In this era of seemingly endless bad news upon bad news, it’s refreshing to encounter some of the other kind: the good stuff. And it’s local. I’d like to share it.
Sometimes the most selfless givers among us go unnoticed. Sometimes it’s only the self-promoters who get heralded.
This is, in a sense, a turnaround story about a local man who has been giving back to this community and, to my mind, needs to be noticed. Or even heralded.
I met him years ago when he asked me to draft a letter to his landscape customers. Just another landscaper in town? Maybe not.
For 59 years, Dean Cuzner has lived in this community. Like all of us, he has had his ups and downs. I’ve known him through all of these. For a while, alcohol addiction got the best of him. His company, Cuzner / W.H.I.P. Landscaping — went down to one truck and was nearly gone. That was years ago. Then, on July 21, 2012, Dean decided enough was enough. Since his recovery, he runs one of the larger landscape companies in the area with dozens of vehicles and employees.
His life is now, in a big part, about giving back. Giving back through both his company and in his personal time.
How? Let’s start with the town. I found out that for no charge he provides landscape services to the town at such sites as Abbott Hall, Clark Landing, Memorial Park for Veterans and Fan Zone at Marblehead High School. It’s one way he’s giving back.
Another is to those suffering from addiction. Dean’s recovery came in part through an inspiring woman named Michelle Simmons, head of the Recovery Coaching Certification Program at North Shore Community College. Dean was one of 27 in his class from all walks of life receiving comprehensive training as a recovery coach.
“One thing I learned,” Dean says, “Is it’s ‘one day at a time’ for every day. And another: when someone struggling with addiction says to me that they’re ‘all set,’ I tell them no you’re not, you’re NEVER ‘all set’.”
Today, Dean’s Instagram site, WHIP Recovery, has 4,800 followers from around the world.
And then came the little rocks. They were one of his inspirations. Dean carries them everywhere he goes now. When he encounters someone seeming down or needy, he hands one out. The smooth little rocks are inscribed with such phrases as: One Day at a Time, Never Give Up, Keep it Simple, Live, Inspire, Success and You Got This.
“It seems so simple,” Dean says, “but just the fact of a stranger engaging with someone in need is really profound. It stops people in their tracks, often brings them to tears, almost shocks them into realizing that someone really cares about them. They treasure them. I could tell story after story about what an impact something this simple makes.”
And so it goes. Giving back is really what it’s all about.
Dave Roper is the author of five books and owner of A-Script, a Marblehead-based writing and career assistance firm founded in 1982.
