"One LinkedIn Post"

April 11, 2026

“One LinkedIn Post”

On the evening of March 30, 2026, I was scrolling through LinkedIn and saw a post by former WMAR TV Newsman Jamie Costello (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-costello-33600aa1/)

On August 27, 2013, Jamie Costello drove to Sinai Hospital in Baltimore Maryland where our daughter, Juliana, was being treated for cancer to interview her for a news story on WMAR TV in Baltimore Maryland.

Jamie Costello and I reconnected on March 19, 2015 when I was making a speech for Believe in Tomorrow (https://www.believeintomorrow.org/). Jamie Costello was the Master of Ceremonies for that event.

I read, in Jamie Costello’s Linkedin post on the evening of March 31, 2026:

“My man Tom Saia!!!! Started at Sizzler, then went to Rustler’s, off to IHOP, Applebee’s (Restaurant), Burger King and now serving it up at “Newk’s Eatery”. Best deal ever??? T-bone, baked potato, roll and salad bar for 1.99!!!!!!!!!”

I could not believe what I was reading. I commented on Jamie Costello’s post:

“Tom was my FIRST boss back in 1983 when I worked at Rustler Steak House on Patapsco Avenue (in Baltimore Maryland) while still in high school. He had a lot more hair back then. I did too. Thank you, Tom, for always being so kind to a nervous, stuttering kid like me. I’ve gone onto some amazing adventures including adopting six kids from Russia and Belarus and a following of hundreds of thousands of people from various countries. THANK YOU, TOM!!”

Tom Saia is the owner of “Newk’s Eatery” in Maryland (https://newks.com/locations/md/gambrills/1360-main-chapel-way/)

Years later in the 1990s, at an Appleby’s Restaurant, in Baltimore Maryland I saw Tom Saia’s name badge and confirmed it was him. In a strange “twist of fate” that restaurant was in the same parking lot where I first started working at Caldor Department Store starting in 1987 and in 1988 met my future wife when I transferred to a new Caldor Store in Westminster Maryland.

At 8:02pm, moments after Tom Saia and I exchanged kind words on LinkedIn, Torone Samuels emailed me. Torone is part of the Executive Team for https://www.juliasgiftfoundation.org/ in Baltimore Maryland.

A few months ago my team at https://growhomebaltimore.org/ arranged to provide case management services for the students of https://www.juliasgiftfoundation.org/charity-organization-upcoming-trade-school.

Torone told me that Tom Saia “donated the food for last week’s Workshop at Prerequisite Trades Academy. He’s also one of my customers at https://www.cleanyourice.com/.”

WHAT!?!? My emotions took over. Tears were pouring out of my eyes. How could this reconnection happen from so long ago because of one LinkedIn post???

On April 7, 2026, Tom Saia and I arranged to meet at his restaurant “Newk’s Eatery.” I walked in and noticed Tom behind the counter speaking to one of his employees in that same caring voice that I remember from way back in 1983.

Tom met me with a smile and a handshake. I had to give him hug, after the handshake, as I am a “hugger.” He directed me to a table near the front window of his restaurant where I listened to some amazing stories that led to him owning his current franchise “Newk’s Eatery.”

His stories were interlaced with lessons about leadership and how leaders should treat the people that work around them. He told me about his “ups and downs” in business and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who have integrity and honor.

Tom invited me to take a tour of his restaurant. During the tour he introduced me to a few employees. One employee has been working alongside him for twenty (plus) years and another almost thirteen years. Such things do not happen by accident. It happens when a leader is extraordinary.

One LinkedIn post opened a world of memories. Thank you, Jamie Costello for sharing your story of how you found an old friend…Tom Saia.

Thank you, Tom, for impacting me forever.

I Believe in YOU!

John W. Carver, LUTCF

john@johnwcarver.com