The late Meaghan Nichols Sammons – Class of 1993 – leaves a long legacy as a community humanitarian and as a strong role model for young women. A three-sport student-athlete and team leader while at CCHS, Sammons earned an associate’s degree in Human Services from Schenectady County Community College and attended the State University at Albany. 

She started her career as an intern in 1996 at Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region, a free after-school/summer camp program that inspires at-risk girls in grade K-12 to be strong, smart and bold. She rose through the ranks during her 18-year career at Girls Inc., being named Director of Programs in Albany and Schenectady from 2008-2015. Through her work at Girls Inc. she influenced many young ladies’ lives and provided them with a positive role model and constant support. In 2007 she was awarded the YWCA Women of Achievement and Reach Award for impacting young women’s lives. 

In 2004, Sammons wanted to do something else in her life to help people so she joined the Midway Fire Department. She quickly rose to Lieutenant, then Captain, and then Assistant Chief. Ten years after joining the department she became the first female Fire Chief in the Town of Colonie. Sammons was known in the firehouse as a teacher and mentor for new members, and she was always one of the top responders each year. During her tenure at Midway, she received many honors. This included being named Midway Firefighter of the Year in 2007, and earning the Law & Order Community Service Award from the Joseph E. Zaloga Post 1520 American Legion in 2011. In the summer of 2014 she was diagnosed with cancer, but still carried out her duties as Fire Chief during her treatment. She would not let the illness define her, and at the end of 2014 she was still one of the fire department’s top responders. 

Sammons passed away in March of 2015. A year later she was posthumously awarded the Everyday Hero for the 2016 Community Impact Awards given by The Stakeholders, Inc. – an organization whose mission is to inspire and equip people to take action in their communities. She will always be remembered as a humanitarian who dedicated her life to assisting others.