Name: Jay Via
Current Title: Facilities Manager
Years of Service: 30 years
City: Troy, all my life minus Army deployments
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Ironman: snow, bike, run. Studying history of all eras. I enjoy church and family time.
What is your favorite...
Food: Cheeseburgers (ANY/ALL, McDonald's to Red Robin)
Movie: The Patriot
Book: The Bible
Band: Big Country (an 80s Scottish rock band)
If you could travel anywhere, money aside, where would you go?
Visit European battlefields
What is a fun fact about you?
I met my wife as a volunteer referee at a Special Olympics basketball game.
Why did you decide to work at Riverside?
I came to work at Riverside 30 years ago. I had worked at a group home while I was taking courses at Edison. As a single parent, it would be better for me to have regular set hours. My grandmother worked at Riverside, and she was very happy with her job here. These two factors helped me to seek out a position at Riverside.
How would you describe your job?
Craziness! My team is responsible for meeting all maintenance issues with Riverside and HOP homes.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The people, I enjoy helping others.
What do you love about being a part of #TeamRiverside?
I have loved so many different things over the 30 years. I enjoy that each day brings a different scenario, a different challenge, a focused purpose in life.
The hours, the benefits and the the stability, but working with the people is one thing I grew to truly love. There have been so many different personalities, but I've grown to love them all. I've gained so many experiences and stories that I will never forget. Riverside is where I took my second phase of growing up in life; it brought me to more maturity and my education has never ceased.
It was never a “punch the clock” kind of job, it was so much more. I've turned down many other job offers over the years because this job feels like home, a place you really never want to leave. I’ve enjoyed each new job/position that I’ve taken on. I’ve seen so much change in this building, in this field and in the people that work/worked here. I hope they've received the overwhelming positive experience that I have. To me, if you don’t get that, then you don’t have your eyes, ears and heart open enough.
What inspires you to keep working at Riverside?
The feeling that I'm getting things done. That we're making a difference for people who happen to have disabilities and that I can be here to give all the support they need to become successful and enjoy life.
I'm also inspired by the people who work here. It warms my heart and gives me great inspiration when I see the strong feeling of CARE that comes from these employees. I should also mention that everyone is friendly and nice, which makes for a great working environment.
I should also give props to my Grandma Via; I saw her strong commitment to Riverside over the years, and I want to continue that tradition.