Leading by example. Here’s a chance to learn a little more about Paul Colangelo, Avenu’s CEO, and his passion for community service, family and baseball from a recent interview.
One of the first actions you took as CEO for the company was to establish Avenu’s Core Values. What are they and why was that important?
Having a good culture will trump strategy any day of the week. Our Core Values (Client Focused, Responsive, Caring, Passionate, and Integrity) are in place to set the tone for the characteristics we look for in our employees and how they serve our clients. Our people are our greatest strength because we hire and uphold these virtues by living them daily. Are we perfect? No. But our employees have an unwavering commitment to serving our clients and doing the right thing. By having people who live and work with these core values means that we work through any difficulty
Community service is an important part of your life. Can you share a little about your experiences as a Vice Chairman for Virginia’s Prince William County Service Authority and as a Board member of Blessings In A Backpack?
One of the greatest things one can give is the gift of time and I believe that providing community service in a meaningful way makes it more impactful. I’ve been a resident of Prince William County for 42 years and have watched it grow from a population of 100,000 to over 500,000. The Prince William County Service Authority provides safe, reliable water service to our customers and returning clean water to the environment. Learning about the intricacies involved in collecting and treating water has been fascinating. It gives me great pleasure to serve the constituents of my community and ensure their water is safe and reliable.
Blessings In A Backpack mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary school children across America who might otherwise go hungry. As a father of five, it pains me to think of any child being hungry. It is satisfying to know that since 2009, Blessings in a Backpack has provided 23.5 million hunger-free weekends for more than 838,000 children nationwide.
You are passionate about both baseball and family. How do the two tie together for you?
Baseball is an amazing U.S. pastime, and it was an important part of my childhood as my dad coached me and my three brothers. It lends itself to being a great family sport that you can spend quality time together in the yard.
It is something that is an important part of my family and teaches great lessons. Learning to deal with failure when, on average, 8 out of 10 at bats you will fail. You must learn to rebound from it and show resilience by being ready for what may come your way when every pitch is different. It’s also both an individual and team sport that to be successful, everyone must do their part. Baseball also teaches you about strategy. Some people have the wrong impression that it is a slow sport but when you truly understand all the decisions at play it becomes a fast sport.
It’s no secret that I’m an avid lifetime Yankees fan and even named two of my sons after their most iconic players Yogi (for Yogi Berra) and Domenic (for Domenic DiMaggio). I love that baseball is a continued tradition in my home and always value spending quality time with my kids.