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“My sister and I decided we wanted to fill in where he left a gap,’’ said Summa, vice president for The Westchester Bank and the branch manager in Yonkers. “He always loved the Boys and Girls Club.
Summa serves on the club’s Junior Board, Be Great Committee and Golf Committee. This year, she proposed that the club honor a woman and a man at its annual fall golf outing. “I think my father would be proud of that,’’ Summa said. “It was great that they took my suggestion and wanted to honor a woman. He had three daughters, so I think he would have liked that.”
Her father, Michael, taught sixth grade at Roosevelt School in New Rochelle for many years, and spent much of his free time helping children at the Boys & Girls Club. “He loved working with children,’’ Summa said. “He wanted to give back to the place that was there for him as a kid. That’s what’s life’s about. That’s just who we’re supposed to be as people, to make life just a little better for the next generation.”
Family has always been an integral part of life for Summa, who was born and raised in New Rochelle. Her mother, Sharon, sisters Carrie and Gina, and grandmother still live in New Rochelle.
“I enjoy spending time with family as much as possible,’’ she said. “My father was relatively young and it was sudden when he died. It emphasizes that life is about living in the moment. You need to cherish those moments with your family because you don’t know when it’s going to be gone.”
Summa loves to travel within Westchester to shop and find the best chocolate.
“I’ll journey to find sweets,’’ she said. “I know all the bakeries in Westchester County. I know where to get the best Red Velvet cake. I have a massive sweet tooth. When I find a place, I tell my friends they have to try it.”
Summa’s other interest outside The Westchester Bank is business meeting groups. She is a member of the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce and an a member of its Women In Business Committee.
Summa joined The Westchester Bank in 2014. She feels it’s a great fit for her and her skills. She enjoys helping the communities where she has lived her entire life.
“It’s part of who I am,’’ Summa said. “I love it here. My whole family loves it here. We didn’t venture far. We’re threaded and nested in the community. Westchester has been good to me.”
