Staff Spotlight – John Gleason

John Gleason, maintenance assistant, feels that being featured in the Staff Spotlight is an “honor.” It’s obvious to anyone that interacts with John that he remains very humbled in his success in recovery and within our agency. Countless moments in his career with us have helped him to realize that he’s a wonderful model for people in recovery. For instance, when he was helping out at Visions Place as a residence monitor, a resident who was moving onto independent living told John that “you’re not a counselor yet, but you helped me out a great deal.” This was a very humbling experience for John.

John began his journey with us as a resident at Cazenovia Manor before moving onto Supportive Living and then Housing before achieving independent living. “Cazenovia Recovery helped turn my life around,” he explained. As part of his new-found path, he decided to go back to school. His first choice was to go for culinary arts but decided that he “can teach anybody to cook.” He had an “ah-ha” moment when he realized that he could help people recover from addiction instead. John then chose to obtain an associate’s degree from Erie Community College in Substance Abuse Counseling.

Once John had built a solid foundation in recovery, he performed casual labor within our programs for a short period before getting hired as the custodial assistant at our Administrative Offices. John also helped out as a residence monitor at Visions Place, and he’s been in his current position as a maintenance assistant for four years.

At the moment, John’s work in maintenance has him focusing on “a lot of painting.” He mentioned that the team has been focusing on “cleaning and organizing the facilities in Niagara County” recently. “I’m grateful to work with some very hardworking and talented people,” John said of his coworkers. “Jessica and Clarke are the glue that hold everything together and we work to everybody’s strengths.” John considers his strengths painting, landscaping, and yard care, which he likes a lot. Working in sub-zero weather, however, is not one of John’s favorite things, not that anyone can blame him. Overall, though, he loves “being able to see residents turn their lives around and get a fresh start on life.”