by Joseph H. RADDER
Dr. James M. Boles, President and CEO of People Inc., is indeed a pioneer in human
services. For example, he established one of the first group homes in Western New York,
providing a shared residence for developmentally disabled people. People Inc. now operates
90 such homes throughout the area, serving 500 to 600 people. Family respite centers, a
Young Adult Life Transitions Program, Children's services and Senior services, including
housing for low income seniors, are also services People Inc. provides to the community.
"Our commitment remains to the highest quality in our existing programs that serve
thousands of people, many around the clock," Dr. Boles said. "We'll be creating
more supportive homes for individuals with developmental disabilities, the doors opened to
a new Family Respite Center, we'll be collaborating with additional colleges to expand our
Young Adult Life Transitions program, and our children's services will expand as we carry
on our efforts to establish a charter school. Our senior services will continue to meet
even more of the need of the growing elderly population, including two new affordable
apartment complexes in Orchard Park and Lackawanna with further development started in
West Seneca, Clarence and Cheektowaga. We're working our way up to an even dozen of
these," he continued.
People Inc. serves people of all ages, from children to aging seniors thanks to funding by
contributions from the People Inc. board, staff, the State of New York, families,
corporations, foundations and many friends in the community. Many of the agency's programs
are funded through contracts with local, state and federal governments. Truly People Inc.
is a classic example of people helping people.
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| Mom and Dad - Margaret and James A. Boles, 1965. | Jim Boles - 1 year old as a toddler. |
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| Jim Boles - 9 years old. | Father and son relaxing. |
Dr. Boles, has been with People Inc. for twenty-four years. He came here from
Massachusetts where he was executive director of the Hampshire Association for Mental
Health in Northampton, Mass. From 1997 through 2000 he was also a part-time Adjunct
Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He began his career in human
services in 1972, administering two community residences serving mentally ill adults in
Westminster, California. Prior to taking the position in Massachusetts he was an
instructor at Niagara Community College and a marriage, family and child counselor in
Niagara Falls. Simultaneously he was a researcher, initiating a research project that
analyzed a community system serving mentally ill, developmentally disabled and alcoholic
clients. This work became the basis for his doctoral dissertation at Columbia University,
where he received his degree in 1978 as doctor of education in family and community
relations.
He also received a masters degree in the same field at Columbia in 1975 and a master's
degree in clinical psychology at Goddard College in 1974. His college education began at
Brockport State College, where he received a BS degree in English education in 1972. Boles
served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968.
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| Jim and Paige Boles, 1974. | All dressed up: Jim and Paige. |
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| Celebrating the holidays: daughter Shawna, Paige, Jim and son Christopher. |
When Dr. Boles moved from Massachusetts to Buffalo he was really coming back home. You
see, he was born in Lockport, N.Y. in 1947. His father, James A. Boles, was an accountant.
"My father was always very optimistic, even when it wasn't justified,"Dr. Boles
remembered with a smile. His mother, Margaret Dugan Boles, was a nurse. "She was
really a hard-worker," he said. "She was always working."
He has a brother, Timothy, a retired maintenance supervisor, who lives in Kenmore. His
sister, Mary, is a lawyer and a hearing judge for the State of New York and lives in
Buffalo. His brother, Dan is a real estate developer in Las Vegas. His brother, David, is
a social worker in Massachusetts. His sister Colleen is a student and lives in Buffalo.
His sister Rebecca also lives in Buffalo and is in school.
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| Jim Boles admiring a Vincent motorcycle at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. | Jim Boles at Classic Auto Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. |
Dr. Boles and Paige Conrad were married in 1974 in Newfane, New York, at St. Bridget's
Roman Catholic Church. Mrs. Boles is a kindergarten teacher. The Boles have two adult
children, Christopher, age 29, who is a graduate student at UB majoring in marketing and
media and Shawna, age 26, a social worker who is beginning a doctorate program in
psychology.
Dr. Boles has received many awards and honors over the years. A recent honor, of which he
is very proud, is the Adrian Levy Award, received in September last year from the New York
State Rehabilitation Association. The citation accompanying this award states, in part,
"People Inc. has matured under his leadership, becoming the area's largest
not-for-profit human service agency, touching over 10,000 lives annually with over 2,000
staff. He established a culture which continues today to share information and technical
expertise with other providers, to take risks and experiment with new techniques and
approaches, to contribute to the larger field and the mutual goals of the provider
community rather than just those that would directly benefit his own organization."
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| People Inc.'s Museum of disABILITY History is an innovative program that Jim Boles initiated. | Celebrating the 10th anniversary of People
Inc.'s Elmwood Health Center. L-R: Vice President Anna Korus, Jim Boles, EHC Director
Christina Sage and Board member Patrick F. Reilly. |
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| Dr. James Boles, Chairman of ECDDPC 1980’s with Senator Anthony Masiello, Assemblyman Richard Keane and Erie County Legislator Thomas Mazur. | Opening a new People Inc. group home. L-R: Board member Patrick F. Reilly, Jim Boles, a program participant and Tom Siczewicz. |
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| People Inc. Foundation Board Chairperson Ralph Vanner, Sr. and Jim Boles thank the crowd at the agency's annual golf tournament in 2004 with proceeds benefiting the Family Respite Center Capital Campaign. |
He is on several boards of directors including the KeyBank Western New York Advisory
Board, the Rehabilitation Research and Training Institute and the New York State
Association of Rehabilitation Facilities. He was president of the latter organization from
1993-1995.
Future plans? Dr. Boles plans on working at least ten more years before he starts thinking
about retirement.
The growth of People Inc. and Dr. Boles' leadership has been legendary. "When I came
here this agency had a staff of 200 and a budget of $2 million. Today we have 2,200 staff
and the budget is over $70 million. I have a very good board of directors and a lot of
competent staff. The agency's service area covers the eight counties of Western New York.
What may surprise some people is the fact that People Inc. has more beds than Buffalo
General Hospital. Dr. Boles spoke of People Inc.'s unique management challenge. Unlike a
large hospital, where almost all of the employees work under one roof and one management,
People Inc.'s 2,200 employees are spread out over more than 100 sites.
And, of course, it's a 24/7 operation. "We never close," Dr. Boles said.
"We're like one of those 24 hour diners that lost the key to the front door because
they never use it."
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| Celebrating KeyBank's donation to open an Employee Training Computer Lab. | Assemblymember Crystal Peoples (left) and Assemblymember Sam Hoyt (center) joined People Inc. COO Rhonda Frederick and President and CEO James M. Boles, Ed.D. to present the check to Seniors Unlimited staff and program participants. |
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| Congressman Brian Higgins and Jim Boles welcome two tenants to their new HUD Senior housing complex at Seneca-Cazenovia Square in South Buffalo. | New York Senator George Maziarz, People Inc. Board Chairperson, Georgiana Jungels and Jim Boles join together at a ribbon cutting for the Seniors Unlimited program. |
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| Our friends from the cover: Seated L-R: Jill Turchiarelli, Jim Boles, Donna Fogarty, Alexandria Harbin (stroller), Rose Causley and Julie Kowalewski. Standing L-R: Gay Meyers, Javier Ruiz, Ruth Muszynski, Verna Staples, Jeffrey Vance and Barbara Rance. |
A relatively new project that Dr. Boles is very excited about is People Inc.'s Museum of
disABILITY History. "I was doing some research work," he said, "and I
couldn't find anything on the history of disabilities. There was second-hand information
in text-books, but, I said to myself, there must be a disabilities museum somewhere. I'll
go and find it. But there wasn't one in the United States, not even in the world. So,
about six years ago we started one with a charter from New York State." The Museum is
now located in the building next door to People Inc.'s headquarters on North Forest Road
in Williamsville. "But I'm working with the Town of Amherst to move our Museum into
the old Mennonite school house on Main Street at North Forest, currently being used only
for storage."
The Museum collection includes historic postcards and reports from asylums and state
schools, photos and lithographs of individuals with developmental disabilities, adaptive
equipment as it evolved, movies with disability themes and books dealing with the subject
of disabilities. There is also a traveling exhibit available to institutions, schools,
libraries, businesses and hospitals or for special events.
This is a perfect example of James Boles' innovative spirit. He's purposeful, he's a
pace-setter and he's a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. People Inc. is fortunate
to have such a creative person at its helm. And Buffalo/Niagara is indeed fortunate to
have People Inc.
Joseph H. Radder is a freelance writer.