Service Spotlight: Chris Schwarz

14 Nov Service Spotlight: Chris Schwarz

Chris Schwarz answered an ad in the paper for a grounds worker twenty years ago this month. At the time he had no idea how many yards the he would be maintaining, which was certainly a lot between the group homes and supported living sites. More importantly he had no way of knowing the impact of working at New Hope would have on his life. After a few years of grounds work, Chris was asked by Sr. Francine Brown, who was overseeing Maintenance at the time, to help with site work orders and the rest is history.

As with most of the associates highlighted, it is the clients that Chris has enjoyed the most throughout the years. His uncle is a priest and remarked to him that there was a divine reason he came and has stayed at New Hope so long. Chris has too many stories to tell, but one memory comes to mind. Years ago, Chris was on-call and had to take his young son, Trevor, with him to Demarillac Group Home to look at the water heater. He told Trevor about the clients and that they would probably like to talk to him. Sure enough, Terri heard Chris in the home and called for him and Trevor to come see her. She whispered, “Do you want to see my hottie Christmas snowman socks?” She did in fact show them her festive socks, and they all laughed together and enjoyed the moment.

When Chris is not working or coming in on-call, he is a sports fan and especially likes watching Ohio State play. He enjoys collecting sports memorabilia and autographed collectibles. He also likes to go fishing and to spend time with his son. Trevor, who is now a senior in high school, played baseball on a traveling team which kept them busy for many years. Chris loves working at New Hope and is a valued member of the maintenance team. We thank him for his years of service, dedication, friendly personality and great sense of humor!