Born and raised in Ballston Spa, Paul hails from one of the community’s large, industrious immigrant families with roots dating back to the early 1900s.
Ballston Spa High School Class of 1981 alum Paul Monaco has devoted three decades to helping a portfolio of commercial banking client companies build strong financial profiles.
Just how deeply Paul cares about those he serves through his position as Vice President / Portfolio Manager and Underwriter at Citizens Bank in Albany is eloquently expressed in his April 2020 essay titled Work From Home reflections.
Although the seasoned professional, who earned his B.S. in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business in 1985, is devoting more hours than ever to his customers in a WFH setting in Ballston Spa, he is investing some of the time he previously spent commuting back and forth along the Northway to building a portfolio of a vastly different sort.
Specifically, Paul is in the process of creating Village Vignettes – a series of stories and photo-essays that include slices of life as observed by him and captured by his his iPhone camera lens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time this introduction to Ballston Spa Living’s newest contributor was being written, Paul had just completed an exquisite photo essay celebrating the village’s birdhouses along The Jim Tedisco Trail. Titled Birds of a feather, the piece would surely have brought a proud smile to the face of now late Malta Avenue Elementary School teacher Albert Eisenhauer. The reason: It was for Mr. Eisenhauer that Paul wrote some of his earliest English class compositions. (CLICK HERE to read more about the lives and legacies of both Mr. Eisenhauer and wife Helen who also taught generations of students in the village.)
A family of independent thinkers with hard-working ‘can-do spirit’, the Monacos have built several businesses in and around the village.
Born and raised in Ballston Spa, Paul hails from one of the community’s large, industrious immigrant families with roots dating back to the early 1900s. The fifth of six children born to Joseph and Gertrude Monaco, Paul wed Mechanicville native Jodi Almela in 1986. Their matrimonial union was blessed with two opposite and unique sons, Julian and Ryan.
Proud of his heritage, Paul can often be heard lovingly telling happy stories of growing up in the village amongst all of that which life in a big extended multi-generational family entails. (The fact that his Dad was one of 15 siblings contributed significantly to the clan’s size.)
A family of independent thinkers with hard-working “can-do spirit”, the Monacos have built several businesses in and around the village. Previous enterprises owned by the family included Monaco’s Village Inn (Dad Joe and Uncle Patsy, founders); Monaco’s Floor Coverings (Uncle Benny and sons, Ben Jr. and Dennis); Medbery Inn (Uncle Louie and wife, Rose); Valley Acres Greenhouse (Uncle Jimmy and wife Celia); Doubleday Wine and Liquor (Patsy’s wife, Verna and her brother, Ron French); and Step 5 Design Salon (cousin Sally Monaco-Tholl).
Current businesses owned by family members include The Factory Eatery & Spirits and J.J.’s Snack Bar (cousin Jerry Defilippo and wife, Mary); Monaco’s Automotive Services (cousin Vincent and wife Nancy); Bulldog Farms Greenhouse (cousins Toni and Pasquale and his wife, Rhonda); and The Brickyard Tavern & Grill (cousin Ron Manna and wife, Tracy).
Paul’s favorite pastimes include tending to his yard and vegetable garden, walking his sidekick dog, Millie (whom he shares with his son, Ryan) and frequenting the village’s various restaurants. An art lover, Paul additionally enjoys visiting Manhattan museums, roaming around Greenwich Village and surrounding downtown neighborhoods he fell in love with during his NYU days. We hope he’ll take lots of pictures to share with Ballston Spa Living readers when able to return to The Big Apple after COVID-19 restrictions are at long last lifted.