Kurt Langjahr said he wasn’t looking for recognition when he began volunteering as a travelers aid at Kennedy International Airport 15 years ago.
The long-time New Hyde Park resident said he was just trying to help people, the same way someone had earlier helped him when he had a problem at the airport
“I help the travelers. They lose a passport, we help them get one,” Langjahr said. “We help a lot of celebrities to get through.”
Which made it all the more exciting when he received a letter from President Barack Obama in April informing him that he had selected to receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award earlier this year for his work as a Travelers Aid Volunteer.
“Your volunteer service demonstrates the kind of commitment to your community that moves America a step closer to its great promise,” Obama said in the letter.
“The award from the president was just incredible. I was flabbergasted,” said Langjahr, who volunteers at the airport for five hours a week.
Langjahr missed the luncheon at the airport on April 28 honoring the New York metro recipients of the presidential award,
He was too busy, he said.
The 73-year-old said that among the things keeping him busy was his service on the advisory council of Project Independence, the Town of North Hempstead’s initiative to provide services to enable seniors to remain in their homes.
“I’ll do anything for our seniors,” he said.
Langjahr did attend the town’s 42nd annual Senior Recognition Luncheon last month to received a certificate of recognition from town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, and citations from Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, county Comptroller George Maragos, Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), Nassau County Clerk Maureen O’Connell, and state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola). He also received a certificate of special Congressional recognition from Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola).
“It was pretty nice of them to recognize me,” Langjahr said. “I’ve been doing this volunteer work since the ‘60s.”
Nicolello said he first encountered Langjahr when he was serving on the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park school board.
“Kurt has provided community service for at least 25 years if not longer with the board of education, the village and senior groups. I think he’s really made a difference in the community,” Nicolello said.
Having moved from Queens to New Hyde Park in the mid-1950s, Langjahr didn’t immediately understand that – unlike in Queens – school board members in Nassau County received no compensation.
“After six months, I asked the board president ‘When am I going to get paid?’ ” he said, laughing at the memory.
Langjahr, who retired as a carpenter for the New York City Police Department in 2006, continued to serve on the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park board for 20 years, from 1973 to 1993 while his daughter, Karen and his son, Kurt Jr., were attending district schools.
He’s been New Hyde Park’s volunteer representative on the town and village airline safety and noise abatement committee since the 1990s.
“It’s important to me. Isn’t it nice when it’s quiet around here?” he said.
Langjahr said he’s also been a member of the New Hyde Park Elks Club since the 1990s.
Langjahr said his early days of community service were inspired by President John Kennedy’s challenge to Americans to “ask what you can do for your country” in his inaugural address.
“It’s like President Kennedy said. We all have to put something in,” Langjahr said.
His wife Martha said he often gets something back from those he helps.
“He’s very humble. He gets a lot of thank you cards from people that he helps,” she said.
After working as a carpenter in private industry, Langjahr spent nearly 28 more years as a member of the carpenters union working for the New York Police Department.
After the World Trade Tower attacks in 2001, he said, he spent two weeks putting up barricades on the site and built tables to facilitate distribution of water and the protective suits and masks for the firemen and police combing through the rubble.
“It was awful,” he said. “We worked a lot of overtime after 9/11.”
He has been a member of the Gloria Dei Evangelical Lutheran Church since 1966, serving as a worship assistant at church services, a member of the parish council and facilitating a weekly seniors lunch for the past eight years.
“Kurt’s a very caring person. He has a heart for the community,” Gloria Dei Pastor Ron Gothberg said. “Kurt really seeks to assist people in ways that he’s able to. He’s one of the first people there even before you ask for help.”
Langjahr said his faith is the foundation of his community service and faith helped he and his wife cope with the sudden death of their son Kurt at age 43 last year.
“It’s what Christ said, love your neighbor,” Langjahr said.
