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No Job Too Big, No Job Too Small

Joe Monaco, chief operating officer, celebrates 25 years at Trinity
The story of Joe Monaco and Trinity Episcopal School began 25 years ago with a phone call from his sister-in-law, Margie Vaughan Snead '85. Friends since their student days at William & Mary, Snead immediately thought of him when Tom Aycock, then head of school, announced that Trinity was hoping to revive their football program after a 10-year hiatus. Interested, Monaco had initially planned to keep his job as the warehousing and distribution manager at Ukrop’s and coach part-time, but as the summer of 2000 approached, the business manager position at Trinity opened, and Monaco applied. 
 
A finalist for the position, he lost out to a candidate with 20 years of experience at other schools. “I called Joe and told him how impressed we were with him, but I offered it to the other person,”  remembers Aycock. “And then the next day I got a call from the other candidate saying she had changed her mind!” Aycock immediately called Monaco back to explain the whole situation and offer him the job. “I was afraid he'd say, ‘hell no!’” joked Aycock. “He took the job but he's never let me forget it! I’m just glad the Lord wouldn't let me make such a bad mistake, because I can't imagine Trinity without Joe Monaco.”
 
Consistent Growth
 
Over Monaco’s time as business manager, the school has seen transformative growth in its facilities, footprint, student body and financial stability. Since Joe’s arrival on campus in the summer of 2000, Morgan Hall opened its doors for the first time, along with the Science Discovery Center, the Estes Athletic Center, the Perkinson Arts Center and renovated theater, not to mention the purchase and renovation of the Wright House property as an office and event space. Solar arrays atop three of those buildings have made Trinity one of the largest private producers of solar power in the state. 
 
Overseeing payroll, budgeting, financial reports, student financial aid and tuition, he has kept a steady hand on the rudder of Trinity’s finances. Thanks to Monaco’s fiscal stewardship, the school was able to build a small annual surplus, which has grown over the decades into a $7M endowment. “Considering that when I started we didn't have any reserve fund, I feel pretty good about that,” Monaco says.
 
Through all the expansion, though, Monaco says he is most proud that the school hasn’t lost its unique identity. “People go visit other schools, and they always say Trinity has a different feel about it,” he says. “They just feel welcome here. And in all these years, that hasn't gone away.”
 
Paying it Forward
 
Born in the Bronx, Monaco and his family moved to Wappingers Falls, a village near the Hudson River when he was 5. “My parents always supported all of my athletic activities growing up,” he says. “Coaching Little League baseball, waking up at 4 a.m. to drive my brother and me an hour away to ice hockey practice in the middle of the winter. It’s all those things you only fully appreciate when you have children of your own.”
 
It was this dedication that translated not only to his unwavering support of his own daughter’s journey (Cate Monaco ’21 is now a senior at Lehigh University), but also inspired him to coach football, lacrosse, baseball and volleyball for Trinity. “My high school coaches and teachers had a profound impact on my life,” he says. “The opportunity to be someone who can impact young people’s lives in a positive way continues to be the most rewarding part of the job 25 years later.”
 
As a coach, parent and spouse of an alum (veteran math teacher Diane Vaughan Monaco ’81) he has gained a first-hand appreciation for the impact of the Trinity mission on thousands of students. He loves that Trinity wants students to enjoy their time in high school and encourages them to try as many new activities as they can. “You’re only in high school once. The school has always done a great job in developing young people to learn how to navigate social situations and interact with a variety of groups of people,” he says. “To see how students grow emotionally and in self-confidence from their freshmen year to graduation is what I appreciate most about Trinity.”
 
Building a Program
 
A dip in enrollment in the late ’80s forced the end of football at Trinity. But a decade later, numbers were back up, and community members were hopeful it would return. As full time business manager, Monaco could not commit to being the head coach, but he was able to convince teammate and fraternity brother Eric Gobble to move to Richmond from New Jersey to help build the nascent program. 
 
For that first season, the team’s locker room was the headmaster’s garage, and most of the team had never played football before. “We had some difficult seasons for a while,” Monaco remembers. “We didn't have a winning season for a decade.” 
 
Former players recall his attention to detail, his welcoming smile, and his light-hearted spirit on the field. Countless lineman have learned to, “block people with your feet” from his tutelage. “Getting off the ball, making the correct first step, driving your feet, staying low and using your hips for leverage,” remembers Tripp Harris ’14, “technique he had us practice for what felt like hours every day.”
 
“When Joe spoke, people listened,” remembers Jackson Eliasek ’16, football captain and lacrosse player, appreciating his targeted feedback and personal empowerment of each player. 
 
Jack Freudenthal ’15 recalls how Monaco could always find comedic relief in the toughest moments. Cold, tired and anxious during halftime of the Titans' first state championship final at St. Anne’s-Belfield in November of 2014, the team was instantly jolted back to life when Monaco offered, “Here are some Skittles to warm you up!" pouring each offensive linemen a handful of the rainbow candies. “I can't stop smiling just thinking about it,” says Freudenthal.
 
Lesser known than his football and lacrosse experience is his early stint as the coach of the boys volleyball team from 2000 to 2003. “While he may not have had a ton of experience with volleyball, he led us to an undefeated season,” says Matt Curtis ’03, who became Trinity's one and only Division I men’s volleyball player. “Regardless of the sport, what he excelled at was getting the guys to come together and care.”
 
“I learned that hard work and fun can go hand-in-hand,” says David Isaacs ’03, another volleyball alum. “Whether it was stopping by the world's largest Arby's after an away game or staying after practice to play 2-on-2, I cherish the memories with Coach Monaco.”
 
The Legend of the Lights
 
It's no secret that Tom Aycock, the head of school from 1990 to 2015, loves Christmas, and so does Joe Monaco. At one Monaco-hosted faculty Christmas party, Aycock was so impressed with the decorations, he wondered aloud if they could bring them to school next year. 
 
What started with Dunn Courtyard being lit up for the first Grand Illumination in December of 2008 has grown into one of the school’s signature events, each year bigger and more spectacular than the last. Starting the day after Halloween, with the help of his dedicated facilities staff, Monaco adorns the entire campus with well over 100,000 lights. With six people stationed at outlets around campus, the team wows the crowd when the countdown reaches zero on the night of the Grand Illumination. “The instant we plug in all those lights,” says Monaco, with a hint of pride. “It gets me every time.”
 
No Job Too Big or Too Small
 
Beyond the buildings, the dollars, the wins and the losses, what colleagues appreciate most about working with Joe Monaco is his calm, selfless leadership. Colleagues describe him as humble, self-effacing and with a dry sense of humor and quick wit.  
 
“He's a really good listener,” says Head of School Rob Short. “He can take a complex situation and get to the essence pretty quickly to help with decision making.”
 
Sam Mickens, head football coach and leadership gifts officer, offers: “In challenging situations, I often ask, ‘What would Joe do?’ because he has a way of staying calm and composed no matter the situation. Joe can hold a conversation on any topic yet his intelligence never intimidates you, but instead draws people in, making them feel valued and at ease.”
 
“Joe is the first to roll his sleeves up and dive in,” says Brian Phillips, Associate Head of School and 39-year Trinity veteran teacher and coach. “There is no task that he hasn't done or wouldn't do for the school — from groundswork to janitorial, coach to dressing as Santa, development of the campus to financial management and everything in between, he is a dedicated and faithful steward of the school's mission, philosophy, growth and evolution.”
 
Shannon Puckett, operations specialist, has worked side by side with Monaco for the last 24 of his 25 years and contributes her own longevity to Monaco’s even-keeled, selfless approach to the job. “He doesn't really consider himself anybody's boss,” she says. “He's always going around and making sure all the buildings are clean. If it needs to be done, he's going to do it.”
 
Whether it's overseeing a multi-million-dollar construction project for a new facility — or fixing a wobbly chair leg the morning before a Homecoming or Prom — Monaco takes pride in partnering with people to make the school better. “All those little things are difference makers in the lives of our students,” says Margie Snead. “When he sees our kids engaged and happy, enjoying impactful moments during their time in high school… it really does bring him joy.”
 
Alumni like Harris recall coming by campus late at night or on weekends and seeing Monaco closing up gates, picking up trash or hanging up lights. “His dedication to small details in service of Trinity — when no one else is watching — sticks with me the most,” says Harris, now a student life administrator at Indiana University. “When I think of my own career as an educator, I want to be as dedicated to my school as Coach Monaco is to Trinity.”
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Trinity Episcopal School

3850 PITTAWAY DR | RICHMOND VA 23235-1099 | Phone: 804.272.5864 | Fax: 804.272.5865 Email: mail@trinityes.org