Businessman & Philanthropist Walter Scherr Provides First Hand Account Of The Greatest Generation

BABYLON, N.Y. - June 10, 2015 - PRLog -- Walter Scherr’s memoir, WALTER’S WAY, tells the story of how a Depression-era boy from Queens, New York overcame a life-threatening illness to live an adventurous life as a globe-trotting executive who witnessed and helped foster the post-World War II economic boom.

WALTER’S WAY is a tale full of adventure and excitement as well as disappointment and heartache.  Scherr traveled over two million miles and to forty countries over the course of his career as a corporate executive and entrepreneur.  A business pioneer, he helped introduce the fax machine worldwide, and was a founding board member of four international corporations, including one that broke new ground in data storage – a precursor to today’s Cloud.  The lessons he shares about business, leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and family are priceless.

Scherr, 91, has lived long enough to provide a first-hand account of the emergence of America as a world power after defeating fascism, through the go-go years of the sixties and seventies, right up to the present day.

At age 17, Scherr was ready to enlist after Pearl Harbor, only to be classified 4-F due to tuberculosis, and confined to a sanatorium for more than six years while his buddies went off to war, some of them never to return.  He never forgot those who served and perished, ultimately traveling to the American Cemetery in Normandy to pay respects to a soldier from Queens who died shortly after D-Day.  It was a soldier he never met but nevertheless felt a strong bond with, and he holds Normandy dear to this day.

Due to his illness, Scherr didn’t begin his career until he was in his late 20s.  “Maybe that’s why I was so driven to succeed,” he says.  “I always felt like I had a lot of catching up to do with my peers, who were already out of college and ensconced in their businesses by that point.”

“That point” was the late 1940s, and WALTER’S WAY vividly describes what life was like in those distant decades of the 20th century.  Scherr was there for it all:  He had a bird’s-eye view of the Cold War, having worked for a couple of this country’s major defense contractors when the stand-off with the Russians was at its frostiest.

Scherr’s story is anything but a smooth rise to the top:  At one point in his career, he was blindsided and almost left destitute by one of the world’s largest international companies.  He even spent a brief time in detention in a Communist country.  Yet Scherr rarely met a risk he didn’t want to take.

Part autobiography and part history lesson, WALTER’S WAY will educate, entertain, and inspire everyone, from business executives to veterans to lovers of life, as well as anyone interested in a first-hand account of America’s emergence as a post-WWII industrial powerhouse.  While imparting Scherr’s unique perspectives on business, success, risk, love, and life, WALTER’S WAY will also inspire the power of philanthropy and the value of caring for others, a spirit that shines through the pages of the book.  All proceeds from the sale of the book are being donated to The Center for Discovery.

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About the Author

Walter J. Scherr founded Visual Sciences Inc./Panafax, the first publicly traded facsimile company.  Earlier, he held a variety of financial and operating management positions with Litton Industries and Sperry Gyroscope Co.  He also was an executive and board member at Veeco Instruments.  In 2005, he was honored by the United States Congress with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition for his outstanding and invaluable service to the community.  He is currently working with The Center for Discovery in Monticello, NY to develop a “World Cup for Caregivers,” a recogni­tion program to honor professional, volunteers and innovative caregivers around the globe.  Scherr received his bachelor’s degree from Pace College and his master’s degree from Hofstra University.  Scherr and his wife Sylvia divide their time between Sarasota, FL and Long Island, NY.  For more information, please visit waltersway.org.

Walter, and his late wife Vera, and their children established the Vera and Walter Scherr and Family Foundation to provide resources for people with developmental disabilities and their caretakers.  In 2004, the foundation partnered with The Center for Discovery, a nationally recognized provider of health, educational, and residential services for children and adults with severe disabilities and medical frailties.  The foundation underwrites the tuition for Discovery employees who want to further their knowledge of special education and clinical therapies.  Discovery has awarded scholarships to ninety staff members, empowering those employees to earn bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees from thirty-one colleges.  One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sales of WALTER’S WAY will be donated through the Vera and Walter Scherr and Family Foundation to nonprofit organizations.  For more information about The Center for Discovery, please visit thecenterfordiscovery.org.