When Stan Hembury signed on to become a Big Brother some 37 years ago, his goal was to try to make a positive difference in the life of a young boy.
He really did. Just ask Tom Shannon, the man who was his Little Brother.
And that impact is still being felt and appreciated.
Hembury and Shannon were brought together by the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit and Medina Counties, whose mission still is “to improve the quality of life for children primarily from single-parent homes and help them achieve their full potential through professionally supported one-on-one relationships with responsible mentors.”
The program is just as vital today as it was in the mid-1970s, when Hembury and Shannon were paired up, and both give it their solid endorsements.
I recently spoke with Shannon, of Atwater, just weeks after he retired from the University of Akron’s Police Department with almost 30 years of service, and to Hembury in Sun City West, Ariz., where he retired several years ago.
Although separated by geography, it is clear both men continue to hold each other and Big Brothers Big Sisters in high regard.
While they started out on different rungs of the ladder, Hembury and Shannon call what developed a “real friendship.” Friends for life.
Hembury said he was inspired to join Big Brothers Big Sisters after reading about it in a church bulletin. “It was about the need for Big Brothers and it sounded interesting,” the now 83-year-old recalled. “So, I did some inquiring and I talked to the [organization’s] acting director.”
Next step was talking it over with his wife and 15-year-old daughter: “If they weren’t going to be behind it, then it wouldn’t have been successful.”
After getting the green light from his family, Hembury was paired with 12-year-old Tom Shannon.
“I was fortunate that Tom probably listened to me more than my daughter did,” Hembury continued with a chuckle.
During the time they spent together, they participated in a host of activities: going to Browns games, bowling, tennis and the like.
Shannon, who’d had other Big Brothers, said there was a true connection with Hembury.
“I learned a lot from Stan,” said Shannon, now 49. Not just to love tennis, which he still enjoys, but also a strong work ethic. “I think it was always there. But Stan made it stronger.
“He taught me that if you worked hard, you can obtain whatever it is you wanted. But the rewards come after the hard work and responsibility.”
Shannon said he really knew how much his Big Brother believed in him when he let him polish cabinets at his Tailor-made Kitchens business and mow his lawn.
“You know a man’s yard is his castle,” Shannon said. “I feel that way today.”
So impressed was Hembury that he pulled a few strings to get his Little Brother a summer job at David Hill Elementary School, with the money going to help buy school clothes.
Hembury found work for Shannon the following summer, too. “That was money he earned to buy a bicycle,” Hembury recalled.
“I took him shopping for it at Sears, Montgomery-Ward and at the Schwinn store.”
That Shannon still has the bike he purchased with Hembury’s help speaks volumes about his respect for his former Big Brother.
After he graduated from high school, the two continued their friendship and Hembury was there to toast many of Shannon’s accomplishments, which Hembury is quick to say filled him with pride.
It was Hembury who brought Shannon to the attention of UA’s police chief, who gave him a job “walking girls to their dorms when he was right out of high school.” Campus patrol escort service, it was called.
Shannon was such a responsible young man that when it came time for him to purchase his first car, Hembury co-signed for him. “And he paid it off just as agreed,” Hembury said.
The police chief was sold on Shannon’s work ethic and eventually offered him a position in the university’s police department. “I worked in the dispatch center for the police and custodial departments,” Shannon said.
Shannon earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice and went full time with the department after finishing the police academy. Over the years, he worked a variety of shifts and assignments, including detective.
Hembury was so impressed by the work of the Big Brothers Big Sisters that he served on its board. “There were no Big Brothers on the board at the time,” he said.
Hembury went to churches, talking to men’s groups and trying to get them interested in being Big Brothers.
While Shannon has yet to go out to Arizona to visit the Hemburys, he knows their door is always open.
Both Shannon and Hembury believe Big Brothers Big Sisters is as vital today in terms of providing strong role models as it was more than three decades ago, when it put them together.
For them, it was life altering in ways neither would ever have imagined.
For information about the program and how you can join, please call 330-376-6503..
Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.
