New River Community Action CEO retires after 32 years
The New River Community Action (NRCA) Board of Directors has announced the retirement of Ms. Terry Smusz, Chief Executive Officer, effective the end of June 2021. Smusz has served in the CEO position for thirty-two years.
“It was with sadness that we received the news that Terry will be leaving, and we all wish her the very best for a well-deserved retirement,” stated John McEnhill, Chairman of the NRCA Board of Directors. “The board is committed to finding a successor that will continue the impressive legacy of strong, effective leadership, comprehensive community partnerships, advocacy, and service to our communities that Terry has given us. Terry’s unwavering dedication to NRCA for over three decades, extends to working with the board and staff to ensure a smooth transition.”
NRCA is one of approximately 1,000 Community Action Agencies nationwide established as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. The agency administers numerous programs that meet basic needs, impact school readiness, strengthen families, and promote economic stability, with operations in Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski Counties and the City of Radford. NRCA manages over $7,000,000 in annual revenues, employs 120 full and part-time staff, and serves over 8,000 residents each year with the help of more than 2,000 volunteers.
During her thirty-two years as CEO, Smusz provided leadership to the expansion of Head Start and emergency assistance, and to the development of several NRCA initiatives: Children’s Health Insurance Partnership (CHIP), VA CARES reentry services, Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), and the To Our House thermal homeless shelter program.
Reverend Morris Fleischer, Pastor of Newport-Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church and Chairman of the To Our House Policy Council, stated, “When we started the process of creating a program to provide thermal shelter for homeless men in the NRV twelve years ago, Terry was right in the middle of it, sharing her expertise and offering us guidance. NRCA’s partnership with us has been invaluable to the success of the program. I think I reflect the thoughts of the other Policy Council members and speak for the hundreds of homeless men and women who have come through our doors in saying we that will be forever grateful for Terry’s leadership and advocacy.”
The NRCA Board of Directors will begin a nationwide search for a new CEO later this month.
New River Community Action CEO retires after 32 years
by: Parker King
Posted: Updated:
RADFORD, Va. (WFXR) — After 32 years as CEO of New River Community Action (NRCA), Terry Smusz is calling it a career.
NRCA was started in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Economic Opportunity Act, and for more than half of the non-profit’s existence, Smusz has been at the helm.
For Smusz, helping those in need has been a passion since childhood.
“I used to say to my mother ‘When I grow, I’m going to try and do something about that,’” Smusz recalled. “And so this was a dream job for me.”
Smusz at an NRCA table setup in 2018
In just a little over three decades as NRCA CEO, Smusz has added more programs to help as many of those in need as possible.
“We expanded Head Start. We added a volunteer income tax assistance program,” Smusz listed off the top of her head. “We also do quite a bit of emergency assistance, helping people during times of financial crisis.”
The most recent financial relief NRCA has been divvying out has been due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fortunately, NRCA has been able to utilize CARES Act funds to those who need it.
Smusz compares the pandemic to the recession of 2008, and yet says this has been her most challenging time as CEO.
“We adjusted how we provided services. We had to protect the community and protect staff and protect volunteers, but our doors have been open, in terms of being able to provide services the entire time,” Smusz said with pride.
“She has touched and affected so many lives,” said NRCA Board of Directors member Kim Fernandez.
Fernandez’s position is what makes NRCA’s Board of Directors unique. She’s a target representative, meaning she has benefited from the program(s) NRCA offers.
In her case, her grandson, who coincidentally is also named Terry, was struggling in the classroom. Fernandez knew where to take him.
“He went through two years of Head Start, and it was the single-best thing we could’ve ever done for him,” Fernandez said without a shadow of a doubt.
NRCA assists around 8,000 people a year in the NRV. It’s not a stagnant population, though; it’s a steady flow of people coming in to receive NRCA’s services and re-integrating back into society.
There are those, Smusz says, who have more difficulty than others reintegrating and need more services and time, but the end result has been rewarding for Smusz and her staff.
“It’s wonderful to see, for instance, an ex-offender come out of prison and work with our Virginia Cares program and get employment and become self-sufficient,” Smusz said.
Smusz, of course, doesn’t take credit for herself during this long and impactful career. She credits the men and women she’s worked alongside with.
“It’s been a blessing to have such great staff and wonderful board members, who have been very very supportive and been right in there with us doing the work. I think it’s certainly been impactful but certainly not for myself.
“She’s not a hands-off CEO, at all,” Fernandez said. “She is in the trenches, in the weeds. She knows the facts; she knows the struggles of our staff. She knows what they need, how to help them. She’s completely involved.”
Fernandez says losing Smusz is like losing 30 years of knowledge and history but, regardless, says the agency will move on, continuing the programs that Smusz helped build.
NRCA is currently searching for its new CEO.
Staff say even after Smusz “retires,” she may stay around help her successor properly transition into the role.
Even after Smusz is gone for good, Fernandez says the programs and services Smusz helped implement over the years in the NRV ensures that her impact will be felt for generations to come.
