Connie Muldowney with her two grandchildren, Fiona Kennedy Muldowney and James William Kennedy Muldowney. Her son James “Huck” A.S. Muldowney, IV ’90, an Assistant Professor of Medicine and cardiologist at Vanderbilt University, and his wife Nancy Jean and family live in Nashville.
Service Award
Thrift Shop Manager is 2010 Service Award Winner MFS Thrift Shop Manager Connie Muldowney was honored with the Alumni Association’s Service Award on Alumni Weekend for 34 years of service to the school as a volunteer and as manager of the Thrift Shop. Her vision for the Thrift Shop has helped to grow an asset to the community and source of revenue for the school. “It’s another giving choice for people,” said Muldowney of the Thrift Shop. “I look at it as found money for the school.” After working as a volunteer for 14 years, Muldowney was hired by the school in 1990 to run the Thrift Shop. The shop has moved several times in the last three decades from Roberts Hall to the rear of 113 E. Main St. to its current location on Chester Avenue near the train tracks. The shop has continued to cover its expenses and consistently contributes a sizable gift to MFS annually. Running a thrift shop operation requires a variety of skills, most importantly people skills. Muldowney
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Alumni Awards
relates well to volunteers of all ages – from students who come to the Thrift Shop as part of their community service to MFS grandparents. “Our volunteers work very hard to achieve our goals by giving their time,” said Muldowney. “Everyone who has stepped through that doorway to volunteer has made a difference.” It is a tribute to Muldowney that her volunteers are very loyal: many of her volunteers have been working at the shop for years, often long after their children or grandchildren have graduated. Some travel long distances to do so, like alumni parent Valerie Bush, who drives up from the Atlantic City area. Even if Thrift Shop volunteers move out of the area, they are sure to stay in touch. MFS Gift Acknowledgment Coordinator Sue Giacchetto, an alumni parent who has worked at the shop for many years, watches Muldowney do her work with great admiration. “Connie is like an ambassador for
the school to the community. She is so caring. The school means an awful lot to her,” said Giacchetto, who also has seen first-hand how well Muldowney works with the shop’s numerous volunteers. “She makes everyone feel important. Everyone has a different niche and she finds that niche whether it’s sorting clothes or working the front desk.” With the rise of Ebay and online auction/marketplace websites, Muldowney has stayed on top of the latest changes in the industry, posting items on Ebay and keeping abreast of pricing changes. “There is a great deal of research that goes into pricing items,” she said. Ultimately it is the smiles and social aspects of the job that she enjoys most. “I love getting up in the morning and coming to work,” she said. “There’s always a laugh here…you leave with a smile.”