To Know Who I Am, You Need To Know Sam

To know who I am, is to know who my father was. Today is 6 years since his passing and I miss him terribly. Papi was “my person”.

Despite a very challenging childhood in the South Bronx, Sam Haiman fulfilled a successful career as a highway safety leader and champion for 29 years at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA , Eastern Region, headquartered in White Plains, New York. His highway safety career started in 1972 as the assistant director of the Puerto Rico Alcohol Safety Action Project (ASAP) in San Juan. Many of the NHTSA’s current impaired driving general and specific deterrence countermeasures and protocols were evaluated for effectiveness by the Puerto Rico-ASAP.

?I’m sure Papi spared me a lot of the details of the adversity he faced growing up, but I always remember him repeating two stories. I think it’s because they helped him break away from the poverty and violence he grew up in. First, that he worked hard since he was a little boy (8, perhaps 9 years old).? As the oldest son of the “supers” of the apartment building he lived in, he used to tell me that every morning before going to school he and his younger brother had to clean all the floors and stairwells from the basement where they lived in “rent free” to the top floor. So, the first and last time that I complained that I was exhausted from work in front of him, he told me “Remember, you are not exhausted. Exhausted is the field worker who has to carry her baby on her back while she picks fruit doubled over and on her feet all day under the hot sun.”

The second story that always stuck with me stems from Papi’s experience being beat up frequently by his stepfather. However, one good day when he was 14, as Papi was trying to run out of the building to escape another beating, his friend Errol Sawyer stood in the way and told the man, “If I hear that you lay one more finger on Sam, I’m going to come back here and kick your ass.” The beatings stopped. My father explained, “You see Errol…he’s been over 6 feet tall and 200 pounds since the day he was born. I was a lanky teenager, but my stepfather wasn't going to mess around with Errol”. All my father’s friends were longtime friends, and they loved each other like family. They were my "Tío's". That’s how I learned the value of friendships.

Papi’s mom passed away suddenly and unexpectedly when he was 17. I never met her. He along with his brother (then 16) and sister (14) managed to stay under the government’s radar until Papi turned 18 and became "head of household". They had to stick together and make ends meet when their stepfather kicked them out of the apartment upon her death, “You three get out.?You’re not mine.” Knowing these stories, I was always in awe of Papi’s capacity to forgive because we occasionally saw his stepfather when I was a kid.

?Sam Haiman graduated high school and obtained a B.A. in English Literature from Hunter College in 1968. He often taught us life lessons by quoting Shakespeare, and then going into an entire lecture. He was a fantastic storyteller.? In 1972, he accepted the job in Puerto Rico with the National Highway Safety Administration, then came back to New York in 1976 to join the White Plains office. Puerto Rico had passed the Nation's first primary safety belt law, and Papi was part of all that. He LOVED people and was proud that his career was all about saving people’s lives.

?In 1978, Papi's permanent duty station was moved to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He requested this and it was granted: a credit to his effectiveness and high integrity as he was the only regional office team member to be located in a remote office. This is why when I wanted to move to Orlando from New York in 2008 and negotiated working for the New York Post from home, I knew remote work was possible because my father was the GOAT – he had already done it 30 years prior, and it’s why I grew up en La Isla del Encanto.

?Sam Haiman's work formed the foundation for NHTSA’s Tri-State Traffic Partners campaign and “Looking Beyond the Ticket” training courses, which remain in high demand today. His expertise was sought from as far away as Japan to Latin America. As a member of a NHTSA and the Federal Highway Administration international resource teams, he visited Colombia, Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica. As a leading NHTSA Spanish language spokesperson, he appeared several times on national new shows for Telemundo and Univision. A frequent guest on Latino radio, my father helped NHTSA Tri-State partners in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey with on-air support and translations.

?NHTSA headquarters and other regional offices also relied on Papi for leadership and assistance when dealing with diverse communities, and in working with ONEDOT partners on refining work zone safety, alternative highway funding, and transportation safety curriculums. In Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the U.S Navy, Army, Coast Guard, Postal Service, RSPA, VI Consolidated Schools, MAPFRE Insurance, MADD-PR (Sonia Se?eriz Foundation) and countless others relied on Papi for strategic planning assistance. Including myself…all day – every day.

?My father was a magnificent human being who taught me what unconditional love, integrity, advocacy, and creating your own path looks like. ?He was and still is “my person”. I strive every day to follow his example and make him proud.