ALUMNI PACERS CLUB PROFILE
“Building a successful business is like building a successful sports team. You take it one client, one step at a time. You keep working with your eye on the goal.” says Bill Rainey ’95. This outstanding alumnus, a business administration major and former Marywood basketball standout, has had plenty of experience in both venues. After what he describes as a “world tour of colleges,” Bill Rainey landed at Marywood. The “tour” had included time at East Stroudsburg University, which he attended on a football scholarship; then two years at Penn State University’s Worthington Scranton campus. The tour, however, would not ultimately take him to PSU’s main campus, as he once thought, but to a destination closer to his Dunmore home. Marywood–right in his own backyard–gave him exactly what he was looking for: small classes, excellent professors, and an atmosphere geared to developing leadership qualities. Fortunately for Marywood, he also found opportunity to use his athletic ability and love of sports to help get the University’s brand new men’s basketball team off the floorboards. “I was working and going to classes, besides playing basketball,” Bill says. “I learned about time management. I learned about taking on challenges. We took our lumps. We weren’t always winning,” he says, “but we were always building. I’m proud to have been part of that,
and grateful to (former) Coach Ed Cosgrove, who recruited me.” In 1995, Bill Rainey, made family history by attending the Senior-Alumni Dinner accompanied by a team of Marywoodians: his mother, Ann Ward Rainey ’47, his sister, Anne Rainey Walsh ’88, and sisters-in-law Carol Heier Rainey ’83 and Ann Marie Kane Rainey ’83. As he left campus in pursuit of a career, Bill Rainey never took his eye off the ball. He carried his leadership ability and team building experiences into the business arena after graduation, working with his brothers, Tom and Rich, both CPAs, in their accounting firm of Bonita and Rainey. Ultimately, he also partnered with brother Tom to found the We Pay Payroll Processing Company, which handles payroll accounts for small businesses across the country. He has never lost sight of the goal of a winning men’s sports program for his alma mater, either. He is a driving force in the Pacers Club as a member of the Executive Board, working to promote all men’s sports teams, getting alumni and parents involved, and generally, he says, “getting out the word that there’s more than one university in town with exciting sports teams.”
“It’s amazing how Marywood’s sports programs have grown,” Bill says. “I’m impressed by how much the University has invested in developing strong teams and first-class facilities and how committed they are to the student athletes.” Clearly, Bill Rainey is enthusiastically backing up his alma mater’s commitment through his volunteer efforts and leadership in the Pacer Club. Should anyone want to give him a hand in this, his message is right to the point: “Stay connected to Marywood! Come on...join us! And cheer!”
For more information on the Pacers Club, contact the Athletics Department at 570-961-4724 or mupacers.com
BREAKFAST with SANTA 2009
The Annual MAC-sponsored Breakfast with Santa was held on Sunday, December 6, at its new home, the Latour Conference Room (formerly Crystal Room). There were over 250 alumni and their families in attendance. Entertainment was provided by the Jingle Girls from the Ballet Theatre of Scranton and Santa Claus himself, with the assistance of Mrs. Claus. Children of all ages were on hand to meet and have photos taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Save the Date—Breakfast with Santa 2010 has already been set for Sunday, December 5, 2010.
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