Search Results

It’s not easy balancing a demanding full-time career while also becoming a successful entrepreneur, but somehow Tri-County alumna Monica Pope accomplishes it with grace, style, and passion. Monica is a 2008 graduate of Paterson Catholic High School. Her attendance was supported by the Tri-County Scholarship Fund, awarding her a scholarship each year for 4 years. She went on to Fairleigh Dickinson University on a 4-year Hennessey Scholarship, a program established by Tri-County’s co-founder Ed Hennessey in collaboration with FDU. Committed to giving back to her community, her first job after graduation was helping abused children and families through the Child Protection and Permanency Department, a division of the NJ Department of Children and Families. “I loved it,” says Monica, “because I was helping protect vulnerable children and families, often through the court system.” As a strong proponent of self-improvement, she attended FDU at night to earn her master’s degree in public administration. Six years later, being very knowledgeable about the court system, she took a new job as Court Administrator for the Essex County Superior Court. She now works closely with attorneys and judges, facilitating efficient services and fair treatment for defendants. At an early age Monica also grew a passion for becoming a real estate entrepreneur. Growing up, she experienced first-hand the challenges her family faced in their small painting business. She put her combined interests in business and real estate to use when she was just 23, buying a small rental property in Passaic County, NJ. Two years later she bought a rental property in Ohio. She gradually purchased other rental properties. Says Monica, “I try to be an amazing landlord and give tenants great quality. I manage my properties myself and try to help my community. I recently prioritized renting a 4-unit property to community victims whose homes had burned down.” Monica continues, “I want to give back in whatever way I can. People help you when they see you trying, whatever your circumstances. I really want to find my voice as a woman to talk to others about empowerment – to be an instrument to inspire them. 'Education is the reason I can do what I do. I never could have done what I’m doing without my education, and Tri-County helped me get that. I’d like to say thank you to all Tri-County donors for your support!”

Rachel Szeliga spent the summer working at Chubb Insurance. As a Finance Intern, her tasks included assisting with monthly and quarterly closing procedures. Responsible for organizing and filing journal entries, and refreshing financial reports on a daily basis, Rachel was thrilled with the exposure she received to the world of business. Rachel shares a very important lesson she learned: "Chubb thrives on the fact that all employees eagerly lend a helping hand to each other whenever needed." Rachel realizes that this corporate culture goes a long way to enabling the business to succeed. She is thrilled by the skills she acquired. “My technological skills have improved tremendously and my familiarity with professional business language has broadened. Thank you TriCounty, for introducing me to Chubb. I’m very grateful for this time with Chubb and being able to grow and learn as an aspiring business professional,” says Rachel.

Aaron McLean DePaul Graduate and Rutgers Pre-Med Student

PRESIDENT"S MESSAGE 2020 is off to a great start! Due to the efforts of our Board, Annual Awards Dinner Honorees, and supporters, Tri-County was able to help even MORE K-12 th  grade students for the second semester of this school year – totaling a record 560 scholarships for the 2019-20 school year! Our supporters have made it possible for these children to attend better, safer values-based schools.  Thank you! Please join us for these inspiring and fun upcoming Tri-County events: April 2: The 8th Annual Women of Achievement Luncheon May 19: Our 7th Annual Lawyers for Tri-County Dinner June 1: The 28th Annual Tri-County Golf Invitational at Morris County Golf Club October 26: Tri-County's 39th Annual Awards Dinner Stay tuned for exciting honoree announcements! With appreciation on behalf of our grateful students, Prudence Pigott VIEW THE WINTER e-NEWSLETTER

700 business people, friends and family, clergy and religious attended the Tri-County Scholarship Fund (TCSF) Annual Awards Dinner on October 28th, at the Hanover Marriott on October 28 where a record breaking $1.3 million was raised to provide partial scholarships for financially disadvantaged children in Passaic, Morris, and Sussex counties, enabling them to attend accredited  K-12 values-based schools. Tri-County Scholarship Fund recognized three honorees who believe in and support the TCSF mission at the dinner, which is the largest fundraiser for TCSF. Honored at the 38th Annual Awards Dinner were:  were Eric Andersen, Co-President of Aon, who received the Hall of Fame Award; Douglas Kennedy, President and CEO of Peapack-Gladstone Bank who was presented with the Leadership Award; and Ray and Cathy Donovan and the Donovan Family, who received the Making A Difference Award. “We are thrilled that we raised more than $1.3 million toward scholarships, and had the opportunity to honor such accomplished individuals, who are revered in their industries and admired for their commitment to the community, and to our mission,” said Prudence Pigott, TCSF President. “Our honorees exemplify everything that Tri-County stands for in their work to help children from underprivileged areas by providing educational opportunity at better, safer schools,” said TCSF President, Prudence Pigott. TCSF awarded 500 scholarships for the 2109-20 school year, and has provided more than $27 million for over 32,000 scholarships to deserving K-12th grade children, since its inception in 1981 by Edward Hennessy, and the late Bishop Frank Rodimer, of Paterson, New Jersey. View Event Page with Photo Gallery

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tri-county-scholarship-fund-honor-180532409.html #38thannualawardsdinner #honoree #DouglasKennedy

https://patch.com/new-jersey/bernardsville-bedminster/bedminster-county-club-owners-be-honored #38thannualawardsdinner #Honorees #Donovanfamily

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/madison/sections/giving-back/articles/madison-resident-honored-at-annual-awards-dinner #38thannualawardsdinner #Honoree #EricAndersenAon

President's Message All 500 of our scholarship children are settled in for the new school year. We are looking forward to an exciting night on October 28 for Tri-County’s big 38th Annual Awards Dinner. (Invite below) All ads for the Tribute Journal are due by Oct 9. Tri-County also has great “FRIEND-raisers.” Check out the photos from our 2nd Annual Sporting Clays Classic at Hudson Farm. We are proud of our graduates! Read below some stories of our Tri-County grads at their recent summer internships. We are also proud of our new office in Mendham and our new website! See the photos below of our office Open House, and check out our brand new website. We invite you to stop by and see us when you are in Mendham. As always, we are grateful for your friendship, and for your support of our scholarship students. Prudence Pigott Prudence Pigott View Fall 2019 Newsletter

Tri-County Scholarship Fund (TCSF) will host its 38th Annual Awards Dinner on Monday, October 28, 2019 at the Hanover Marriott where it will honor three New Jersey leaders. To be honored at the 38th Annual Awards Dinner are: Ray and Cathy Donovan, and the Donovan Family, longtime supporters of educational opportunities for the poor in New Jersey, Making a Difference Award Eric Andersen, Co-President of Aon, Hall of Fame Award Douglas L. Kennedy, CEO of Peapack-Gladstone Bank, Leadership Award All three honorees believe in and support the TCSF mission to provide partial scholarships for many of the state’s most financially disadvantaged children, enabling them to attend accredited K-12 values-based, private and parochial schools. The Awards Dinner is the largest fundraiser for the New Jersey non-profit which has provided over $28 million for over 32,000 scholarships since its inception in 1981. “We are delighted to honor the extraordinary success of these distinguished individuals and especially to recognize their contributions to the needy children in our state,” explained Prudence Pigott, President of Tri-County Scholarship Fund. “Our honorees’ accomplishments in their industries and in serving the community exemplify everything we want our scholarship recipients to follow in their own educational journeys, in the workforce, and in giving back to their own communities.” Hall of Fame Award: Eric Andersen is Co-President of Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement, and health solutions. Andersen oversees the Reinsurance Solutions and Retirement Solutions businesses, and leads Aon’s activities in Europe, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. Andersen also serves on Aon’s Executive Committee and co-leads the Aon Operating Committee with Co-President Michael O’Connor. Andersen joined Aon in 1997. In his over 20-year career with Aon, Andersen previously served as CEO of Aon Benfield, the world’s leading reinsurance intermediary, and as CEO of New York-based Aon Risk Solutions, where he led Aon’s largest unit of 14,000 employees throughout North America and Latin America. Andersen has an MBA from Fordham University and a B.A. from Colgate University. Serving on the board of Covenant House in New Jersey, Andersen has worked to help homeless, at-risk, and run-away youth. He and his wife, Pam have five children and live in Madison. Making A Difference Award: Ray and Cathy Donovan have a five-decade history of commitment to education of the underprivileged primarily through Catholic education in New Jersey’s inner cities. They have created educational opportunity for dozens of students through elementary and high school, by providing financial assistance and by assisting teachers in the classroom at such schools as St. Ann’s of Newark, St. Joseph the Carpenter School, in Roselle, Seton Hall Prep, Delbarton School, Union Catholic in Scotch Plains, and Oak Knoll School in Summit. Their current focus is to provide scholarships to needy students through Tri-County Scholarship Fund. The couple’s philanthropic passions have included the Shrine of St. Joseph’s in Stirling, run by the Sister Servants of Jesus order of nuns from Poland. This is where the Donovans also built the first-in-the-country 911 memorial, a bell tower named “The Tower of Remembrance,” constructed of retrieved pieces of the twin towers. Ray Donovan served as US Secretary of Labor in the White House cabinet of President Ronald Reagan from 1981-1985. Donovan co-founded Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in 1965. The 3-course club in Bedminster has been expanded and renovated in recent years by Ray and Cathy’s sons, Ken and Keith, and by their daughter Mary Ellen Stewart. The couple’s children and grandchildren are continuing the tradition Ray and Cathy established by supporting education, primarily through Tri-County Scholarship Fund. Ken and his wife, Kris Donovan serve on the TCSF Board of Trustees. Leadership Award: Douglas L. Kennedy is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Peapack-Gladstone Bank, leading the bank’s wealth, lending and deposit lines of business, along with its branding, human capital, operations and technology functions, to deliver on Peapack-Gladstone Bank’s private banking style of client service and product solutions. Kennedy has over 40 years of experience in the banking industry. He is a known leader in the financial services field, with a proven track record of building and repositioning businesses. Prior to Peapack-Gladstone Bank, Kennedy was the president of the NJ Market for Capital One Bank and North Fork Bank. Over the years, he has held key executive level positions at Fleet Bank, Summit Bancorp and Bank of America. Kennedy’s dedication to the communities where he lives and works is a value emphasized throughout the Bank. In 2019, Peapack-Gladstone Bank was recognized by American Banker for the second year in a row as a “Best Bank to Work For.” Doug challenges his employees to live by a set of strategic core principles that put clients, each other, and the community above all else. He encourages both corporate and individual responsibility, and proactive reinvestment in communities with the greatest needs. Consistent with his own long time support of Tri-County Scholarship Fund, Kennedy, values volunteerism and generously gives to local organizations that are important to the fabric of everyday life, especially to encourage opportunities for the underprivileged. Kennedy holds a BS in Economics and an MBA in Finance, both from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He sits on Sacred Heart’s Board of Trustees and is also a member of Montclair State University’s Board of Trustees. Doug serves on the Boards of the NJBankers Association and New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and was named to the NJBIZ “Power 50 Banking” list. Those wishing to attend TCSF’s 38th Annual Awards Dinner can purchase tickets or sponsorships at tcsfund.org/annual-dinner. Tribute ads in the evening’s printed program are due by October 9. For further information, contact Tri-County Scholarship Fund at 973-984-9600.

Tri-County graduate Aaron McLean had the unique opportunity to meet and shadow medical professionals at Pfizer this summer. Aaron caught the eye of VP of Global Marketing, Rachel Olderman, who called him, in a word, “Amazing!” Pfizer’s US Medical Lead was so impressed that he encouraged Aaron to apply for a “rising college senior summer internship” at Pfizer next summer. It was during high school at DePaul Catholic that Aaron’s passion for medicine began to develop. Taking am impressive number of biology-related honors courses, including Anatomy & Physiology, Genetics, and AP Biology, led Aaron to realize he wanted to become a surgeon or cardiologist. Well on his way to accomplishing his goal, Aaron currently attends Rutgers Honors College in Newark. He is a rising junior Pre-Med with a minor in Spanish. Aaron is part of Rutgers’ highly selective, prestigious Honors College, receiving a full scholarship. “They expect a lot from me,” Aaron says, adding that instead of feeling stressed, he is putting his energy toward working hard to excel. Feeling fortunate to be part of the Tri-County family, Aaron says “I just hope that a lot more kids have the opportunity that I’ve had. I definitely want to donate substantially to Tri-County Scholarship in the future. That’s one of the things that motivates me to work hard.”

A morning open house was attended by Mendham officials including Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, Town Adminstator, Joyce Bushman, and the Chief of Police, Ross Johnson. The bright and comfortable new office is a gift from the Margaret A. Darrin Charitable Trust, which also donated the cost of renovations to the historic building. Over 40 trustees and friends turned out for an evening Open House at which Father Brian Sullivan blessed the new office, and the good work of Tri-County. Our gratitude to the Margaret A. Darrin Charitable Trust for gifting Tri-County's new home and the renovations. If you haven't had a chance to visit, please stop by!