Patrick Shea retired as a Navy commander in September to pick up a new mission — making sure the American Red Cross is prepared to help communities recover from disasters.
Shea, 48, took over as CEO of the North Florida Region of the American Red Cross on Sept. 30. His territory comprises 34 counties organized among five Red Cross chapters from Pensacola to Jacksonville.
The job means serving as the public face of the organization and making sure everyone is trained.
Shea also is responsible for the stewardship of donations. In the Red Cross, that means delivering 90 cents in direct service for every dollar that's donated.
Seven weeks into the position, Shea appears comfortable.
"I love the job," he said, describing it as busy and "very humbling."
"When you look at the power brought to bear by all the people who help at the Red Cross, you get a keen sense of the criticalness of the relationships between everyone," he said.
Shea served 26 years in the Navy and formerly directed the Naval Forces Southern Command at Mayport Naval Station. He served as commanding officer of the USS Carney and the USS Gettysburg. He holds an MBA in finance and was executive assistant to the Navy's budget director.
This year, Shea decided to retire from the Navy so he and his wife, Carole, and their two teenage boys could settle in where the family has strong ties.
At first he thought he'd find a private-sector job in finance or logistics.
When he learned of the Red Cross job through his Navy contacts, he stopped pursuing other options.
"I had a sense of how important this job was to this organization. I decided it was important to commit entirely to this process," Shea said.
The job allows him to continue to lead and serve in Jacksonville and "do good work with good people" — an opportunity that's not all that common, he said.
Though he enjoys coordinating the large parts that make up national organizations like the Navy or the Red Cross, working hands-on with the people that make up an organization seems to be his greatest preference.
He becomes passionate when recalling his time as a ship commander.
"It was satisfying to see sailors perform as a team and execute like professionals — to be part of the leadership that developed that," he said. "Being captain of a ship is an opportunity to change people's lives. You get to see them blossom into effective leaders that go on to influence others."
He counts as one of his proudest accomplishments his service on Sept. 11, 2001.
Shea was second in command of a Navy air warfare ship that responded within two hours of the fall of the Twin Towers.
The crew moved into position from Norfolk, Va., to provide air-traffic control to Washington D.C.
His sister saw news footage of his ship underway, its U.S. flag unfurled, and told him later it gave her comfort to see it headed toward the fight.
"There are men in the Navy who say they wish they could have served during a certain moment of history," Shea said.
"I tell them, 'If you serve long enough, you'll get your chance to do something great. So you should be ready, because your chance will come around.'"