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Rocco B. Commisso Recognized by Two Organizations for Dedication to Helping Others
[May 14, 2015]

Rocco B. Commisso Recognized by Two Organizations for Dedication to Helping Others


Mediacom Communications is proud to announce that the company's founder, chairman and CEO, Rocco B. Commisso, recently was bestowed with two prominent honors for his humanitarian efforts, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and induction into the Mount Saint Michael Academy "Legends of the Mount."

Ellis Island Medals of Honor

On Saturday, May 9, 2015, Commisso joined 100 other outstanding individuals who were recognized at the 29th Annual Ellis Island Medals of Honor Ceremony held at the historic landmark in New York Harbor. Fellow honorees included retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, talk show host Meredith Vieira, New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera, U.S. Navy Admiral Mark E. Ferguson III, and Washington, D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier.

The Ellis Island Medals of Honor were established in 1986 and rank among our nation's most prestigious civilian honors. The award recognizes individuals who share with those less fortunate their wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless generosity, all while maintaining the traditions of their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America. Past recipients include six U.S. Presidents; Nobel (News - Alert) Prize recipient Elie Wiesel; Generals Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell and Raymond Odierno; Hon. Hillary Clinton; Sen. John McCain; Muhammad Ali; Frank Sinatra; Barbara Walters; Mike Wallace; and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Introduced by Master of Ceremonies and Emmy Award winning journalist, Marvin Scott, Commisso was hailed as one o the most successful Italian immigrant entrepreneurs in our nation's history and was lauded for, among other things, providing college scholarships to 1,300 students nationwide.



During his remarks, Commisso described the struggles his family faced in war-torn Italy in the 1950's. He thanked America for opening its doors to his father, a World War II prisoner of war, and for giving his family boundless opportunities to succeed by simply working hard, pursuing an education, and relying on self-initiative to get ahead.

Legends of the Mount


This evening, Mount Saint Michael Academy will induct Commisso and five other esteemed alumni of the school into the "Legends of the Mount" during a ceremony being held at the New York Athletic Club in Pelham, N.Y.

Over the past 90 years, Mount Saint Michael Academy has earned an excellent reputation for educating young men from working-class Bronx families with a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum, rooted in the Catholic ideals of service and leadership. For the thousands of students who have walked its halls, the Mount has meant a pathway to a better life through education.

Commisso was a beneficiary of the Mount experience in the mid-1960's, at a time when the students came primarily from Irish and Italian immigrant families. Today, the student body reflects the evolving demographics of the Bronx, and is representative of a newer wave of immigrant families, mostly from the Caribbean's, Latin America and Africa.

Commisso believes so strongly in the school's mission that in 2014 he established the Rocco B. Commisso American Dream Fund to provide a number of scholarships to Mount students for the next fifty years. It was his way of ensuring that the Mount can continue to recruit and educate deserving young men for generations to come.

With his induction into the Legends of the Mount, Commisso will take his place among other celebrated Mount graduates who have demonstrated distinctive leadership, service, and caring for the ideals embodied in a Mount education.

About Mediacom Communications

Mediacom Communications Corporation is the nation's eighth largest cable television company and one of the leading cable operators focused on serving the smaller cities in the United States, with a significant customer concentration in the Midwestern and Southeastern regions. Mediacom Communications offers a wide array of information, communications and entertainment services and provides innovative broadband solutions through its Mediacom Business division. Mediacom Communications also sells advertising and production services through its OnMedia division. More information about Mediacom Communications is available at www.mediacomcable.com.


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