Joe Apicellas definition for what it means to be a volunteer doesnt just include donating his own time to a causeits also about utilizing his professional resources to make an even greater difference.
The White Plains resident has been on the Friends of Westchester County Parks Board of Trustees since 2009. He has personally contributed to the general upkeep of the area's 40 parks and programming. Apicella and his team have also been involved in recurring activities Friends of Westchester County Parks promote. Two examples are Camp Morty, a camp for underprivileged kids at Sal J. Prezioso Mountain Lakes Park in North Salem, and the annual Music Fest and Fireworks event at the Kensico Dam Plaza.
In 2005, he led his real-estate development company, Cappelli Enterprises in donating the construction and management to build The Rising, the organization's 9/11 monument located at the Kensico Dam.
Im not only contributing time and effort to have my company help in such a significant wayits also about the heroes and families of 9/11. Its the best possible way to give back, said Apicella.
His community leadership isn't only limited to the Friends, though. His resume also boasts time spent on the Advisory Board of the Westchester Land Trust, an organization to help residents and developers work as partners with the local environment.
Apicella's support for conservation may come as a surprise to some folks based on his career as a developer, but he says that sometimes, theres some land that should never be built on.
Keeping open spaces like Croton Point Park and Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park in Yorktown in top-shape is not just about maintaining their beauty. Its also about providing Westchester residents with venues where they can gather together outdoorslike he did as a boy growing up in Yonkers.
I remember so many summers going to New Rochelles Glen Island Park for picnicsthe parks played a major role in families getting together back then, he said.
And when Apicella recounts his years as a teenager, he remembers his first job teaching little ones to play dodgeball and other sports after school at Yonkers Tibbetts Brook Park.
Thus, his personal philosophy on conservation is most likely reflective of those fond childhood memories.
"You can develop and create [from land], while at the same time preserving and respecting it," he added.
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