Richard is a relatively new resident of Ohio. He has actually returned to Brecksville after a 50-year layover in Maryland, where he worked and raised a family with 3 sons.
Richard accepted a position in Maryland as a young man and left Ohio after applying for a job with Congressman Charley Vanek in 1973. He moved to work there in the House of Representatives mail room for Vanek on Capitol Hill, where he stayed for 23 years. His job started at 3:30 AM every day, and by 8:30 AM, he had to sort and deliver all of the mail to all of the congressmen assigned to him.
And that was no easy task!
Ohio Senator John Glenn later hired him to work on his staff and was appointed to run his mail room. He was later named to be one of Glenn’s personal staff members. Switching again two years later, Richard found himself named to the staff of Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey. Here, Richard worked another portion of his career for 14 years, where he became a Senior Staff Member. After that, he became a lobbyist for an energy conservationist and did that for 4 years until his retirement.
Richard sustained a spinal cord injury in 2017 and is a T-4/5 incomplete. His hopes now are to learn how to lead an independent lifestyle, visit his grandchildren as often as possible, and have loads of fun with his dogs at home!
