TERRANCE MUSCATO

Terrance Muscato began volunteering at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center on February 15, 1981. His first assignment was in Recreation Therapy Service. Approximately five years later, when Voluntary Service was in need of a greeter, Muscato was asked to join the office staff. From that point on, his title has been Voluntary Service Office Manager.

Muscato was born with a disability known as hydrocephalus, a condition that causes fluid to collect inside the skull. His disability has never limited his commitment to the VA Medical Center, the patients or volunteers at Canandaigua. He volunteers four days a week, eight hours a day answering the phone, retrieving the mail, making copies, greeting donors, delivering donated items throughout the medical center and a variety of other tasks.

With an office consisting of only two staff, Muscato has become essential and has provided the assistance needed to enable the volunteer program to become more productive. He is the first smiling face that prospective volunteers and visitors to the VA encounter. He is the essence of the customer service standards that the VA strives to provide and maintain throughout the facility. He is dependable and prides himself on being well versed in the volunteer program policies and procedures.

When Muscato is not volunteering at the VA, he assists his mother at the Canandaigua Veterans Club, a community-based veterans program where veterans socialize and are treated to a hot meal each night. The adoption of this program has provided a much needed community service for the veterans. Many veterans are disconnected from the community and find this a place of salvation. For many veterans who are recently discharged from the safe surroundings of the VA and who for the first time in their lives are found in a position of isolation, this community-based program serves as a learning tool for broadening and enhancing their social skills. Muscato plays cards with the patients, helps his mother with cooking and maintenance and serves as the veterans’ companion.

Muscato’s commitment to the VA Medical Center and veterans is an ongoing involvement. He continues to provide the medical center and the veterans at the Canandaigua Veterans Club with his dedication and commitment to excellence. With 19 years and 40,100 hours of volunteering under his belt, it is safe to say that Muscato will be volunteering for a long time to come.