2002 NETWORKING® MAGAZINE’S DAVID AWARD HONOREE.

JOSEPH MONTI

Founder, Don Monti Memorial Research Foundation

David Award winner Joseph Monti has made an incredible contribution to Long Island through his dedication to raising funds for cancer research and by his quest to see that better care is provided for cancer patients.

In 1972, he and his wife, Tita, founded the Don Monti Memorial Research Foundation in memory of their 16-year old son Don, who died of myeloblastic
leukemia in June of the same year. The couple turned around an unbelievably difficult and tragic situation in order to help others. The research foundation raises money for research into new treatments, new drugs and new ways to help more people survive cancer.

Completely underwritten by the Montis, the Foundation has established, The Don Monti Division of Oncology, The Don Monti Memorial Research
Laboratory, The Don Monti Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and seven Don Monti Cancer Centers throughout Long Island. The Foundation has raised over $25-million.
At the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, the Don Monti Division of Hematology/Oncology comprises the core of the patient care and research activities. It is the largest patient care and medical research and education network in Long Island.

The division serves as a regional resource for Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The division offers services from early experimental treatment to hospice services.
Monti was born in Manhattan, New York, the youngest son of Domenico and Caroline Pisani Monti. He graduated from the Julliard School of Music and pursued a career in opera. As a promising young tenor, he appeared on Broadway with many noted entertainers and recorded for Columbia Records.

It was in 1943 that he met the beautiful Tita Scandalis, a concert pianist and gifted soprano and the two married in 1945. The couple began a life together that would later touch many others because of their ability and willingness to turn tragedy into triumph.

The beginning of a passionate 47-year run in the restaurant, hospitality industry began after his singing career when Monti formed the JCJ Restaurant Corporation.
The Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, New York followed. It has maintained a tradition of classic banquets and events while providing customers with the utmost in personalized service. The Montis admit that some call them fanatical in their attention to detail and it's a criticism they gladly accept. Weddings, social functions, corporate events, catering and recreational amenities are all offered with an air of quiet elegance at Crest Hollow.

The country club, which is set on a 24-acre estate, is the venue for the Don Monti Research Foundation annual fund-raising ball. The David Awards breakfast will also take place at the Crest Hollow Country Club.

Monti's activities go beyond his work at the research foundation and country club. He is a trustee of the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System and a member of the Tilles Center Council of Overseers. He is also a director of the Boy Scouts of America, The Dante Foundation and the Columbus
Citizens Foundation.

In addition, Monti is a Knight of the American Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta and he is a a sponsor of the International Committee of Boys Town of Italy.
Monti holds an honorary doctorate degree from Long Island University in recognition of his contribution to cancer care, research, education and philanthropy.

The Montis recently celebrated their fifty sixth wedding anniversary. They have two children, Caroline Monti Saladino and Richard, nine grandchildren and six great grandchildren. They have been residents of Sands Point, Long Island for the past 40 years and consider themselves blessed with their loving family and friends and their intense dedication to helping others.

NETWORKING® January 2002