W.O.W. To the Vice Chair
Vice Chair JoAnn Murphy was honored with the Working Women of Westchester award on April 14, 2008.
The Westchester County Business Journal award is the first of its kind and was presented to successful women in business with strong ties to the community. Murphy was singled out as one of the distinguished female leaders for her contributions in business and philanthropy in Westchester County. “If you’re supplying a service to a community and you’re making a living from that community, you have to give back to that community, ” says Murphy.
This year the bank celebrates 20 years in business with five New York locations meeting the needs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester communities. Country Bank has its roots in Carmel New York where Joseph and JoAnn Murphy started the business in 1988.
A regional leader in the commercial real estate lending business, Country Bank has the distinction of giving customers direct access to the decision-makers including Joseph M. Murphy - Chairman and JoAnn Murphy – Vice Chair.
Murphy says creating a balance between work and community service is key to success.
Two passions for JoAnn and Joseph Murphy are Iona College in New Rochelle and the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center in Manhattan. “It’s about giving back to the community in a tangible way and we feel Iona College and the Diabetes Center are examples of that.”
Vice-Chair Murphy is a trustee at New Rochelle’s Iona College and serves as Chair of Iona Council on the Arts. The couple contributed to Joseph’s alma mater by building the Iona College Murphy Center, Christopher J. Murphy Auditorium, Mazzella Field, and the Iona College Center. This expansion of Iona College Arts Center houses an art gallery, dance studio and music facility to expose these business students to the world of arts.
Co-chairs of the Diabetes Advisory Council at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, the Murphys were part of creating The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center ten years ago.
With Joseph Murphy and two children afflicted by the disease, she says the idea was to create a center that encompasses taking care of the family and not just the patient. The Center is part clinical and part research, and is an inviting facility that serves as an asset to the local community.
Given one of the signature awards of the evening Murphy was one of just 85 women
honored with a W.O.W. award. “I think its incumbent on women and men to know when they become successful, in order to feel fulfilled, they have to give back.”
Country Bank is an FDIC-insured, full service commercial bank devoted to building relationships with their customers. Country Bank targets loans from $250,000 to
$5,000 000 on income-producing and owner-occupied properties located in the New York Metropolitan area.
