Ellington

Robby Scucchi is the state's only certified director of volunteer services. He works at Methodist Specialty Care Center in Flowood, a long-term care facility for severely disabled young people. Scucchi describes his work as motivating, useful and rewarding.

A native of Greenville, Scucchi's family taught him that it was better to give than to receive. As a kid, he always knew that he wanted to be in the service industry.

"I really didn't know what I wanted to do," Scucchi said. "I just knew I wanted to be of service to others and have an impact on their lives."

After high school, Scucchi took a detour from his dream by working in finance and accounting for 10 years. His turning point came when his mother became ill. Scucchi sat by her side in the hospital every day for a week and a half. Every day volunteers came in to assist Scucchi's mother and comfort him.

"It was great to see that in that difficult time. Leading up to and after her death, those volunteers were playing a role in my everyday life," Scucchi said.

Scucchi felt so inspired that he gave his two weeks notice at his finance job and began working in the marketing department at a Greenville hospital. Methodist Specialty Care recruited Scucchi to his current position in November 2004.

"The best thing about my job is the great relationships that I have witnessed," Scucchi said. "The relationships between the residents and volunteers are genuine, and that makes my heart smile even more."

Scucchi credits Methodist's volunteers for making the program what it is.

"We're one of the better programs in the area because we allow flexibility with our volunteers, who are (mostly) high school and college students," Scuuchi said.