BUFFALO, N.Y. — This year the Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center is celebrating its 70th anniversary. For 50 of those years, one man has played an intregral role in the agency, and in turn, has helped hundreds of thousands of patients.
"It's been an honor and privilege to be here. It's been a dream job for me," said Joseph Sonnenberg, BHSC vice president.
Sonnenberg started at the agency as a speech and language pathologist in 1973. There were only 17 employees at the time. Now there are 500.
"We are the largest hearing and speech center in the country but it's become an interdisciplinary agency," said Sonnenberg.
BHSC serves 11,000 patients and students each year and Sonnenberg says the needs of those students has really changed in 50 years.
"Our schools used to be filled with kids with speech and language needs," said Sonnenberg. "Now they're primarily filled with kids that are on the autism spectrum."
He says he's proud of the work being done by his team of teachers and staff, and the results are evident in the children.
"After a year, 2, 3, 4, 5 years with us, they can go into a mainstream environment in their own school district like they were supposed to," he said.
And staff say they're grateful for Joe's wealth of knowledge and leadership.
"Joe is very present. He is a servant leader. Which is very refreshing," said Jamie Mobberly, the school building leader.
"He's all about making sure that the agency is where it needs to be and truly has it in his heart," said Lynn Shea, the Early Childhood Program Director. "In order to dedicate 50 years of your life, it takes selflessness."
At 72-years-old, he has completed 12 marathons, including NYC and Boston, and now he's training for Chicago. His energy and passion is more alive than ever and he has no plans to slow down.
"I'm telling you, I still love to come to work everyday. I love to be with these people. I love to be with the staff and I love to be with the students and patients that come here. It's so rewarding to have the only mission being to help people and make a difference."
Of all his accomplishments, Sonnenberg said is he most proud of expanding the scope of services and the number of locations across Western New York, and the great outcomes. But he emphasizes that it's a team effort and he certainly hasn't done it alone.
He said he is also grateful for the support of his wife Christine. He married her the year he started at BHSC and they're celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year.
Sonnenberg has big plans he wants to see take shape before he even thinks about retiring. He said he wants to create one main campus for school services and have the latest and greatest all in one place.
Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center is a non-profit agency that relies on funding, grants, and community support. They're having a 70th anniversary gala and fundraiser on March 2nd. For more information, click here.
To see others featured in the Selfless Among Us series, click the videos below.
