Larry Samson
CEO/President RENEW Board

Larry Samson has been the CEO and President of RENEW for 27 years. His “journey” at Rehabilitation Enterprises of North Eastern Wyoming, his awards, accolades and contributions to the field would fill a good-sized book but there’s also a somewhat lesser known story of Larry that makes for a great read and perhaps sheds some light why this man is where he is today. We present
this other, truncated narrative.

Born in western Iowa, it was the Great Flood of 1950, an explosion at a government ammunition depot and finally medical advice that Larry’s mom seek a sunnier climate that prompted Donald and Charlotte to leave their midwestern roots with their two children Larry and Dick in tow.

With a suggested destination of Arizona, Colorado’s Fort Collins was a way station that in 1953 became the new Samson domicile. It was there that Larry graduated from Fort Collins High School and also got some disturbing news: a heart murmur would prevent him from participating in the contact sports he loved so much. It would also, the doctors said, pare his life expectancy down to an eye-opening 40 to 45 years.

Some might have settled for a sedentary lifestyle. Larry decided he would double his efforts to squeeze a complete life experience in the years his heart would permit. That meant graduating with a double major in psychology and sociology from Adams State College.

As it had for many others, the war in Vietnam interrupted Samson’s plans for graduate school. Army doctors said his heart and a metal pin in his left hand would keep him out of the conflict. There was nothing they could do for the murmur but physical therapy could help his hand mobility. Samson was referred to a Colorado State vocational rehabilitation counselor.

That referral, like the disaster-prompted move from the midwest, would turn out to be another life changing event. Prompted by his already manifested interest (and degrees) in psychology and sociology, Larry Samson’s own rehabilitation experience sparked the realization that if rehab helped him, it would help others and that’s something he’d like to be involved in.

There was more good news: there was a need for rehab counselors and government grant money for graduate school was available. And as luck would have it, nearby University of Northern Colorado was one of a handful of schools that would offer a degree in rehabilitation counseling.

Samson was preparing for graduation from that program and was ready to make arrangements for the final requirement -- an internship site. Always an outdoor enthusiast who enjoyed hunting and fishing and the wide open spaces, Larry’s first choice of an internship location was Alaska but they told him he needed related experience. Having been through the Big Horns, Wyoming was an easy second choice with Sheridan his first local choice. Wyoming said “yes” and a Sheridan position did open. Finally, Larry had the career of choice in his city of choice. For six years Samson was the district rehab counselor for north eastern
Wyoming -- specifically Sheridan, Johnson, Campbell, Weston and Crook Counties (ironically, the same counties that RENEW serves today).

In 1980 the CEO and President position opened up at RENEW. Larry was interviewed and asked to take over the leadership of the organization; he accepted and, as they say, “the rest is history.”

And Larry Samson’s reason for his more than a quarter century of service at RENEW? “I believe we were all put on this earth for a reason, that we should make a difference during the finite time we are here. Doctors gave me a limited number of years that I’m happy to report I’ve far outlived. To be in a position to assist others -- those with so-called “disabilities” -- has given my life true purpose.”

All that being said, it needs to be reported that there’s a fun-loving side of Larry. The dad of four, grandfather of six is a family man and, as hinted at earlier, an outdoors man. His office is lined with mementos of family and fauna. There’s a sign on his office door that reads “business hours subject to change during hunting season.” Larry appreciates the sentiment even if his responsibilities make his fishing and hunting trips in the Big Horns not as frequent as wished.

On a warm weekend, though, Larry and wife Stella do take to the hills or parts beyond on their twin Honda Gold Wing motorcycles. And yes, on the balmy days that Wyoming weather allows, that is the RENEW President and CEO commuting to work on his motorcycle. Is this any way to live a life? You bet it is.