Our CFACT family lost a dear member of its team this past Sunday when Adam Houser passed away to be with the Lord. Adam was diagnosed with cancer around a year and a half ago and has fought valiantly to overcome it. Unfortunately, he was unable to overcome the treatments that took a toll on his body, ultimately taking his life shortly after 6 a.m.
Words cannot describe how grief-stricken we all are at this moment.
Adam leaves behind him a lovely wife, Priscilla, and a beautiful 10-month old daughter, Gianna, as well as his brother, Jon, and father, Doug. We grieve along with each of them for their loss. Rest assured, everyone at CFACT will be there to comfort and assist them through this tragedy.
Adam came to us in 2015, having served a stint working in the New Jersey legislature. He was a Jersey boy who graduated from Lafayette College in PA and had a passion for New York City sports, especially the Yankees. Adam actually played baseball in High School, and, as told to me by his lifelong friend and former teammate Kevin Prima, he had impressive base running skills. His most memorable play occurred when the normally mild-mannered Adam Houser rounded third and flew into home plate and took out the catcher, á la Pete Rose. He was, of course, ejected from the game. Had I known about this when I first met him (he didn’t include it on his resume), I would have hired him even quicker, as it was a clear indication he was CFACT material.
Shortly after arriving at our company, Adam was thrown into the pressure cooker. There was no time to dally because our organization was launching its premiere of its “Climate Hustle” film. His first task was to contact all the grassroots Tea Parties, libertarian groups, and GOP and Republican women’s outfits in all the cities and towns where the movie was being shown. His mission: help pack the theaters – all 400+ of them. A lesser employee might have shrunk back from such a daunting task, but not Adam. He kicked butt. At the end of the day, Climate Hustle became the #1 movie in America during its one night showing, beating out Batman vs. Superman and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Adam played an important role in that success.
To be fair, there was a bit of an adjustment for Adam becoming a member of the CFACT team. Everyone loved him; however, our style can be a bit unorthodox to newcomers. Learning how to run toward a rowdy protest instead of away from it, or how to bully your way up to a microphone to demand a speaker answer your rather blunt question, isn’t for the faint of heart. Fortunately, Adam caught on quickly. His first international trip to Morocco would break him in right fast.
Arriving in Morocco shortly after the 2016 elections to attend a high-profile UN climate meeting, Adam got his first taste of what it was like on a CFACT foreign trip. He posted a rather funny video on Facebook telling the story and featuring images of his ride to his hotel down the dark, eerie streets of Marrakesh. He wasn’t sure this first ride wasn’t to be his last, as the area we were driving through looked more like a place the Taliban might dispose of its victims than a hotel zone. But we did arrive safely, and he was given his first assignment – which was to go out into the city, by himself, with no knowledge of French, to find a life-sized pull up photographic image of Donald Trump. We needed this as a prop we would use while shredding the Paris Accord at a media event. Long story short, it took Adam a full day, and we weren’t really sure we’d see him again, but he did return to the hotel having accomplished the mission. A job well done, but of course this first task would be followed by other ones, including handling snakes for a photo op, putting a banner on a moving train, and helping acquire the cameras and materials that were taken from us by UN security when we ultimately got kicked out of the conference. By the end of the trip, Adam had learned to roll with the punches like a pro.
Adam would go on to do many other things for CFACT. He was our National Collegians Director and helped organize several “eco-summits” for students. He assisted with direct mail operations, oversaw our shareholder activities, pulled together our newsletter, put out our tweets, and did a myriad of other important things to keep the wheels turning. He was also very much liked by all CFACT employees. He had a calm, confident, and professional demeanor. He also had a dry sense of humor (think “Jim” in the TV show “The Office”). In all ways, he was honest, dependable, and hard working. He was also a person of deep Christian faith – a faith that he would hold tight to and draw strength from right to the end.
From an earthly perspective, Adam was far too young to be taken from this life and had such a bright future in front of him. He was just 33 years old. Life can be, and often is, unfair. Yet while we all feel robbed of not having more years to be with Adam, we nevertheless feel extremely blessed to have known him and to have had him on our team.
Rest in peace, Adam. We expect to see you again at home plate one day.
Make a gift to Priscilla and Gianna Houser
Adam’s wake and funeral details:
Wake for Adam is 6/20 Tuesday
4-8pm @ O’ Brien funeral home
505 Burnt Tavern Rd, Brick Township, NJ 08724
FUNERAL 6/21 Wednesday
Final viewing starts 10am
Memorial Service 11am
Life Chapel church
3118 Bridge Ave
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742