July 4th, 2015: Thank You for Our Freedom, Family & Friendships!

It is the 4^th of July. I am in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire with Gayle, my incredible wife of 37 years. We are here for Gayle’s cousins’ daughter’s wedding. We are blessed to be here but will miss celebrating this year’s 4th of July with our oldest son Jared, our daughter Kristina and youngest son Matthew as they all live close to us in Florida. Our second son, Nick and his wife Brinley now live in the greater Boston area so we are excited to see them and spend time with them. Gayle and I are blessed to have such incredible children. We are so proud of each and everyone one of them. We are also so blessed to welcome our newest Mattone to the world, our first grandchild—Matt’s son Luke Dominic Mattone!

This is the day we celebrate our freedom and independence as a nation. We must never forget the people (our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents and on and on), who have sacrificed for the freedom we enjoy today. We live in an age of truly abundant resources—education, technology, people, etc., that we too often take for granted.

My great grandfather, Carlo Mattone, and great grandmother Caterina Depirino Mattone left family and friends in Salerno, Italy in 1865 and arrived in New York City in 1866. They could not speak English. They didn’t know anyone. But, they had a dream to come to the land of opportunity and provide a better life for their children and themselves. They sacrificed. They unfortunately tragically died in the early 1900’s, but not before giving birth to my grandfather, Dominic Mattone. My grandfather was placed in an orphanage in Brooklyn at age 2 and lived there until he was 17 years old. My grandfather went to school and worked every day at the orphanage. He had no parents, but he went to school and worked. He later married my grandmother, Madeline Regine Mattone, and together they had five children. They sacrificed. My Father, Dominic F. Mattone, was the 3rd born. He was a great man and my Mother, Jane, was a great Mom. They sacrificed for me. I am the person I am today because of the incredible people who came before me. Their sacrifice, hard work, character, drive and vision are “alive” in me today. I know these were the gifts they left me. I honor and cherish these gifts every day.

I am honored and privileged to enjoy the independence and freedom to do the work that I do and love. I am honored and privileged to be surrounded by an incredible team of advisers and business partners whom I consider my “Board of Directors and true friends. On this day, the 4th of July, 2015, I want to thank my family and friends, for all the support and sacrifices you make to enrich my life and my business. I am the person and professional I am because of you. Happy 4th of July!

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