Tamaqua Chamber honors Hadesty, C.A.R.E.S

Richard J. Hadesty Jr. thinks about what he can do every day to make things better for other people.

Hadesty shared his ideology with a packed Mountain Valley Restaurant during his speech at the 67th Annual Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce Community Dinner on Thursday evening.

A truly caring and successful individual, Hadesty, of the St. Luke’s University Health Network, humbly accepted the 2019 Joseph M. Plasko Citizenship Award, which was one of two prestigious community awards presented by the Chamber.

The 2019 Joseph M. Plasko Citizenship Award was presented to Hadesty, a lifelong resident of Tamaqua and a graduate of the high school, Hadesty earned his undergrad at Kutztown University and his master’s at St. Francis University.

“I never thought I would receive this,” Hadesty said. “It was a shock when it was announced that I was a winner. I never thought that I did enough. It was very shocking and a huge honor.”

Hadesty is involved in several volunteer programs and organizations. He is currently the social services coordinator for the Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at the St. Luke’s Miners Campus.

What inspires him?

“The ability to help other people,” Hadesty said. “Each of the organizations I belong to mean something special to me. I work with the American Legion; veterans mean a lot to me, since I was never in the service. With the Tamaqua Rotary; community services, helping to eradicate polio, and doing scholarships for local students. The chamber is trying to bring industry back into the community; trying to making it good for people to stay here, instead of having to leave and finding other places to live.”

Hadesty is also a past board member of the Schuylkill County Retire Senior Volunteer Program, and is an active volunteer of the Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce as well as Trinity UCC.

“This award is not only for me,” said Hadesty during his speech. “But it’s also for the citizens of Tamaqua and the unsung heroes of our area.”

Receiving the 2019 Business Person of the Year honors were Sheila Davison, CEO, and Lori Miller, President of C.A.R.E.S.

“The C.A.R.E.S. mission is to empower and maximize potential for individuals with disabilities,” said Davison. “That’s what we do every day.”

C.A.R.E.S. currently has six different services across 16 counties in the state. The organization offers unique day programs that focus on aspects such as social and life skills. Additionally, the VIPs participate in activities such as delivering meals and other volunteer work in the community.

“One of the things we’re most proud of is that our customers are individuals with intellectual disabilities; and we call them our “VIPs,” said Davison. “We’re very proud and we honor and respect our employees. Without our employees, we know we can’t help other people … and that’s what C.A.R.E.S. is all about.”

Davison and Miller are sisters who were inspired to work in this field a long time ago.

“We’ve been doing it for over 25 years,” Davison said. “One time we went to Tamaqua Hi-Rise and we wanted individuals to volunteer. In Tamaqua, 20 years ago, they didn’t believe people with disabilities could give back to the community. So that inspired us to develop day programs where individuals volunteer and are very prevalent an integrated in the community.”

Davison, Miller and their VIPs go home every day with a sense of accomplishment and pride.

“We go to work and we feel proud every day of what we do,” Miller said. “We want our VIPs at our day program to also go home and be proud of what they did during the day. And they do, they come to day program every day very excited, and can’t wait to go out to their volunteer sites.”

Robert S. Carl Jr. was the keynote speaker for the event. Carl has been the executive director of the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce since 2009.

“I believe that the Tamaqua community has great assets that many communities in Schuylkill County could only wish to have, and I mean that with all due sincerity,” Carl said. “When you drive through Tamaqua, you see a lot of growth and a lot of vitality. You can tell it’s a community that’s based on strong leadership and strong volunteerism. It’s a community that’s committed to its downtown, its industrial development, and so much more.”