Success Story Transcript 
September 2015
Marty Davis Success Story

[musical interlude]
Marty Davis: My name is Martin Davis. Currently, I'm an estimator and project manager for Legere Restorations in Schenectady, New York. We handle everything from simple projects where we're replacing a door or window for a customer, all the way up to where we're going in and doing commercial work where we would be designing and building projects where we have to work with architects and engineers. In 2006, late 2006, just before Christmas, I was diagnosed with Epithelioid sarcoma, which is a rare, rare cancer. It starts in the outer regions of the body, limbs, arms, legs, and travels in from there. It started in my left forearm. I originally had limb-saving surgery done, and was recovering from that. And the cancer came back again. I had an amputation at that point in the summer of 2007.

Ruth Davis: Marty amazes me every day. People say to me, "How does he do that?" They'll see something that he's done and say, "How does he do it?" I say I live with him, and I'm not sure how he's accomplished them. There are things that he gets through, and I'm not sure how he did it, but he always figures out a way and is positive about it. 

Darlene Fittizzi-Tanski: Martin came to me a couple of years ago looking for services to re-enter the workforce. He was a self-employed general contractor running his own construction business. 

Marty Davis: I started the job search with Darlene through the Ticket to Work program. I felt like I didn't have the skills it took to even fill out a resume in today's world. Everything has changes so much. It had been 15 years since I filled out a resume. 

Darlene Fittizzi-Tanski: So I assisted Marty with resume development. We reviewed interview strategies and also updated him on the technology needed to obtain employment in the field. There's a lot of different Work Incentives available and the one that really assisted Marty was the nine-month Trial Work Period where he's able to obtain his Social Security benefits, as well as his salary. 

Marty Davis: The nine-month trial period that's offered through the Ticket to Work program is, it's almost soothing in a way. It's that, OK, IÕm going to go out there and I'm gonna try this, but if something happens and it doesn't work, it's not like I'm cut loose, and I'm out there on my own. I went back to work for someone else to prove that I could. I felt, I felt like I needed to be a part of something again. To be a part of something bigger than just myself, tinkering around, and I found it really quick. 

Nathan Quinlan: Marty's work ethic is a rare one, to be honest with you. He's always in here well before he needs to be. He stays later than he needs to be. He's always here when I have questions about projects. He's been a great mentor of sorts to help me get through projects with a lot of stuff that I'm not familiar with. His experience really has been unprecedented by a lot of other people. 

Marty Davis: Being employed in a full-time position puts a certain amount of structure in life, which I think we all need as human beings. It sets a time when you have to be somewhere, and you have to be home. And where I work, it's very flexible, completely flexible. But I set it myself so that I need to be there at a certain time. And I need to accomplish certain things at certain times. And I think we all need that kind of structure.

Ruth Davis: Marty always wants a challenge, or what we refer to as a "project". He's been working full time for Legere for two years, and last fall said, "I want a project. Ō ThatÕs when we bought this house that he's been totally renovating for our daughter and her family to live in.

Marty Davis: I see the project I'm working on for my daughter as something that I've always wanted to be able to do for her, and now that she has a family of her own, I felt compelled to be able to make this happen for them. It's an old farmhouse built in 1900 that needed a complete, complete remodel. It's going to be a fantastic home for her and her family. And it's going to be close to us, which we kind of like. We like keeping them close to home. The Ticket to Work program helped me gain my own independence again. You don't feel like you're tied to that monthly check any more. You're out there, and you're accomplishing things. You're accomplishing goals. YouÕre finding your own way through life rather than being, rather than being tied to this, to this system. 

[musical interlude]