Todd Baxter of Ogden grew up in the city of Rochester back in the 80’s. He followed in his father’s footsteps and enlisted in the Army shortly after he graduated from Jefferson High School. In September 1983 Todd began his service in the US Army. He was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas where he pursued his goal of becoming a Military Police. Todd’s deployment was to South Korea.
After three years of active duty Todd came home to begin his civilian career and build his life with his high school sweetheart, Mary. To Todd’s surprise, after returning home, he learned his military skills were not as marketable as he had hoped. He began taking some college courses for Criminal Justice at Monroe Community College and took the Civil Service test. A semester and half later he was hired by the Rochester Police Department which led to a 22 year career.
During Todd’s 22 years at the RPD he worked in the tactical unit for 19 years and was the SWAT Team Commanding Officer. He spent his final three years at RPD as an Administrative Aide to three of RPD’s Chiefs of Police.
In 2010 the Greece Police Department faced a crisis and was in need of a strong Chief of Police to take the reigns and rebuild the trust between the Greece Police Department and the community it served. Todd was intrigued by the idea of taking on such a challenge. After his 22 years in the RPD Todd felt he was ready for the move.
Todd loved policing, loved leadership and serving the community, so this became the perfect opportunity where he could bring about positive change. Todd’s strong leadership and passion enabled him to rebuild the integrity of the department. He hired many new officers, introduced effective policies and helped restore the morale of the seasoned officers. Todd’s efforts proved instrumental in bringing back the integrity of the Greece Police Department.
During his police years Todd always held a soft spot in his heart for military veterans. He served 19 years in the Reserves as well as serving as a member at the Greece American Legion.
Todd helped spearhead a project for the Veterans Court. The Veterans Court is a special court that is charged with trying cases of minor offenses involving veterans of the militaries, particularly those with diagnosed service related illnesses. Todd helped implement the program for the police officers to identify eligible veterans who may get arrested and streamline them to the Veterans Court. The process helps the veterans get the appropriate treatment when necessary.
Four years of being Chief of Police in Greece, Todd toured the Richards House, which is a home for homeless male veterans and is run by the Veterans Outreach Center. After his tour of the facility Todd said, “It pricked my heart.” He felt his calling to use both his leadership skills and compassion for veterans. Shortly after Todd made a decision to leave the Greece Police Department to accept a position at the Veterans Outreach Center as the Executive Director.
The Veterans Outreach Center is the oldest non-profit veteran service center in the country. “It began in 1973 as one of twenty centers planted by the Federal Government to help assimilate veterans coming back from the Vietnam War. According to Baxter “after about five years the government funding dried up and 19 of the 20 houses closed.” The Rochester location was the only one to remain open.
In 1980 a house on South Avenue was donated to the veterans living in the original center. It then became a 501c3 non-profit organization. “It started with a budget of zero dollars and zero paid employees. Today it is operating with a 4.5 million dollar budget, 50 employees and serves over 1,400 veterans annually between the Rochester and Buffalo locations” said Baxter.
When asked what makes the Veterans Outreach Center unique, Baxter replied, “The VOC is a one stop shop for veterans in turmoil with no restrictions.”
The VOC runs the men’s homeless shelter (Richards House). They offer job training with almost 30 different vocations. They provide job placement to over 400 veterans annually and have an in-house NYS Unemployment Representative available. They also provide mental health and wellness services ranging from art therapy, yoga therapy and canine therapy.
The center has two VA employees to help assist veterans with the processing of VA benefits. Todd has been leading the direction of the VOC since 2014 and is happy to soon be opening the doors of the first women’s home to serve homeless female veterans. Todd hopes to have this home operational by the end of 2016.
Last week Todd was presented with the W. Burton Richardson Jr. Human Service Worker of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. He was chosen for this award for his exceptional commitment and efforts of helping those in need within our community.
Todd’s community service is exhaustive. Not only has he spent much of his career helping the community but he also spends so much of his free time in the evenings and weekends to serve the community in countless ways.
Some of his contributions include: Salvation Army, Villa of Hope, Greece Chamber, Rochester Rotary, Sergeant at Arms, church involvement with annual mission trips to third world countries, 75-100 outreach events per year including benefits, 5ks, fundraisers, public speaking and many other community events.
Todd and his wife Mary have raised their two sons in the Ogden area. He also assists part time with the Ogden Police Department. Although Todd is a very healthy active man, he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. As many of us know cancer does not discriminate.
Although Todd is staying extremely positive and active, he will begin his treatment soon. He does not expect it to hamper his efforts in all the ways he serves the community. And in typical Todd Baxter style he used his diagnosis as an opportunity to spread awareness to the community about the disease. Todd Baxter is truly our local hero.
