Mount Kisco honors 55-year Rotarian

Current Mount Kisco Rotary President Dan Taplitz speaks to the gathering outside the public library to honor 55-year Rotarian Anthony Monteleone Wednesday afternoon for his contributions to the organization and the village. MARTIN WILBUR PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

It was fitting that on the day the Mount Kisco Rotary and the village honored Anthony Monteleone for 55 years of community service to the organization, he would deflect some of the accolades and credit others who worked alongside him.

The longtime village resident, practicing attorney and Rotarian who is credited for helping to get the Mount Kisco Library across the finish line when funds were running dry was recognized by friends, family, colleagues and government officials on Wednesday afternoon for his dedicated service.

Monteleone, who is known simply as “Tony” to most, said he hoped that he gave back to Mount Kisco as much as it gave to him and his family for so many years.

“What it signifies is Mount Kisco has a group of wonderful residents and people who help everyone who has a project,” said Monteleone, 91, of what the honor meant to him. “We never do it alone; you do it with other people here and that makes it not only rewarding, but very beneficial to the   village.”

Local dignitaries presented Monteleone with proclamations and gifts as a way to pay tribute. County Legislator Erika Pierce announced that Oct. 1 will be Anthony (Tony) Monteleone Day in Westchester. His name will be on the Jumbotron outside the Westchester County Center in White Plains on that day.

The ceremony and presentations were held in the area behind Village Hall, by the garden on the south side of the library. A small plaque on the edge of the garden was unveiled bearing his name, an appropriate recognition for someone who has made it a point to laud others for their efforts and not himself. He was joined by his son Gregory and daughter Diane. His wife, Helen, died in 2003.

Current Mount Kisco Rotary President Dan Taplitz said the organization’s motto perfectly describes Monteleone’s outlook about how it takes a community to build anything of value.

“The Rotary model is service above self, and really no one has done service above himself more than this gathering right here,” Taplitz said. “Thank you, Tony, for everything you have done for this community, for the library and you continue to do and inspire all of us for the many, many, many years.”

Pierce noted how as a community leader, Monteleone would also “notice when this first was announced, his first thing was to point to other people, that he just didn’t deserve the spotlight, that he couldn’t do these things without all the others, and that’s the true sign of a real community leader,” Pierce said.

Born in Brooklyn, Monteleone served for 22 years in the U.S. Navy, having retired with the rank of captain. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and later Fordham University School of Law. He operated his own law practice, Monteleone & Monteleone in the village. Last year, he became a lifetime Rotary member.

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich recalled how when the new library was completed nearly 20 years ago it was during the height of the Great Recession. Funds were growing short and it was unclear whether the project was going to be completed as planned. But Monteleone led the fundraising drive to raise money to finish the job, he said.

“Thank you for your contributions to the community,” Cindrich said.

State Sen. Pete Harckham, who has known Monteleone for more than 20 years, said the length of time he has been contributing to the community is an extraordinary accomplishment.

“Fifty years of service is just an incredible record,” Harckham said. “It sets the bar very high for the rest of us.”