TIHAN - Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network

Scott McManus’ Story

Many of us know Scott McManus as “The Other Scott.” Having more than one “Scott” at TIHAN who has dedicated his life to helping those living with HIV can get confusing!
So let’s clear it up once and for all—Scott McManus is the red-headed, Catholic, Jersey guy. In 2002, Scott relocated to the Tucson area (Green Valley actually) to be with his family, and it is truly amazing to consider all that he has done for our community in such a short time.

To understand Scott and his passion, you need to know about his family. The McManus family is a family of unconditional love, support, and care. If you haven’t heard one of Scott’s stories about a brother or a sister, or a brother-in-law or sister-in-law, or nieces and nephews, you haven’t been to TIHAN in a while. His strength and energy radiate from the strong bonds of his family.

Scott has been a TIHAN volunteer since April of 2005, but we’re not sure how we managed so long before that without him. He is literally our “go-to” guy for so many things. He is dependable, efficient, smart, and truly dedicated to HIV/AIDS work. And he is a caring individual with a big heart and a great sense of humor that helps us keep things in perspective.

Scott volunteers at Poz Cafe helping to educate the volunteers from the sponsoring congregations and also helping with set-up, take down, and decorations, and he is always there to welcome people when they arrive. He is also a great BINGO caller. For Poz MarketPlace, Scott picks up the items that you have donated, and takes them to storage; then on the day of Poz Café, he picks up the items from storage and takes them to MarketPlace. If someone can’t get to Poz Cafe and get their MarketPlace care package, Scott personally delivers it to their home. Scott also volunteers on a CareTeam and he serves on TIHAN’s education committee to help with TIHAN’s volunteer orientation and curriculum. Whether it is an event related to “Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS” or “World AIDS Day,” Scott is at almost every TIHAN event.

As if this isn’t enough, there is more. Scott volunteers as a receptionist in the office once a week, which can add a bit of confusion on occasion. He answers the phone and says, “Good morning. Thanks for calling TIHAN. This is Scott. How can I help you?” Inevitably, he will be mistaken for the other Scott, TIHAN’s Executive Director Scott Blades. So he often takes invitations to the other Scott’s lunch appointments, he gets questioned about emails that he didn’t send, and he gets asked to meetings intended for someone else! Jersey Scott quickly clarifies that he is the other Scott, but he also usually knows the answer to their questions! (And we have a sneaking suspicion that he has taken some of Scott Blades’ lunch meetings on occasion too!)

The work that Scott McManus does for TIHAN could easily be a full-time job, but he does even more than all this. As a volunteer for SAAF, Scott helps with Harvest Program, which provides fresh produce to people living with HIV. He is also the co-chair of the Pima County CARE Consortium, which allocates and funds for HIV/AIDS service providers and helps to coordinate and evaluate services.

But wait, there’s still more! When he isn’t volunteering at HIV/AIDS organizations, he is challenging us to climb “A” Mountain with him to raise money for cancer or helping to raise money for his nephew’s football team.

And oh yes. Scott McManus is also living with HIV….

Scott McManus is the type of person who will do what ever he can to help others in need. So where does this dedication, energy, and passion come from? What inspires someone to do so much? Scott is active with the HIV+ community and, at times, is inundated with requests. His natural empathy allows him to treat each case as if it were the first one he’s helped with; he showers each person with warmth and respect. He will be the first to tell you it is because he knows that he has been blessed.

We feel that we are blessed to have Scott McManus in our community and truly blessed to have another Scott at TIHAN. Through his service, Scott helps countless people, and is a support, a friend, a resource, and someone who we can count on.

For all these reasons, and many, many, more, in February 2007, TIHAN honored Scott McManus with the highest award that we give, our “Excellence in Caring” Award for outstanding contributions to TIHAN and our community. As someone who is living with HIV and who is also committed to helping other people of faith to get information about HIV/AIDS and serve those in need, Scott serves as a role model and inspiration.

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