Profile: Shake-A-Leg Director Tim Flynn

By: Justine Tomon
Posted In: Campus News

Yankees fan or Mets fan. “What do you think?” asks Tim Flynn in a voice that almost seems to say, “And what are you gonna do about it if you don’t like my answer?” Such is the confident, self-assured and all the while witty nature of the director of Shake-a-Leg, the Newport-based nonprofit devoted to independence for people with spinal cord related disabilities.

It’s that same tone carried over from a presentation of the critically acclaimed documentary, ‘Murderball’ one week previous. Following the screening of the documentary, which chronicles the experiences of players in the highly competitive world of quad (for quadriplegic rugby, Flynn turned to his meager audience of six and said, with an allusion to another documentary, “Can you believe those . . . penguins beat that?”

Eliciting giggles from the crowd one minute and silencing the room with a single story is a talent Flynn perfected over the years.

“My story isn’t all that great,” Flynn modestly said. “I grew up in New York, went to college, broke my neck on spring break and now run this place,” he added gesturing to his office.

That office is alive with posters plastered on every square inch of wall space. Kayaking. Rowing. Sailing. The possibilities are endless for the, “handicapable,” the term Flynn uses. Rainbows of colors and the faces of happy campers, literally, greet everyone who walks through the door. As the summer programs approach, the phone incessantly rings, beckoning Flynn to answer. “I’m the only one here today so I have to do it all.” Not that he minds.

Since named Shake-a-Leg’s director in December 2005, Flynn has put everything he has into making the organization one of the most successful advocacy programs for independent living. “Statistically we’ve got 72.3 years to live . . . and I want to help people achieve the most with what they’ve got.”

Politics and Personal Life

Born and raised for his first nine years in the Bronx before moving into Manhattan, Flynn grew up in a political family with the assumption that he too would venture into the political field. For that reason, Flynn got his first job with the Democratic National Convention in 1980 in Manhattan.

He worked in media facilities setting up booths and antennae for major media outlets. But besides the wonderful political experience, the DNC was in Madison Square Garden. Home of the New York Knicks. Home of the New York Rangers. “And I had run of the whole place,” said an emphatic Flynn.

Just as some parents expect their children to be doctors or professional athletes, it was the hope that Flynn would follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. His grandfather, whom he never knew, was Edward James Flynn, 1922 chairman of the Democratic party in the Bronx, political boss, Secretary of State from 1929 through 1939 for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1940 national chairman of the Democratic party and 1943 chairman of the DNC.

Unfortunately for Flynn’s parents, he wasn’t a great student.

“I did that legendary five-year program,” said Flynn with a bashful smile. He attended boarding school at the Canterbury School in Connecticut and admits he didn’t do well. “I was more interested in other extracurricular activities,” he said.

After his time in Connecticut, he decided to up and leave not just the state but the country. He spent the summer following his boarding school graduation in Templeglantine, Ireland, working at the Devon Inn Hotel.

A free spirit, Flynn did not know what he wanted out of life nor which direction he’d take it in. He followed his heart to Ireland, the land of his ancestors, for a few months before deciding to take the next step in his future. This next step came in the form of Kenyon College in Ohio, where he had, “no idea” what he was going to major in. Because he was a less than stellar student, he took the required electives and waited until he absolutely had to declare.

Flynn only spent two semesters at Kenyon.

Life Can Change in an Instant

Spring break 1981. Life can change in an instant. And that was Flynn’s instant. While out celebrating their temporary liberation from studying, exams and presentations, Flynn and a buddy were drinking. Between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., Flynn got in the family station wagon with his friend sitting in the passenger seat.

After driving too fast, he lost control of the car, and it tumbled across the road until it came to a rest leaving Flynn paralyzed and his friend a little bruised.

The familiar face of a volunteer fireman offered some relief to Flynn, who knew then that something was wrong. “I couldn’t move. I was scared,” he said. “I don’t remember anything other than my neighbor crying.”

Flynn spent two months in the hospital followed by an additional six months in rehabilitation therapy. In rehab, he was forced to relearn basic elements of life. Tying his shoes. Getting dressed. Brushing his teeth. Activities that were once so simple and mindless were now the daily challenges causing frustration and anger.

“I went through the ‘why me’ phase. Then I started to think ‘why not me’. This happened. I have to live with it,” Flynn said. And that mindset is the basic foundation of the success of Shake-a-Leg. He added, “You’re only disabled if you think you are.”

Rebuilding a Life

After the accident, Flynn knew that returning to Kenyon College was not an option and he relocated his academic career to Fordham University in Lincoln Center as a part-time student. Eventually he worked up to earn his bachelor’s degree in English. “Well my dad was an English major at Princeton so I guess I was kind of predetermined,” he said with a laugh.

With 24-hour nursing care and a shuttle service to get him to classes on campus, earning his degree took him longer than expected. But because he was never a great student, he wasn’t that worried about it. Until he realized that it was integral to finding a career to have earned a bachelor’s degree. Flynn earned his English degree, but still had no idea what he wanted out of this new life.

Shake-A-Leg

In 1983, Flynn met the director of Shake-a-Leg and was invited to return to Rhode Island as a grant writer for the organization. Flynn commented that his first reaction to this man’s proposition was, “Shake-a-Leg? What do they sell? Chicken? Don’t I need a passport to go to the mythical place of Rhode Island?” In retrospect, though, it was the “best thing [he] ever did”.

That first summer in Rhode Island, Flynn took part in a six-week physical training program sponsored by Shake-a-Leg. The program shocked Flynn. “I didn’t know I would be able to do all that they showed us,” he said. It was at this program that he met his best friend, Jack Porter.

Porter, now a professor at the Citadel, remembers the first time he met Flynn, “He was such a character. Took everything in stride and always had a good perspective on things.” The men met and became immediate friends. Both were true New Yorkers and enjoyed heading up to the regionally more sensible Fenway Park to cheer on their beloved Yankees.

“We got used to things together. It was very comforting to have someone like Tim with me as I adjusted to this new lifestyle,” said Porter. Though Porter lives in South Carolina now, the two remain close and speak often.

Following Flynn’s own experience as a member of the program, he spent three years doing clerical work and writing grants. The experience was strengthened by his previous work with the media powerhouses back in his days of interning at the DNC.

Eventually, Flynn was offered a more executive position which provided him with the opportunity of returning to New York. Flynn worked with the Manocheri Organization with the mission to completely ban federal licensure in the media on all alcohol-related advertisements. Disappointingly, the bill they worked so hard to draw up was never passed.

Again, Flynn was faced with a decision of what to do. He could stay in his native New York, where it was more of a transportation challenge for him, or he could return to suburbian Rhode Island. He chose to return to Rhode Island and upon his return was offered the position of Shake-a-Leg director.

Therapy–or a Kayak Trip

Shake-a-Leg is a nonprofit organization devoted to the improvement in level of independence for people with spinal cord related disabilities. Because the organization is nonprofit, occasionally Flynn has run in to some problems with sponsors and financial support. But those problems were at the outset of Flynn’s direction. Shake-a-Leg now has 10 different corporate sponsors.

Flynn works with the organization to provide activities for the teens and adults with spinal cord injuries. “Typically organizations like this advocate getting better. What is special about Shake-a-Leg is that we emphasize the importance of being social,” Flynn said.

A poster hangs on the wall in the office and reads, “$300 can buy three physical therapy sessions or a kayaking trip.” That is the attitude of Shake-a-Leg. “I get great satisfaction out of being able to compete in society,” Flynn said adding that offering fun and recreation is just as important as strengthening muscles.

Salve Regina University will play host to this summer’s Shake-a-Leg activities, which include an adaptive sailing program. This sailing program is ranked the first in the country and boasts eight or nine locations throughout the country. Flynn works with Salve to promote his mission and increase awareness for the people he is so determined to help.

Dr. Judith Drew, the director at the university’s office of disabilities, said, “Tim has all the right qualities to run this program. He is a complex, but wonderful person.”

Flynn knows that being in a wheelchair brings out a sense of guilt from the people around him, but he is his own paradigm of successful independent living. “I have 60-year-old women walk up to me in walkers and ask me if I need help. I kind of look at them like, ‘Do you need help?”

With a combination of humor and firm grasp on reality, Flynn is able to efficiently run Shake-a-Leg. The people around him have the highest opinions of him and he says so himself that he is, “a pretty terrific fellow.”