NHR 50th Anniversary Gala Honorees

Doris Shaw

Doris Shaw – who as a parent of a son we served was an earlysupporter and Board member of NHR. Doris began her service to NHR in 1986 when she joined our Board. She served on the Board during a particularly challenging time for NHR following the fire at our Ellenville campus in 1987. Doris later began President of NHR’s Board of Directors in 1992 and served in that role until 1998. In her work beyond NHR, Doris is a founder and supporter of Long Island Jewish Hospital, a supporter of Hollywood Memorial Hospital and a longtime member of the AHRC. Doris regrets that she could not attend the Gala but recorded a greeting for us.

Here is a link to Doris’ greeting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8XhJCqVYE

Regis Obijiski

We also honored Regis Obijiski, NHR’s 2nd Executive Director, who during his 26-year tenure at NHR did more than any other single person to set our course and provide the framework for our success. He demonstrated exemplary leadership following the fire at NHR’s Ellenville campus in helping NHR to survive and eventually to thrive and expand. Throughout his time as Executive Director, Regis tirelessly worked to provide professional development opportunities and recognition for NHR’s “second most important people” – our DSPs and is a positive influence in our field far beyond NHR. Understanding the value of being part of our community – Regis took every opportunity for people we support and NHR staff to pay it forward by volunteering to support good causes throughout our communities. Regis spoke at the Gala and a summary of his remarks are found below.

Regis Obijiski’s Remarks at the NHR Gala

I am very honored to be included along with my friend and former Board President, Doris Shaw, for the distinction of being named as significant in the history of this wonderful organization. Doris said of the New Horizons team that “You are the True North,” and “You are the Magnet.” She continued “You must never take this for granted, but instead, nurture this force within you. I think what she was saying in poetic terms was: know your WHY (why you do what you do). Be the purpose that you live, and PRACTICE it every day. Since that seems like a tall order, so I will offer you two truths about human service. Everyone here tonight is dedicated in some way not just to human services but to human service—paying attention to and practicing service to others.

1.“Giving and Receiving are the same energy.” That energy is the currency of life. Unless there is flow we stagnate, like water. What does something like this feel like? If you have ever caught yourself thinking or saying: “I got way more out of helping this person release some sort of human potential in the other person,” then you understand that giving and receiving are the same energy.

2. The second truth is very similar: “Whatever you want for yourself, first give it away: Another’s time, civility, a deliberate (not random) acts of kindness, love, even money. In order for this truth to be operative in your life, it cannot be calculated like a score or come with any expectations. Both of these simple truths are not easy to practice. That is why we need a context, a culture, that is at once supportive and challenging the emergence of human potential. So where do we start a dialogue on “WHY.” We start right where we are. A close friend and colleague gave me a book of Mary Oliver’s poems. Here is one example:

Every day I am still looking for God, by whatever name.
And I am still finding him everywhere,
Certainly, in the oceans,
In islands that lay in the distance,
Continents of ice,
Countries of sand,
Each with its own set of creatures
And God by whatever name.
How perfect to be aboard a ship with
Maybe a hundred years still in my pocket.
But it’s late, for all of us,
And in truth the only ship there is
Is the ship we are all on.
I am on this ship with you, and what an honor!