Rick Reisman, longtime director of the Seafarers Addictions Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Valley Lee, Md., passed away March 8 after a long illness. He was 57.
Reisman directed the ARC for nearly 28 years before retiring in August 2003. He earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Virginia in 1975 and was a licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a member of both the American Mental Health Counselors Association and the American Counseling Association.
More than 2,500 individuals have been admitted to the ARC since it opened in 1976. Reisman tried to help virtually all of them.
“In a quiet way, he probably touched more people and saved more people than anybody I know,” said Paul Hall Center Vice President Don Nolan, who knew Reisman for 28 years. “He was an administrator and left the day-to-day operation up to his counselors and let people do their job. But he was extremely dedicated, and he did his job with class.”
Bill Eckles, clinical director at the ARC and a co-worker of Reisman for 25 years, described Rick as “devoted to the center and the union members. Between us, we brought the center along in the field, to the point where it has become one of the premier treatment centers in the country.”
Kerrie Thompson, ARC secretary, worked with Reisman for nearly 24 years. “He was a very dedicated, loyal man,” she recalled. “Not just to the union and its members, but also to his family and friends. He created an atmosphere here where everyone was comfortable, like a team or a family. Teamwork was big to him. It worked. He’ll be missed.”
One Seafarer who recovered through the ARC noted, “I remember him telling me, you and you alone know the truth about yourself. Honesty plays a big role in our program. He helped me a lot and he told me, if you can’t make it here, where else you got to go? I really had to think about that. I had nowhere else to go. My career was on the verge of being washed out; my family didn’t want anything to do with me. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t focus on recovery. That really stopped me in my tracks. Thank God he told me the truth. He and Bill, they were big milestones. Very powerful instruments in my early recovery, and not only that, I kept in touch with him and Bill.”
“We do still have people who call who came through 20 years ago,” Thompson said. “Sometimes 10 years will go by and someone will call us and let us know, ‘Hey, I’ve been sober for 10 years.’”
Bud Adams, a consultant at the Paul Hall Center who directed the school’s arts and crafts center for many years, considered Reisman a close friend. “What I’ll miss about him is his friendship, his loyalty to people. He had a calming personality,” Adams said.
He and Reisman worked together to start an “art incentive” program for those in recovery. “The idea was to give people a change of pace from therapy, and also help them follow through on things that they’d never done before or never thought they could do,” Adams noted. “We eventually found that the people who weren’t (fully) participating in their recovery also weren’t participating in the art part of it, and we used that discovery to help them.”
Deborah Kleinberg of the SIU’s legal department knew Reisman for 20 years. They worked together on specific issues pertaining to the ARC and also beginning in 1989 when new drug-testing regulations for mariners were issued by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“Throughout his tenure at the ARC, Rick helped thousands of seafarers during the most difficult periods of their lives,” Kleinberg said. “Seafarers seeking treatment met Rick at a time when they were most vulnerable — emotionally and physically. Rick treated each individual with respect and in a dignified manner. While he believed that each person was responsible for his or her own recovery, Rick offered every client guidance, support and encouragement. Rick worked at the ARC with great dedication to his staff and his clients and he responded to the unique challenges of his work with humor, grace and compassion.”
Kitty Eno knew Reisman from when she was the personnel director at the Paul Hall Center. “He was always a gentleman, always very professional and wonderful to work with,” she said.
A native of Philadelphia, Reisman was an avid boater throughout his life. He was preceded in death by his only brother, Michael Terry Reisman, and is survived by his wife of 27 years, Liz, and their two sons.
A memorial service took place March 12 at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Valley Lee.
Reisman’s family thanked those who have sent expressions of sympathy, including those who let them know how he helped them change their lives.
Memorial contributions may be made to:
Johns Hopkins Cancer Center
Head and Neck Cancer Research
c/o Arlene Forastiere and Michael Gibson
1650 Orleans Street, Room G-90
Baltimore, MD 21231-1000
or to:
Hospice of St. Mary’s
P.O. Box 625
Leonardtown, MD 20650
Printer Friendly Page