Captivating,
Entertaining
And Inspiring tales Of Life inside The
Prison Walls
Just as Jim helped inmates find a better path forward, these stories will inspire you to live with more compassion in your heart.
A Correctional Officer Inspires Hope
ABOUT
Spanky And His Gang
James “Spanky” Haas treated everyone from the superintendents he worked under to the inmates he guarded with respect and dignity. He believes that no matter your station in life, everyone deserves to be treated fairly, and everyone should be given an opportunity to right their wrongs and earn a second chance in life.
After a 34-year career working as a correctional officer, Jim shares his behind-the-scenes viewpoint of life inside the prison walls. Stressful encounters, hard-nosed discipline and prison breaks were all part of the job, but what lies at the heart of these tales is the hope he inspired through compassion, love, softball and humor.
As manager of the commissary, Jim had inmates he dubbed “His Gang” that worked for him, and he always tried to set a good example. He got to know inmates’ stories and rooted for them to improve themselves after their release. He even made “Spanky Bags” and handed them out to reward inmates that overachieved at work.
By following Jim’s lead, we can all strive to treat each other better. Just as he helped inmates find a better path forward, these stories will inspire you to live with more compassion in your heart.
PRAISE FOR
Spanky And His Gang
– Mary Alys, Florida
– Tanya, New York
– Scott, Florida
“I want to be remembered as a man who was fair, loved his family, tried to help those that I could and always put a smile on people’s faces.”
– James Haas
HELLO
Meet the author
James Haas is a gifted storyteller and is always quick with a joke. He’s a husband, a father, a grandfather, a cherished son and brother, a trusted co-worker and a friend to everyone he has met.
After retiring from a distinguished 34-year career as a correctional officer, Jim dusted off the journals he compiled from his time inside the prison walls and this book is a result of that effort. Jim’s larger-than-life personality, humor, integrity and love for his fellow humans shines through in his stories of the everyday events that happened on the job. The compassion, caring and respect that Jim showed to others, no matter their station in life, is something we can all aspire to match.
Jim is a huge baseball fan and a lifelong New York Yankees fan. Since childhood, he’s been an avid sports card collector and is the owner of Spanky’s Sports Collectibles. Born and raised in western New York, Jim is a big fan of all Buffalo sports teams: the Bills, the Sabres and the Bisons.
As a Corvette enthusiast, Jim is the proud owner of a sleek red Corvette accessorized with a custom license plate that reads: SPANKY. This ride doubled as his modern day sleigh as he joyfully portrayed Santa Claus every holiday season for many years to spread cheer, hope and laughter to kids.
Jim is a graduate of Maryvale High School and now lives in Lancaster, New York with his wife Marcia and their dog Duchess. This is his first book.
SPILL THE PEAS
Have a story to share?
We’re always looking for more life lessons to amplify to help make the world a better place. If you want your story to be told, then we’d love to help you tell it. To be considered for inclusion in a future book or THINK BIG Blog post, simply click the button below, fill out a short form and we’ll be in touch to set up an interview.
