’67 Cardinal Mooney graduate honored as distinguished alum

Recipients must demonstrate ‘Sanctity, Scholarship and Discipline.’

YOUNGSTOWN — A Cardinal Mooney graduate now an investment banker living in Columbus has been named recipient of the Cardinal Mooney High School Alumni Association’s 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award.

The honor was presented to Frank Courtney at a prayer service this week.

The Distinguished Alumni Award was launched 12 years ago. The criteria require that the awardee “demonstrate a continuing concern and dedication for others by embracing the Cardinal Mooney motto of Sanctity, Scholarship and Discipline.”

Courtney is a 1967 graduate of Cardinal Mooney and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Kent State University in 1971. After graduation, he accepted a position with Xerox and later took a position in Columbus with UBS, a worldwide investment banking and money management company, where he is still employed.

Courtney is deeply involved in his parish, his school and his community and is particularly proud of his “Mooney Family” ties. In 1994, he was co-chairman of the school’s first capital campaign, “The Campaign for Excellence.” He personally directed the effort in Columbus, organizing solicitors and hosting fund-raising gatherings that generated nearly a quarter of a million dollars to benefit his alma mater.

He also directed the creation of The Courtney Family Endowed Scholarship Fund at Cardinal Mooney and has hosted events in the Columbus area for Cardinal Mooney alumni and friends. He has contributed in numerous ways to lighten the financial burden on students attending his alma mater.

For the past 10 years, he has served on the board of directors of the Salvation Army, helping to provide for the needs of the homeless and destitute in Columbus. He serves as development director for St. Andrew’s Parish in Upper Arlington, using his financial acumen and contacts, most recently to personally raise over $1 million dollars for a new parish center.

He coaches intramural basketball at St. Andrew’s and for the past six years has been the president of the Upper Arlington Athletic Association. He has been named “Salesman of the Year” by the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and recognized as “Y-town Man of the Year” by Youngstown natives living in Columbus.

In his letter of nomination, Frank’s brother Tom reflected on Frank’s battle with melanoma (skin cancer) in 1993. He relates, “While Frank’s diagnosis and initial surgery bore pretty grim news, his personal faith and family support sustained him in his recovery.”

He entered Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C., as a cancer patient and came out of the hospital on the board of directors. Today, a cancer survivor, he is in his fourth year as chairman of the Melanoma Consortium at Duke University Hospital. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of The Duke University School of Medicine and serves on its Executive Committee.

Sister Jane Marie Kudlacz, Cardinal Mooney principal, said Courtney “reflects the ideals of Cardinal Mooney in all that he has undertaken. He has dedicated his life to the values that he learned while here as a student, and today shares them with all whom he comes in contact with as he continues to labor for his church, his community and his alma mater.”