Frank & Jerry Antonacci Inducted into the NWRA Hall of Fame

[00:00:00]Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank God for putting me before you today. It has been quite a journey for family of modest means to receive recognition from an industry filled with such hard-working and wonderful people. I'm truly thankful.

[00:00:17]I'd like to thank the National Waste & Recycling Association for this incredible honor >> [music] >> and all the past honorees.

[00:00:24]There are many people who helped along this journey. First, my wife Becky, who somehow managed [music] to navigate a crazy business, a crazy but loving family, and a very different culture.

[00:00:37]Becky, thank you for your love, patience, [music] and strength through all these years. To my mom and dad, thank you for teaching us the value and dignity of all people, and [music] especially the dignity of work. To my brother Jerry, whose drive and tenacity continues [music] to keep us moving forward every day.

[00:00:55]Jerry and his family's commitment to both the business and the family and has always been unwavering. And to my sons, my boys, Frank, Chris, and Phil, [music] I'm incredibly proud of the men you have become. More importantly, I'm proud that you understand you are not owners of this business for today, but you must build it and be [music] stewards for the next 100 years.

[00:01:18]Also, I'd like to acknowledge my partners at All Ways, Pete Lombardo, Russ and Bill Lalia, who without their help, guidance, and confidence, this would not be possible. I would also like to thank Ez Spinella for his guidance.

[00:01:32]This honor is not really for me alone.

[00:01:34]>> [music] >> It is for the thousands of immigrant families whose parents and grandparents came to this country looking for opportunity. In my case, through a series of of circumstances, which I truly believe were guided by God, we were given the opportunities to succeed.

[00:01:51]Our family, we were icemen [music] in New York City, immigrants picking up ice, delivering it. Then the refrigerator came along and suddenly there was not much room left in New York for families like ours.

[00:02:06]We were icemen [music] and there was not a lot of place to pick up garbage. It was all taken. So, we moved out to Long Island and my father started in business there with the help of our extended family. My grandmother Rachel had 13 brothers and sisters >> [music] >> and many of the family names some of you may remember.

[00:02:25]The Lamanginos, the Antonaccis, [music] the Triantrianos, the Panzas, the Florios, and of course my Irish Godfather Joe Winters Sr. who always got me a raise for my dad when I needed it. I learned many of the people skills from those men.

[00:02:41]And I also learned what not to do.

[00:02:44]One memory has stayed with me my whole life.

[00:02:47]I was maybe 10 years old living on Long Island.

[00:02:51]My dad and Joe Winters had just bought a route [music] in New York City.

[00:02:54]We would leave Long Island around midnight, pick up the truck in Queens, and head into the city on a hot summer nights. They talked about how much they wanted to make this route better.

[00:03:05]In a strange way, I can still remember everything about it. The smell of the truck, the heat of the city, the characters we met along the route.

[00:03:14]The egg sandwiches at 3:00 a.m. and the pastrami sandwiches at 8:00 a.m. For a 10-year-old boy, being there with two heroes was a life-forming experience.

[00:03:23][music] Eventually, this path it led us to Connecticut.

[00:03:28]My father, at 44 years old, sold his business on Long Island because he wanted to follow his faith, retire, and breed horses.

[00:03:38]Well, after about 3 months my mom decided enough was enough. I was 18, Jerry [music] was 14, and she told us we had to get dad out of the house because he was going crazy. He was an Italian man >> [music] >> and if he was not going forward, he thought he was going backward.

[00:03:54]So, we bought a small route, called it Summer Sanitation. [music] I believe it was doing about $2,500 a month, and we started from there.

[00:04:02]Through hard work, family unity, sacrifice, and putting most of what we earned back into the business, we are proud of what our family has built. But none of this happens without employees, >> [snorts] >> some of whom have been with us over 40 years.

[00:04:18]So, in closing, I want to say, God bless all of our employees, past, and present, and future, because they are the people who built this business alongside of us every single day. And finally, I leave you with the philosophy my dad once said, "If you're not going forward, you're going backward." I'd like to thank you all very much for this, and God bless you all.

[00:04:38]>> Good evening everyone. I'm truly honored to be inducted into the National Waste and Recycling Association Hall of Fame.

[00:04:44]I want to say right at the beginning, I am very proud to be here tonight, but I also know myself pretty well. This business, my family, and this journey means so much to me that I probably won't be able to get through this speech without getting a little too emotional.

[00:04:58]So, I thought the best way to do this was to record it ahead of time, and hopefully get through it in one piece.

[00:05:04]For me, it was just a career I chose. It was something I was born into.

[00:05:08]My mother, my father, were both in the trash business back on Long Island, New York. And from a very young age, I had a feeling it was going to be my path, too.

[00:05:17]Not because anyone sat me down and told me, because I was right there in it.

[00:05:22]I could still remember my father putting me into the containers, >> [music] >> climbing right inside of them to clean the swill in the corners.

[00:05:29]Back then, with the rear load containers, that was just part of this job. It wasn't glamorous, but it was taught me early on it was what the business was really about.

[00:05:38]In 1973, my family moved to Somers, Connecticut, a small farm town, and my father started a new business there. We began with one truck and what you might call a half a route.

[00:05:48]>> [music] >> My mother was the bookkeeper. Our office was in our house in a 10 by 10 room and we billed on index cards and on our shoebox.

[00:05:56]From the very beginning, my brother Frank and I were involved every day.

[00:06:00]We worked, we learned, we grew up in the business [music] together.

[00:06:03]There were times when we didn't know we were going ever going to grow this business in a small town like this, but we figured it out. My father used to say, "Just keep putting those two-yarders out."

[00:06:14]We learned that growth comes from acquiring other companies, but most importantly [music] it came from hard work and taking care of our customers every single day.

[00:06:21]We used to say, "Drop everything. New customers come first." As I stand here tonight, I realize the recognition really belong to a lot of people who helped me along the way.

[00:06:31]First, my parents, my father Guy and my mother Mary Ann. They gave me the opportunity, the work ethic, and the foundation for everything I've been able to do. My brother Frank, who has been by side from the very beginning. We built this together one day at a time.

[00:06:47]And this really has been a family business in every sense of the word. My three children, Guy and his wife Rachel, Sarah and her husband Chris, Matthew and his wife Olivia, my three nephews, and my sister-in-law Rebecca have all played a part in building this into what it is today. I'm incredibly proud of that.

[00:07:06]My wife Fran, my [music] partner for 40 years.

[00:07:10]Thank you for your patience, your support, and for standing by me through all these early mornings, long days, and everything that comes with this business.

[00:07:18]>> [music] >> And I should probably admit when we were dating, I used to pick her up in a container delivery truck cuz that's all we had back then. In fact, our first stop dates were often behind shopping centers to see who had containers in place. She also came with me to do a front end route and ruined her brand new designer jeans.

[00:07:36]She still stuck with me, so I think she was a keeper.

[00:07:40]I also want to recognize my partners at All Waste, Bill and Russ Lauria and Pete Lombardo, who helped us grow the business to what it is today.

[00:07:49]And I'd like to thank our consigliere, Ed Spinella, for helping [music] keep us on the straight and narrow over the years. And most importantly, I want to thank all of our employees, past and present, the drivers, the mechanics, the office staff, the people who showed up every day to do the hard work, took pride in what they did. This business was built on their efforts just as much as anyone's, and I'm truly grateful for every one of them. None of this happens alone. It takes good people, trust, [music] and shared vision. I spent my life in the business starting as a kid climbing the containers and ending up [music] here tonight. I wouldn't trade that journey for anything.

[00:08:27]This industry may not always be glamorous, but it's essential. It's built on hard work, commitment, and people who care about doing the job right.

[00:08:35]I'm proud to have been here one of those people.

[00:08:38]Thank you for this honor, and thank you for letting me be part of this great industry. [music]