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David is Executive Director of the Northern Livingston Red Cross, based out of Geneseo, NY. He is a long time Geneseo resident, local radio personality and well known community members. Anyone who interacts with him recognizes a commitment to making a difference and a knack for making others feel welcome and valued. Please give David’s profile a read. You will enjoy it!
BI: How did you get to where you are now?
I grew up in Niagara Falls. My parents came to this area in 1967 and have been here ever since. I grew up in the Geneseo school system and went to the Holcomb School for Elementary School. I went here, to SUNY Geneseo for college because it was very cheap. Tuition was $500 for a semester. I was lucky to have an inheritance, so I paid for my own college education. My major began as Communications, but upon realizing that there were not many big time jobs in radio or TV, I decided to pick up a second major, Political Science.
Later I landed a six month internship in Albany with the New York State Legislature. I went to Brockport for a Masters in Public Administration. During college I was working at Ames Department Store while after college I worked as a Custodian at Geneseo Central and in the American Cancer Society.
In 1992, I got this job with the Red Cross. We were located in an old medical building. To get to the Red Cross you had to go through a waiting room, a dressing room, and a medical room. We moved to the Livingston County building in December of 1992. By the grace of God we are rent free!
BI: What kind of work do you do on a day to day basis?
My job is part administrative work, making sure bills are paid, ordering this and that, and keeping track of donations. But ultimately, the day to day is making sure services are being produced in the county. We have to deal with situations in the middle of the night when there is a fire and the Red Cross must be there to provide emergency assistance in the form of food, clothing and shelter, for free.
We also provide a constant military service. As an example, if we get a phone call from family members saying that there is an illness or a death in the family we must do verification and send a message. In a situation like this, a serviceman could head home on leave. We do blood services. Janet is in charge of the blood services. We provide transportation for seniors to medical appointments as well. We work with volunteers to make sure that those services are provided.
BI: What is your favorite part of the job?
I actually love some of the challenges that come up. For example, when I first started here in December of 1992, I heard there had been a fire in Hemlock during Christmas week. We had not been notified by emergency services or the Sheriff’s department, which sometimes happens. Come to find out, there were five families that were burned out. We spent Christmas week trying to track down the families and within thirty six hours on the new job, I was responsible for spending $4,000 of Red Cross money helping others. It is events like those that I enjoy.
BI: What do you do in your free time?
This position is full time. In the past four years I have picked up a second job, doing the Public Affairs show for WYSL 1040AM. This is done on a weekly basis, interviewing three people. It gets me out of the office and is a lot of fun!
BI: David has wrapped a lot of his professional and personal interests around this community.
Growing up in this community, if someone had said, “You will stay in Geneseo,” I would have said, “No!” But, I love it here. Growing up with people helping me, I feel that working with the Red Cross is my way to give back to the community that I love so much. I probably will retire in this job. I am sort of a big fish in a small pond.
BI: How do you define success; personally and professionally?
A lot of people would consider success as money or power. Certainly, I can understand that. For me, success is being happy with myself, with where I am, and the people I work with.
BI: We have seen that you have taken to using Facebook. Are you addicted? Have you regretted that decision?
I have become addicted. I am a person who really does not trust new technology. Often times you are forced into a situation where you have to. The American Red Cross all of sudden realized that a lot of people, young and old, are on Facebook and that it needed a presence on there. I kind of went on unwillingly. Now I am there and am having fun. Lo and behold one of my friends put a picture from my kindergarten class online. Now, I can’t do without all of this stuff.
When I was in the United Kingdom last year, I got into a hotel after a long plane trip. I was watching television, watching a rugby game. I was completely floored. They were not wearing any protection. Once a play finishes, another starts. There are no time outs. I wanted badly to see a rugby game. I came across a rugby group on Facebook. I put a note on a rugby Facebook group asking if anyone had any suggestions of where I could see rugby games. Someone told me I needed to go to the Guinness Premier Finals Show Game on May 16th. I went and found tickets online and bought tickets for $75. Afterwards I found that this was the Super Bowl of English Rugby. Already two months before the game the stadium is half filled with 85,000 people. Thanks to Facebook I am going to the Super Bowl of rugby games in May!
BI: What is your favorite part of Livingston County?
It’s the people and the small towns. Livingston County is the place where you don’t have to lock your car doors. People are friendly, it’s great! Certainly, the view helps. You go up to Wegmans and constantly see people that you know. It’s great!
BI: What would your advice be to western NY? It’s tough right now for a lot of people...
You take a look at the problems we are hearing about and it can be very discouraging. People have to remember that they are the master of their own destiny. I admire people who may lose their job and look at it as an opportunity to better themselves. I think that is what we need to be doing in this type of environment. Yes, bad things are happening, but we need to look at this as an opportunity. For the long haul, this can be very beneficial.
This concept came from Karen Six, the Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers of Livingston County. The Literacy Volunteers are seeing an uptick in people who need their literacy training services. They are realizing that they need to educate themselves. There is a segment in our community that is not in a good situation right now, but they are becoming masters of their lives, trying to turn things around.
BI: If you could create anything with the snap of your fingers, what would it be?
In my backyard it would either be a pond or a stream. The kid in me loves the wildlife aspect of it all. I still love going to the creek down the road and seeing something new. I would really like a real stream or pond, with pollywogs.
My favorite thing in the world is mowing the lawn. I find I do my best thinking while mowing the lawn. Unfortunately in western NY there are times from November to April when I am doing no thinking. I also do my best thinking while waiting in lines. I am a morning person; I am up by 6:30 AM and in bed by 10:30 PM. I don’t even need an alarm clock anymore. My internal clock works very well.
BI: What are some of the most influential pieces of literature you have read over your lifespan?
I am a big fan of Larry McMurtry, especially when he is writing about small town Texas, like in The Last Picture Show or Texasville. I really liked those. I guess small town literature is what I like to read. Another interesting thing is that I like reading about alternative history. A big author into alternative history is Harry Turtledove, where history takes a 180... He started a long saga of books where the South won the Civil War and takes it through the First and Second World War.
BI: If you could meet any three people, past present or future, who would they be?
I would like to meet Henry the Eighth. I have started to read about Henry the Eighth and that time period. Let’s face it, he was nuts. I would like to meet one of the captains of The Dangerous Catch. Finally, I would like to meet one of the leaders of the agreement that has helped change Northern Ireland. You have got to admire the people of Northern Ireland who are standing up to stop the violence.
BI: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
North Korea. I have read a lot about North Korea. It is a very exotic place. It would be fascinating to visit that country. To learn, sometimes you have to act dumb. If you went there and started to act dumb, you would learn a lot.
As an example, the first disaster I dealt with was in 1995 in San Angelo, Texas. By acting dumb, people took me under their wing. I learned a lot. But you don’t want to act so dumb that people think you are an idiot.
BI: What is the most interesting interview that you have done?
My most interesting interview was a couple of years ago when Geneseo was having a Supervisors race. We had four candidates. There was a big story there. It was great to interview all four of them. At the end, we had a debate on the radio. I learned about these people. I know there was an impact.
In fact, Bigger Impact Weekly featured all four candidates in a newsletter debate!
BI: Do you have any heroes in the community, people who are making a big difference?
Linda Weaver of the Geneseo Parish Outreach Program. She would be someone who would be good for you to talk to at some point. Many non-profits have trouble because it is so tough to run them. The Geneseo Parish Outreach center offers low cost or free medical services to the low income people in our community who have no insurance or are under insured. It is all staffed by volunteers. Linda is the Executive Director but is not getting paid for it. They are doing a lot of great work in the community.
BI: What kind of support do you receive from the American Red Cross?
They are trying to consolidate the back office work that we do into one place right now. On the side of services, national is mindful that decisions need to be made at a local level.
We work well together in the local region. We have wonderful leadership from the Rochester chapter towards the community chapters. This has been great for everyone in the region. In this area you have chapters that are ready and willing to help each other.
We also do a lot of collaborative efforts with the county and with the health facilities. We offer First Aid and CPR certification classes.
BI: If you could send any message to the world, what would it be?
I would dare say that we as a world need to be more supporting of our young people. It seems like you always hear the bad things about young people, but I have always found that the positives among our young people are not transmitted as strongly as they should.
There is a group of students at Geneseo Central which sells coffee and snacks to kids and students and donates the money to Non-Profits. They donated $200 bucks to the Red Cross. The money is great, but more importantly it was an incredible opportunity to meet with these young people. I always say to young people; “I can’t wait until you guys are in charge. We know the world is going to be a good place.”
BI: What do you consider your biggest achievement?
It was bringing this chapter into the 20th and 21st century. We used to have two adult mannequins, two junior mannequins and two baby mannequins. Our fundraising was almost non-existent. The chapter was facing deficits of $20,000 a year. I figured out that in another year we would not exist anymore. We still exist, we have a ton more mannequins, we have computers, and we have employees. We have become more visible in providing our services.
BI: What is your biggest personal weakness?
I can put up with a lot of things. I find that if I get boxed into a corner I get frustrated. I try not to, but if I am boxed in, I come out fighting.
BI: Biggest strength?
My sense of humor. This job is stressful enough, being called in the middle of the night. We try to encourage laughter in this office; otherwise, you will go crazy.
David’s email address is: sweetwater_kid@hotmail.com
Thank you David for joining our VIP community!
BI: How did you get to where you are now?
I grew up in Niagara Falls. My parents came to this area in 1967 and have been here ever since. I grew up in the Geneseo school system and went to the Holcomb School for Elementary School. I went here, to SUNY Geneseo for college because it was very cheap. Tuition was $500 for a semester. I was lucky to have an inheritance, so I paid for my own college education. My major began as Communications, but upon realizing that there were not many big time jobs in radio or TV, I decided to pick up a second major, Political Science.
Later I landed a six month internship in Albany with the New York State Legislature. I went to Brockport for a Masters in Public Administration. During college I was working at Ames Department Store while after college I worked as a Custodian at Geneseo Central and in the American Cancer Society.
In 1992, I got this job with the Red Cross. We were located in an old medical building. To get to the Red Cross you had to go through a waiting room, a dressing room, and a medical room. We moved to the Livingston County building in December of 1992. By the grace of God we are rent free!
BI: What kind of work do you do on a day to day basis?
My job is part administrative work, making sure bills are paid, ordering this and that, and keeping track of donations. But ultimately, the day to day is making sure services are being produced in the county. We have to deal with situations in the middle of the night when there is a fire and the Red Cross must be there to provide emergency assistance in the form of food, clothing and shelter, for free.
We also provide a constant military service. As an example, if we get a phone call from family members saying that there is an illness or a death in the family we must do verification and send a message. In a situation like this, a serviceman could head home on leave. We do blood services. Janet is in charge of the blood services. We provide transportation for seniors to medical appointments as well. We work with volunteers to make sure that those services are provided.
BI: What is your favorite part of the job?
I actually love some of the challenges that come up. For example, when I first started here in December of 1992, I heard there had been a fire in Hemlock during Christmas week. We had not been notified by emergency services or the Sheriff’s department, which sometimes happens. Come to find out, there were five families that were burned out. We spent Christmas week trying to track down the families and within thirty six hours on the new job, I was responsible for spending $4,000 of Red Cross money helping others. It is events like those that I enjoy.
BI: What do you do in your free time?
This position is full time. In the past four years I have picked up a second job, doing the Public Affairs show for WYSL 1040AM. This is done on a weekly basis, interviewing three people. It gets me out of the office and is a lot of fun!
BI: David has wrapped a lot of his professional and personal interests around this community.
Growing up in this community, if someone had said, “You will stay in Geneseo,” I would have said, “No!” But, I love it here. Growing up with people helping me, I feel that working with the Red Cross is my way to give back to the community that I love so much. I probably will retire in this job. I am sort of a big fish in a small pond.
BI: How do you define success; personally and professionally?
A lot of people would consider success as money or power. Certainly, I can understand that. For me, success is being happy with myself, with where I am, and the people I work with.
BI: We have seen that you have taken to using Facebook. Are you addicted? Have you regretted that decision?
I have become addicted. I am a person who really does not trust new technology. Often times you are forced into a situation where you have to. The American Red Cross all of sudden realized that a lot of people, young and old, are on Facebook and that it needed a presence on there. I kind of went on unwillingly. Now I am there and am having fun. Lo and behold one of my friends put a picture from my kindergarten class online. Now, I can’t do without all of this stuff.
When I was in the United Kingdom last year, I got into a hotel after a long plane trip. I was watching television, watching a rugby game. I was completely floored. They were not wearing any protection. Once a play finishes, another starts. There are no time outs. I wanted badly to see a rugby game. I came across a rugby group on Facebook. I put a note on a rugby Facebook group asking if anyone had any suggestions of where I could see rugby games. Someone told me I needed to go to the Guinness Premier Finals Show Game on May 16th. I went and found tickets online and bought tickets for $75. Afterwards I found that this was the Super Bowl of English Rugby. Already two months before the game the stadium is half filled with 85,000 people. Thanks to Facebook I am going to the Super Bowl of rugby games in May!
BI: What is your favorite part of Livingston County?
It’s the people and the small towns. Livingston County is the place where you don’t have to lock your car doors. People are friendly, it’s great! Certainly, the view helps. You go up to Wegmans and constantly see people that you know. It’s great!
BI: What would your advice be to western NY? It’s tough right now for a lot of people...
You take a look at the problems we are hearing about and it can be very discouraging. People have to remember that they are the master of their own destiny. I admire people who may lose their job and look at it as an opportunity to better themselves. I think that is what we need to be doing in this type of environment. Yes, bad things are happening, but we need to look at this as an opportunity. For the long haul, this can be very beneficial.
This concept came from Karen Six, the Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers of Livingston County. The Literacy Volunteers are seeing an uptick in people who need their literacy training services. They are realizing that they need to educate themselves. There is a segment in our community that is not in a good situation right now, but they are becoming masters of their lives, trying to turn things around.
BI: If you could create anything with the snap of your fingers, what would it be?
In my backyard it would either be a pond or a stream. The kid in me loves the wildlife aspect of it all. I still love going to the creek down the road and seeing something new. I would really like a real stream or pond, with pollywogs.
My favorite thing in the world is mowing the lawn. I find I do my best thinking while mowing the lawn. Unfortunately in western NY there are times from November to April when I am doing no thinking. I also do my best thinking while waiting in lines. I am a morning person; I am up by 6:30 AM and in bed by 10:30 PM. I don’t even need an alarm clock anymore. My internal clock works very well.
BI: What are some of the most influential pieces of literature you have read over your lifespan?
I am a big fan of Larry McMurtry, especially when he is writing about small town Texas, like in The Last Picture Show or Texasville. I really liked those. I guess small town literature is what I like to read. Another interesting thing is that I like reading about alternative history. A big author into alternative history is Harry Turtledove, where history takes a 180... He started a long saga of books where the South won the Civil War and takes it through the First and Second World War.
BI: If you could meet any three people, past present or future, who would they be?
I would like to meet Henry the Eighth. I have started to read about Henry the Eighth and that time period. Let’s face it, he was nuts. I would like to meet one of the captains of The Dangerous Catch. Finally, I would like to meet one of the leaders of the agreement that has helped change Northern Ireland. You have got to admire the people of Northern Ireland who are standing up to stop the violence.
BI: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
North Korea. I have read a lot about North Korea. It is a very exotic place. It would be fascinating to visit that country. To learn, sometimes you have to act dumb. If you went there and started to act dumb, you would learn a lot.
As an example, the first disaster I dealt with was in 1995 in San Angelo, Texas. By acting dumb, people took me under their wing. I learned a lot. But you don’t want to act so dumb that people think you are an idiot.
BI: What is the most interesting interview that you have done?
My most interesting interview was a couple of years ago when Geneseo was having a Supervisors race. We had four candidates. There was a big story there. It was great to interview all four of them. At the end, we had a debate on the radio. I learned about these people. I know there was an impact.
In fact, Bigger Impact Weekly featured all four candidates in a newsletter debate!
BI: Do you have any heroes in the community, people who are making a big difference?
Linda Weaver of the Geneseo Parish Outreach Program. She would be someone who would be good for you to talk to at some point. Many non-profits have trouble because it is so tough to run them. The Geneseo Parish Outreach center offers low cost or free medical services to the low income people in our community who have no insurance or are under insured. It is all staffed by volunteers. Linda is the Executive Director but is not getting paid for it. They are doing a lot of great work in the community.
BI: What kind of support do you receive from the American Red Cross?
They are trying to consolidate the back office work that we do into one place right now. On the side of services, national is mindful that decisions need to be made at a local level.
We work well together in the local region. We have wonderful leadership from the Rochester chapter towards the community chapters. This has been great for everyone in the region. In this area you have chapters that are ready and willing to help each other.
We also do a lot of collaborative efforts with the county and with the health facilities. We offer First Aid and CPR certification classes.
BI: If you could send any message to the world, what would it be?
I would dare say that we as a world need to be more supporting of our young people. It seems like you always hear the bad things about young people, but I have always found that the positives among our young people are not transmitted as strongly as they should.
There is a group of students at Geneseo Central which sells coffee and snacks to kids and students and donates the money to Non-Profits. They donated $200 bucks to the Red Cross. The money is great, but more importantly it was an incredible opportunity to meet with these young people. I always say to young people; “I can’t wait until you guys are in charge. We know the world is going to be a good place.”
BI: What do you consider your biggest achievement?
It was bringing this chapter into the 20th and 21st century. We used to have two adult mannequins, two junior mannequins and two baby mannequins. Our fundraising was almost non-existent. The chapter was facing deficits of $20,000 a year. I figured out that in another year we would not exist anymore. We still exist, we have a ton more mannequins, we have computers, and we have employees. We have become more visible in providing our services.
BI: What is your biggest personal weakness?
I can put up with a lot of things. I find that if I get boxed into a corner I get frustrated. I try not to, but if I am boxed in, I come out fighting.
BI: Biggest strength?
My sense of humor. This job is stressful enough, being called in the middle of the night. We try to encourage laughter in this office; otherwise, you will go crazy.
David’s email address is: sweetwater_kid@hotmail.com
Thank you David for joining our VIP community!
