Following more than two decades of service to Monroe County, Becky McCorry will be bidding the area farewell when she accepts a position with the national American Red Cross Office in Washington, D.C. She will become the Supervisor of Advanced Disaster Services. "The Washington office is the nerve center for the large disaster centers," she said. "I'll be doing what I have done in Rochester, just on a much larger scale." Part of McCorry's tasks will be making sure in the event of a disaster or emergency that the right people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time. McCorry is one of those rare individuals who has dedicated her life to serving others. She has been involved in human services organizations in the Rochester area for 30 years. She was the first paid director of the local Rape Crisis office. McCorry was also the first director of a child abuse grant in the Rochester Police Department. Following her time there, she was asked by Paychex Chief Tom Golisano to oversee Rochester Fights Back, where she focused her efforts on drug prevention, and led the efforts of a newly formed agency called Prevention Partners before heading over to Red Cross. "It's a thrill to have been offered the position," McCorry said. "But it's going to be hard to leave the area." When asked how the position in Washington came about, McCorry explained that she had a "significant amount" of interaction with leadership in disaster services as result of September 11 and the recent hurricanes in Florida. Working in human services, though, wasn't her first career choice, McCorry said. "When I graduated in the mid 1970s I was planning to be a teacher, but there were no teaching jobs," she said. "I took an internship working with developmentally disabled adults and that led to my working at Rape Crisis." McCorry has been with the Rochester Red Cross for eight years and five months where she serves as director of emergency social services. Assistant Executive Director of the Rochester Red Cross Nancy Chesterton said McCorry has done an outstanding job. "She will be greatly missed in our office," Chesterton said. "She has done an outstanding job here. During Becky's leadership, our chapter has increased its capacity to respond to community disasters." Chesterton said that under McCorry's leadership, the Rochester chapter has become one of the top chapters in the country in terms of its ability to respond to disasters of large magnitude. "We now have the capacity to respond to disasters that could affect 100,000 people," Chesterton said. She also spoke to McCorry's ability to build relationships with other agencies and in creating collaborations within the community. Chesterton said with a laugh that when she hired McCorry she obviously made a good choice. "Becky is capable, a great leader and a team player," she said. "She will be a great asset to the Washington office because of her enthusiasm, knowledge, expertise and wonderful common sense." Not only will the Red Cross feel the loss of McCorry's absence - the Brockport Rotary will miss her skills, talents and dedication to community. Rotary President Gary Zimmer said, "Becky was very involved in everything in the community. She was on the hospital board as well as being vice president of our Rotary." Brockport's loss will definitely be Washington's gain, he said. "She's been a great contributor to our community and she will be greatly missed," Zimmer said. "When you get a call to go to Washington you just can't turn it down." McCorry said she is already looking for a branch of Rotary to join when she moves to Washington. "I'll miss the fellowship and service to community that comes with Rotary," she said. Zimmer also said that McCorry had a fine example to follow when it came to service to community. "The whole Kenyon family has been very active," he said. McCorry's parents are Everett "Ebbie" and Mavis Kenyon. Her father was honored at the 9/11 Memorial events in Brockport for his years of service to the Brockport community through his work with the fire department. One of McCorry's passions has been working with the volunteers she has come in contact with because the volunteers are the first line of defense. "I've always enjoyed putting a round peg in a square hole, making it fit and making sure we are providing the best quality of services for those in need," she said. She counts herself among those on the front lines when it comes to disaster response. "I was on site for Hurricanes Frances, Charley and Jean and I was at the disaster site on September 11 in New York City at 4 p.m. the day it happened," she said. "I've always been a hands-on administrator." Leaving her family home in Brockport will be difficult, she said. "I was born at Lakeside and I still live in the family homestead," she said. "But if it weren't for the love and support of my family I would never have had the strength to make this move." McCorry's family includes her parents, her 22-year old son Shawn McCorry and her 19-year old stepdaughter Caitlin Campbell. Her husband, Terry Campbell, lives and works in Florida. "We've been living a long distance marriage for a while now," she said with a laugh. She begins her new career in Washington on February 14. Note: Leighton Jones will replace McCorry as Director of Emergency Social Services. Jones joined the Rochester Chapter of the American Red Cross as the Assistant Director of Emergency Social Services in April of 2004. Jones, born in Cardiff, Wales and educated in London and Plymouth, England, served in a variety of leadership posts with the Salvation Army for over eight years. |
