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Father, Son Business Leaders From Westchester Share Dinner Spotlight

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Mercy College’s annual Trustees’ Scholarship Dinner will also highlight the father-son relationship between two of Westchester County’s most prominent business executives.

William M. Mooney III, left, and William M. Mooney Jr. will be honored at the Mercy College Trustees’ Scholarship Dinner on Wednesday, May 6.

William M. Mooney III, left, and William M. Mooney Jr. will be honored at the Mercy College Trustees’ Scholarship Dinner on Wednesday, May 6.

Photo Credit: Joe Vericker/PhotoBureau

William M. Mooney Jr. and William M. Mooney III will be among the honorees at the dinner on Wednesday, May 6, at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City. The dinner begins at 6 p.m.

Mooney Jr. is the longtime CEO of the Westchester County Association and a Mercy College Trustee. Mooney III is the Director of Economic Development for Westchester County and a former trustee for the college.

On Wednesday, the father and son that have been Westchester County’s greatest champions for encouraging businesses to base in Westchester County will share the same limelight.

“To be honored with your son is always pretty exciting,’’ Mooney Jr. said. “What else can a father say except that it’s fabulous. In my wildest dreams, this is something that I could have never imagined.”

Mooney Jr. has been a prominent Westchester County businessman for more than 50 years. He had a long and distinguished career in the banking industry, and has been the head of the Westchester County Association since 2004. The organization drives economic vitality and development in the region.

Mooney III was named to his position last year. A former lawyer, he joined Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino’s administrative staff in 2010 and was the lead coordinator on many area projects. He is also the former corporation counsel for Yonkers.

“I think he’s cut his own path,’’ Mooney Jr. said. “He’s a great lawyer in his own right. He’s done a magnificent job in creating his own path.”

Mooney said while he and his son are both heavily involved in the business community, they rarely talk shop.

“I kind of shied away from that,’’ Mooney Jr. said. “We’ll talk in terms of problems within the world. In terms of specifics with governments and business, he’s done that on his own. We’ve had a thousand conversations, but for the most part what he’s done he’s doing on his own. He doesn’t me any more for advice. Because he’s in government, we both shy away from it.”

Mooney Jr. still works every day at WCA, and has seen it all in Westchester County development. One of the biggest changes, he said, is the transformation of the health care structure that has evolved in the past few years.

“The community hospitals are becoming part of the major systems,’’ Mooney Jr. said. “I think that’s good stuff. I liken it to what took place back in the 1950s and ‘60s when you saw the migration of big companies to Westchester. Now you’re seeing the same kind of transformation. It’s a huge economic boon to have this happen. It’s a transformation that comes along once every 30 or 40 years.”

Mooney said technological changes have made business more efficient. “That has helped in fairly dramatic ways as to how we communicate,’’ he said. “We could have done this interview via text, for instance. But at the end of the day, it’s still fundamental relationships and compromise. It’s still very personal. We just get to the table in different ways.”

The other honorees at the Mercy College affair will be Ken Bove, President and CEO of DCW Media and Pola Rosen, Publisher of Education Update. Sister Theresa Kane, RSM, an Associate Professor at Mercy, will receive the Lifetime Achievement award.

To learn more about the dinner and to register, click here to visit the Mercy College website.

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