THOMAS POOLE
President & CEO,
Hallen Construction Company, Inc.
BY REGINA MARCAZZO

For Thomas B. Poole, president and chief executive officer of the Hallen Construction Company Inc. of Island Park, the importance of giving back to the community is something that he learned from his father.

"While growing up, my father, Arthur Poole, a self-made man, stressed to me the importance of giving back in gratitude for the success America had afforded him and our family. I certainly believed he was right - for fathers are never wrong - but I must confess, in the beginning, I involved myself for the very reason my Dad told me to. Then, two happenings occurred that removed the obligatory perception I was voluntarily working under. The first was my marriage to Mary Jane, my wife of forty years, and the second was the untimely death of my father to heart disease," said Poole, in a written reflection of his commitment to the community.

"Mary Jane brought to our marriage the importance of family and the powerfulness of it as a credo for life. I learned through her the lesson of life that your immediate family is God's greatest gift but, almost as importantly, you must make your business associates and friends members of a larger family, always trying to give back to every one of them guidance, help and love. Community involvement offers me that opportunity," the David Award winner said.

"My father's death was the singular happening that brought to light why I must involve myself in the community," Poole continued.

It was just prior to his father's death that Poole was asked to chair the 1974 Annual Heart Ball but declined. "I turned it down because I had just finished three years of active leadership participation in Catholic Charities and selfishly thought I needed a break. My father died of a massive heart attack on December 20, 1973. On January 2, 1974, I called the Nassau Heart Association and told them I would like to serve as chair of the 1974 Annual Heart Ball if the position hadn't yet been filled. Fortunately for me, it hadn't and, with the help of my family and friends, I chaired the most successful ball ever. The excitement of this first success lives with me daily for I know I involved myself for the right reason and maybe I helped someone else to not lose a father to the world's number one killer."

Having worked for The Hallen Construction Company for almost 46 years, 18 with Poole's father, Arthur, and the balance with Poole, executive assistant Janice McKeon feels like she grew up with the David Award winner. "He learned and he's done an excellent job of getting us through," McKeon said, recalling the difficulties connected with Arthur Poole's untimely death at age 60.

Poole's involvement in giving started in 1971 when he accepted a chair position for Catholic Charities. He held the position for three years.

In 1974 and 1975, he chaired the Nassau Heart Association's annual ball and later served as president of the association. During the 1980s he was president of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, a member of the board of directors of Mercy Hospital and a vestry member of St. Mark's Church.

It was in the late 1980s that he became involved with his alma mater, Hobart College. "He does everything for Hobart College," McKeon said, adding some other attributes. "He's always eager to take on any challenge. He's a wonderful family man. He's just a very caring man," she said.

Poole has been honored on numerous occasions. Last year, he was the recipient together with his wife, Mary Jane, of the "Family of Man" Humanitarian Award presented by the Family Counseling Service and he was inducted into the Hobart College Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1997, he was given the Theodore Roosevelt Award for Outstanding Business Leadership in Nassau County, and in 1995, the William Napier Award was presented to him by the Statesmen Athletic Association of Hobart College. He was honored by the International Who's Who of Professionals in 1994 and elected to the Pipeliners Hall of Fame in 1992. He became an honored member of Who's Who in U.S. Executives in 1990 and was the recipient of the Distinguished Leadership Award of the American Heart Association Nassau County Chapter in 1988. In 1973, he was given the Charitas Medal from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Poole has four children and six grandchildren.