In Support of Garrett Capobianco for CNC

The following letter was submitted by Victoria Capobianco in support of her father for election to the Citizens Nominating Committee.

It’s late on a Tuesday evening and I’m leaving work. Worn out and drawn long, I eagerly anticipate speaking with my Dad as I drive back to my apartment. After discussing work, studies, and recent global events, I ask him about home and his running for a position on the Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC). He fittingly said, “From a place of profound gratitude, I am humbled by the opportunity to continue to serve our community in a new role, as a member of the CNC representing Greenacres.”

Please permit me this opportunity to tell you a little bit about a man whose head and heart have always been filled with service— a man who I call “Dad”

My dad, Garrett Capobianco, is a 53-year-native of Scarsdale, NY and has sought out ways to serve his community throughout his life. His commitment to service was instilled to him by his experiences in the scouts as a young adult and was further cultivated in his 11 years as a member of Scarsdale Volunteer Fire Company 1, an organization which he joined while attending Scarsdale Senior High School at just 18-years-old. My dad would go on to serve as Volunteer Membership Chair from 1987-1992, increasing company membership to the maximum allowed by charter. From 1991-1995, he was Volunteer Lieutenant and later promoted to Volunteer Captain, serving from 1995-1997.
After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration in Banking and Finance from The Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University in 1989, my Dad worked as a loan officer for the Bank of New York Mortgage Company from 1990-1993, earning the title of Assistant Sales Manager in 1992 at just 26-years-old. Throughout his work as a loan officer, he continued to be invested in his contributions as a volunteer Scarsdale firefighter, and although he experienced much success in his position at the Bank of New York Mortgage Company, he felt a deeper calling to service. In 1997, my Dad graduated from the Westchester County Career Fire Chiefs Firefighters Academy Class 1-97, and became a career firefighter for The Village of Scarsdale– the very same town in which he grew up. He served on the letter committee as the Letter Chair & Corresponding Secretary from 1998-2003 for the International Association of Firefighters Local 1394 and as union secretary from 2001-2014. In 2014, he was elected to a two-year term as union president by his department. Throughout this 21-year career, he received many Line of Duty Commendations for his exceptional work and dedication to public service.

He has said that it “takes a village to raise a child. I was raised in this Village and with this Village I have raised two children.” Of all of the titles and positions he has dutifully fulfilled throughout his lifetime, my Dad assigns the highest priority and pride to his role as a single father to two children– Christian and Victoria. Our Dad raised us in the Scarsdale School System, where both my brother and I attended and graduated from Greenacres. While we learned and grew at Greenacres, our Dad was heavily involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for many years and served as Safety Advisor in this position– a role that proved evermore critical in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy. I can recall our Dad attending almost all of our field trips and the playground frequently filled with vibrant, new equipment. It would not be until I grew up that I realized these happy experiences were, in part, the results of Dad’s commitment to the PTA.

In 2015, Garrett joined The Rotary International Club of Scarsdale, NY, and has been a dedicated member ever since. Following his retirement from career firefighting, he became President of the club for the 2020-2021 Rotary year. Charged with transitioning the club from in-person to virtual meetings, Garrett was greatly adaptive in his role and integral to the success of the club throughout the pandemic. In recognition of his service to the club and his community, Garrett was awarded the title of Paul Harris Fellow in 2021. As his role in Rotary continues to expand, he endeavors to live his life by the Rotary International Four Way Test:

Of the things we think, say, and do;
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Is it beneficial to all concerned?

He currently serves as President of the Scarsdale Rotary Foundation, a position which he has fulfilled since 2021. I am filled with excitement to witness how his role in service to the community will continue to grow.

Service is at the core of all my Dad strives to do in his life. In this new role as a representative for Greenacres of the CNC, he brings intellectual humility, profound empathy for others, dedication to “service above self” and an unparalleled appreciation for his village and those in it. My Dad deeply understands what it means to be a member of this community having been raised himself, attended school, worked, raised kids, served and resided in Scarsdale. To this role on the CNC, he also brings with him the capacity to advocate, earning significant experience in this skill as Union President of Local 1394 and later as the President of the Rotary Club of Scarsdale, NY. Throughout his many positions in service to the community, my Dad has worked with a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and personalities. From these many experiences and relationships, he has developed true cultural competency, and intellectual humility– he embodies what it means to value the nuances of other perspectives and to be a team player. With your support and vote for my Dad, I am confident that Greenacres would be well represented on the CNC. He is greatly privileged and humbled by the opportunity to serve Scarsdale in this new capacity. I am proud to call him “Dad”.

Please cast your vote on Tuesday, November 12th at the Scarsdale Public Library from the hours of 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM and 2:00PM to 9:00PM.

With great respect and appreciation,
Victoria Capobianco
SHS ‘20
[email protected]