Chuck Young picked an opportune time to retire.
After 11 years as president of Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Winnetka, Ill., Young retired in spring 2016. Looking for a part-time “age-appropriate gig,” he became a guest services ambassador at historic Wrigley Field, home of his beloved Chicago Cubs. He jokingly told friends it was his “last chance to get a ring.”
That year, the Cubs achieved the seemingly unattainable when they won their first World Series in 108 years. As a game-day associate, Young received a World Series ring from the club.
In 2017, the Cubs created a new position, supervisor of Accessibility Services for fans with disabilities. Young was in the right place at the right time again and was hired. His expanded duties at Wrigley Field, including the Cubs’ playoff run this season, include assisting special needs fans around the ballpark and making their game-day experience even more enjoyable.
At a game in mid-August, for example, Young made sure a teenager named Jason, using a wheelchair-bed and needing oxygen, had a memorable birthday. “The best part of my retirement career is helping a young man like Jason to celebrate his 16th birthday. I relocated his family of seven to seating where Jason could be more comfortable, and I let Jason wear my World Series ring,” Young said.
Jason’s day also included a chance meeting outside the parking lot with Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who signed Jason’s Cubs jersey.
Young has been able to continue his work — he boils it down to problem-solving and facilitating access — that has defined his long and successful career in vocational rehabilitation since graduating from University of Wisconsin-Stout.
A Pennsylvania native who grew up in Chicago, he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial education from UW-Stout in 1971 and a master’s in vocational rehabilitation in 1972. Prior to his job with Hadley Institute, formerly known as the Hadley School for the Blind, he was a career-counseling consultant for five years and administrator for the Oregon Commission for the Blind for 21 years.
At Wrigley Field, Young has a staff of 60 part-time guest service ambassadors/wheelchair escorts, with 25 working per game. He makes sure everything runs smoothly for those fans, including special seating options, accessible parking and other ballpark accommodations.
Recently, a dozen-plus disabled youth from Texas arrived unannounced for a game. They had won the world championship of wheelchair softball in Chicago. Young and his staff found them seating in an accessible area and made sure they had a chance after the game to run the bases with other children during the Cubs’ Kids Run The Bases program.
Young and his staff also work concerts at Wrigley Field. “Physical, sensory or mobility issues come up, and you find ways to creatively deal with it. My staff makes the game or concert as accessible as possible,” Young said, citing the Cubs’ 2018 marketing slogan: “Everybody IN.”
The Cubs multiyear restoration and expansion of Wrigley Field, known as the 1060 Project, is well underway. The project includes upgrades to the ballpark that will allow fans to enjoy new and improved amenities such expanded concessions, restrooms, premier spaces, elevators and much more.
A special career
Young built his career around independent living and employability of individuals with disabilities. In Oregon, he developed a transition program to help blind youth find summer jobs or work experience. He started another program to teach skills for those who are both deaf and blind to live independently.
At Hadley, he developed the Blinded Veterans Initiative that provided free education to more than 500 vets and opened an employment and entrepreneurship center to educate visually impaired individuals regarding finding work or starting a business.
An Army veteran who served from 1965 to 1967 in Germany during the Vietnam War, he worked with Richard Bolles, the best-selling author of “What Color is Your Parachute” to refine his craft in career counseling expertise.
Hadley Institute is a distance education school, providing the visually impaired and their families with programs and support. It serves approximately 10,000 people a year in all 50 states and 100 countries and is the leader worldwide in Braille education, according to its website.
Young said he loved UW-Stout, which he chose after being inspired by high school teacher Al Lowe, who was an alumnus. “I always thought Stout offered the most practical, logical, meaningful education with degrees that facilitate exceptional career opportunities. I valued everything about Stout and rural Wisconsin, and I thought I’d never go back to Chicago again.”
Except, he did finally go back — at the right time to be a part of the Cubs finally winning a World Series and to continue his life’s work.
“I’ve really valued my career working with people with disabilities,” he said.
UW-Stout offers an undergraduate program in rehabilitation services, a master’s in rehabilitation counseling and is home to the Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute.
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Photos
Top: Chuck Young, who earned degrees from UW-Stout in 1971 and 1972, helps a fan at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where he is supervisor of Accessibility Services. / Chicago Cubs photo
Bottom: Chuck Young lets a fan at Wrigley Field wear the 2016 World Series championship ring he received while working for the Chicago Cubs. / Chicago Cubs photo
