 1983.  Active Duty was next for two years and than I went to college for a couple of years and then worked for a video store after that.  In 1986, I founded a Big Brother/Big Sister program in Watertown, NY and worked there as the Executive Director for three years before I came to Albany to continue my education.  I enjoyed working with kids and continued to work in the social services/public service field for my of the 90s.  I also worked for a singing telegram company as an Elvis impersonator for many years and had a lot of fun with that job.  In 1999, I began working working as the director of a community center for persons living with AIDS.  That job was a tough one but was very rewarding and it taught me a lot about dealing with tough issues like illness and death and sorrow and loss.  Than I came back into the Army after a ten+ year break.  When I volunteered to go to Iraq I became the Non-commissioned officer for the Brigade Legal Office and that job was at that point, the best job I ever had.  In that role I was able to train and supervise eight paralegals who knew very little about military justice when the deployment began but grew into experts by the time we left Iraq.  I never thought it was possible that I would ever find a job that was as rewarding or as important than being a soldier, leading soldiers in the war zone.  But after I returned from Iraq, it took me a little while to find my next job.  For awhile I was doing the real estate thing...something that would have been financially rewarding but it just wasn't my thing I guess.  But then sometime in mid-December of 2007, I made contact with a program in Ballston Spa, NY to see about volunteer opportunties working with veterans.  I was referred to the Albany Housing Coalition, which was looking for a Director of Veterans Services to manage their vet service program.  I sent my resume in and was shocked to get a call almost immediately from the Coalition to see if I was interested in an interview.  Right before Christmas, I went to that interview with Mr. Joe Sluszka and Tyrone Alexander.  The interview went well.  Very well.  And I was asked to come back after the holidays for a second interview.  Needless to say, I got the job, and here were my thoughts in this blog right before I started:

New Year - New Job! (January 3, 2008)

Today I was offered and I accepted a position with the Albany Housing Coalition, as the Director of Veteran Services. In that position, I will lead a program that will assist homeless veterans who live in our area. I am very excited about this opportunity. I have an opportunity to use my years of experience in the non-profit management field and my military experience to help those who desperately need our help. I start on Monday. This weekend, I will be performing my military function (drill weekend) and then early monday morning I will report to my new job. I will need to get some new civvies and get my mind around this new opportunity. It will be challenging but I am confident I am up to the task. I have already met most of my staff and they seem like great folks. Very dedicated. I am a lucky man. Wish me luck!

Well this was my toughest job by far.  The first couple of months I asked almost daily, "What have I gotten myself into?"  I joked that everyday I had to deal with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bi-polar personalities --and that was just the staff --and I didn't feel like I was doing a very good job.  I plotted ways to get out of this job.  It took me a long time to feel comfortable about dealing with veterans with problems especially when I hadn't dealt with my own issues very well.  But eventually, I got the hang of it.  My boss Joe always showed confidence in me and gave me every opportunity to succeed.  The other staff were very supportive as well and eventually I went to the VA to get the help I needed and this made my advocacy for other veterans more effective. 

I remember saying to Joe and to Larry Turner one time that the job at the coalition would always be the 2nd best job I ever had.  My job as a soldier would always be number one.  I am confident that I meant it back then.  But now, four years later and having worked with hundreds of veterans over those years, I have to admit that I feel much different today.  Today, I know how important the work I did was.  I have seen veterans from all era's come to the Coalition for help.  One day I remember putting a homeless WWII vet and an homeless Iraqi war vet into our housing on the same day.  Wow.  Two warriors, served decades apart, yet came to us on the same day for the same reason.  I will never forget that day.  I have so many stories -- so many memories of the last four years.  Our agency is about 2nd chances.  (and sometimes 3rd and 4th chances!)  But we have transformed lives.  I am proud of what we have done and my little part in that.  Someday I may find a better paying job with better benefits and all that, but that job won't be better than the one I have now (or at least when I get back).  The job I started in 2008, that god willing I will return to, is by far, the BEST JOB I HAVE EVER HAD.