NETWORKING® MAGAZINE'S DAVID AWARD HONOREE, JANUARY 12, 2006

ANTHONY MESSINEO
President, Stevenson Printing

by Maureen Traxler

Anthony Messineo has been impersonating a very popular character for more than 20 years. He's been pretending to be, none other than Santa Claus, since 1977, when he brought the Salvation Army ("Ringing the Bells") Program to Glen Cove while serving as president of the Glen Cove Rotary Club. He's also stood in for "the big man" at the Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce Breakfast with Santa for two decades.

"It's amazing to see little children giving money, putting their dimes into the kettle," says Messineo who, like Santa, has a special place in his heart for children. He tells a story about an experience he had while standing outside a store "ringing the bell." He noticed a little boy watching from inside; finally the boy came out and said, "You're not doing it right. You gotta say, ÔHo, ho, ho.'" Messineo adds, "That was easy for him to say, but when you're out there awhile, you're freezing!"

But the role of Santa does come easy to this man who has been spreading good will and adhering to the Rotary motto: Service Above Self. A believer in the philosophy that being a good businessman means being a good citizen, Messineo joined Rotary in 1967, shortly after becoming owner and president of Stevenson Printing in Glen Cove.

Messineo is president of the 2005-06 Rotary District 7250 Gift of Life program, bringing children to the United States for life-saving open heart surgery. He has been involved with the program since 1977, a member of the board of directors since 1982, and it can be said that when the children come to Long Island for open heart surgery, Messineo opens his heart!

"Once you go to the airport to meet the child, you're hooked," Messineo claims. "Everyone involved will tell you the same thing." He adds that after the surgery, when you see the child up and about, "You get to thinking-wow!-you had something to do with it. It's a great experience." Gift of Life was initiated by a member of the Manhasset Rotary Club in 1975 and has arranged operations in the U.S. for approximately 7,000 children worldwide.

Messineo was instrumental in coordinating the Gift of Life program with Russia and China. Through a relationship with a Russian employee at his printing business, he was able to connect just the right people. During a business project with the Chinese Center in Hempstead, he found out the group was bringing Chinese children to the United States, but had no host families. Messineo was able to bring them into Gift of Life, too. He tells another story:

On one occasion, he and his wife picked up a 13-year-old Russian girl and her mother at the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park. They wondered what kind of activity they could offer their guests and decided to bring them to their daughter Cindy's house. Messineo's son-in-law went on the Internet and discovered a site where the Russian girl and his sons (aged 12 and 14) could talk to each other through a translation program. "They had the greatest time," he says.

Add to Messineo's "list" of contributions and accomplishments, his service as Rotary District Governor in 2002-03. At the California training session - "a unique experience, itself," he says - he was among 600 District Governors from around the world. His responsibilities included visiting the 41 Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau Rotary clubs, guiding them and helping run programs.

Messineo also spreads goodwill and encourages self esteem through various Rotary endeavors. He began a Student of the Month program with Glen Cove High School, which recognizes outstanding students, who themselves are involved in community service, and presents them with a certificate and savings bond at a Rotary meeting. He helped coordinate a blood pressure screening program through the community hospital, and he participated in raising funds to purchase equipment for the Glen Cove Ambulance Corps. Through his "Dress a Child" program, Rotary raises money to buy new clothes for children whose families do not have the resources to buy them. And, Messineo and Rotary have supported Hermandad, an organization working primarily in rural communities of Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen local community organizations and accomplish sustainable development. They are well known for their work in the Dominican Republic, assisting villagers in building aqueducts and irrigation systems, promoting reforestation efforts and home gardens to support family nutrition.

Sponsored by his Rotary club, Messineo received the distinguished Paul Harris Founders Award in 1989. The club's $1,000 donation to Rotary helped continue the service organization's fine work, including its polio immunization program, inoculating children in underserved countries around the world. In the same year, the Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce honored Messineo with its "Man of the Year" award. He served as Chamber president for two years and has been on the board since 1987. He also served as vice president and board member of the Glen Cove Business Improvement District, working to revitalize Glen Cove's downtown and maintain business growth and development.

Through his business contacts, Messineo has reached out to Nassau AHRC and supports its children and adults with mental illness. He is one of the sponsors of AHRC's annual Margiotta Golf Classic and the Camp Loyaltown Auction. He was Grand Marshal of the organization's walk-a-thon in 2003, and generously donates back to AHRC a portion of the cost of all its print projects.

Messineo lives in South Huntington with his wife RoseMarie. They have three children - Cindy, Glenn and Don - who have often become involved in their father's community service - including Glenn's service as Santa Claus. The Messineos are proud of their seven grandchildren, too.

Certainly not a complainer, Messineo says he often attends charity functions, particularly for his business clients, like St. Francis Hospital, Family and Children's Association and AHRC. Yet, he quips, "Between Agnes Funk's associations and mine, I'm often on the go. Have tux, will travel!Ó