William O’Shaughnessy

President & Editorial Director

WVOX and WVIP

Interview with 

Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.

President & CEO

NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Company

Super Bowl XLVIII

February 27, 2014

 

Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. ran Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, the very first outdoor-cold weather gridiron classic in N.F.L. history.  He was a former president of American Express and as a young man had a very important post in the Reagan White House.  We spoke of his Catholic faith, his friendship with Cardinal Dolan and his Westchester family.  Kelly has been a class act in every season.  And he’s only 55.

Although the legendary sportswriter Jimmy Cannon once called Sports “the toys of a nation,” football, which resembles sanctioned violence (our Westchester neighbor Commissioner Roger Goodell will forgive me) has appeal for many of our neighbors. 115 million watched the extravaganza hosted by Kelly and his NY/NJ Super Bowl associates.

We were flattered that just a few weeks after the big event he came by his homet

own station for this interview.  We talked of many things – besides football.  Al Kelly is quite a guy, as you will see …

William O’Shaughnessy:

Good morning, Westchester … it’s what the Brits would call a “brilliant day” here in our home heath of Westchester.  For the next several minutes while we’re in your care and keeping – we have someone I’ve been looking forward to interviewing for a long time.  You’ve read about him in the public press.  This is his home heath as well, New Rochelle.  He grew up around here.  He’s an Iona guy.  He was an elder of Iona College.  He has enormous influence around that campus because he raises a lot of money for them.  But in recent years he had a career change.  You may have known him as the president of a small, tiny, little company called American Express … Amex, the huge credit card company – where he served for many years as president with our New Rochelle neighbor Ken Chenault, husband of Kathryn Chenault.  His name is Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.  And recently – you must know this – he’s been running the Super Bowl.  Al Kelly … are you glad you did it?

Al Kelly:

Good morning, Bill.  It’s a pleasure to be with you and the folks of Westchester County.  I’m delighted I did it.  It was a wonderful event for this region.  Considering the fact that Super Bowls have been played for almost five decades and 1/16th of the National Football League is in this region and calls this region home, in my mind it was high time this great game for American sports came to the greatest area in America and I think we put on a terrific show … this region has so much to offer.   It was really my pleasure to really play a bit of a “maestro” role in bringing tens of thousands of people together to make it a success.  But we’re really pleased with the way it went.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Was it a success, Al Kelly?

Al Kelly:

I do believe it was, Bill … on all accounts.  It was the most watched television show in television history. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

How many people?

Al Kelly:

111.5 million people.  It beat the Super Bowl of three years ago when the Giants beat the Patriots by a few points.  One of the reasons it did so well on television despite the fact it wasn’t a terribly competitive game, was because we were able to create an atmosphere where this really was – in this area – almost like either the Giants or Jets, or both, were playing in it.  And the reality is we had a 51 share in this market where a typical Super Bowl where the Giants or Jets are not in would get a 30 share.  And that’s because we got the region fired up about this great opportunity. There was a 21% increase in the number of credentialed media that followed this game.  6,400 credentialed media came to the Super Bowl and Super Bowl week.  One of the things I looked at from the very beginning – as did the Tisch, Mara and Johnson families – was that we wanted to take this platform of the Super Bowl and make sure we did some good for the community.  Typically a host committee would struggle to raise a million dollars for a single project.  We have raised almost 12 million dollars and we have initiated or completed or have in progress over 50 projects on both sides of the Hudson River, all aimed at school-age youth and facilities they use after school … in the evenings … on the weekends and in the summers.  We did a playground in White Plains, a brand-new playground from scratch.  We have done community center renovations.  We put new ball fields in place.  And these are things, Bill, that are going to last for decades.  And my hope is that people are going to say that in 2014 the Super Bowl was played here and this field, this community center, this playground we are enjoying today – five, ten, fifteen years later – came about because of the Super Bowl being here.  That “Legacy” element is the most gratifying work we’ve done.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Alfred Kelly, Jr. … you’re working for the Maras … and I’m reminded that Wellington Mara, of sainted memory, sat right at that very microphone, several times … and also the Tischs and Woody Johnson of the Jets.  How’s that different from working for a board of directors of Amex, where once you presided?

Al Kelly:

Well, interestingly enough, this is a job where I don’t think I’ve ever had more bosses. New York-New Jersey Host Company is a company.  In addition to being CEO, I was chairman of a board that had eight members on it.  The owners couldn’t be members of it because we were a “not-for-profit” organization and the Giants and Jets are “for profit” organizations.  So we actually had an “advisory committee” where I met with the owners once a month. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

Were they easy to deal with?

Al Kelly:

They were terrific.  I have to say, they were perfect bosses.  They were there when I needed them.  They largely left me to do my thing.  We called upon them tremendously as far as appearances.  I had them at many breakfasts, cocktails parties and unless they were traveling, they would never say no.  I couldn’t have asked for more.  I knew the Maras and I knew John Tisch a bit.  I didn’t know the rest of the Tisch family and I didn’t know Woody Johnson before I got into this and they really have been a real pleasure to deal with.  Interestingly enough, John Tisch and Woody Johnson, who were the co-chairs of this, were both born in New Jersey and today live in Manhattan.  And for them to share a New York-New Jersey Super Bowl was important to them personally because this was their home area and the fact they were able to show off their terrific new stadium to the world also gave them a real sense of pride.  And it is a beautiful facility they’ve built.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Alfred Kelly, Jr., head of the Super Bowl, do you think there will ever be another one around here?

Al Kelly:

Obviously, it’s one of the smallest, elitist clubs in the world, the 32 owners of the National Football League.  They determine where the Super Bowls go.  And as of the current by-laws in the League:  A:  It can only be in a region where there is an NFL franchise.  And B:, Bill, there is this rule that the commissioner allowed a one-time pass on which a Super Bowl can only be held in a region where there’s an average temperature in February of at least 55 degrees.  So, obviously, that was waived, even though we got pretty darn close to 55 degrees on February 2nd. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

You were bailed out by the weatherman.  What if we had a blizzard?  Would you be scrambling now to explain the weather?

Al Kelly:

Well, from the beginning, two things I knew I couldn’t control were the weather and who was going to play in the game and thus determine the competitiveness of the game.  Despite the fact that a lot of people paid a lot of attention to the weather, I never really worried about it per se.  I just made sure we were prepared.  We had great cooperation from Governor Christie and Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg and then Mayor DeBlasio who came in and was incredibly supportive in his early days in office.  We have great assets in this region.  We know how to clear snow.  In fact, both governors and the mayor were prepared to prioritize where the snow removal happened based upon the day of the week in Super Bowl week and what events were happening and where they were happening.  Truthfully, Bill, it would have taken the wrong storm at exactly the wrong time to impact the game because typically, even in a blizzard, we have a period of eight to ten hours where we’re paralyzed.  But after that you could start to get it cleared out.  There have been a couple of times this winter where it started to snow at 11 in the morning and it snowed until 10 at night.   Obviously, that kind of day would have been a problem.  But I invited Cardinal Dolan, a good friend of my wife Peggy and me, about six months before … and  I gave him the assignment of praying for good weather.  Unfortunately, the Cardinal ultimately couldn’t come to the game but I think the fact that if he’s ever up for sainthood, I’ll be able to say that he had a miracle by creating the best day in 2014 to date, including today, which was February 2nd.

William O’Shaughnessy:

I just got a note from him this week, His Eminence will claim credit for this, you know how he operates!

Al Kelly:

And he should … I’m happy to give it to him!

William O’Shaughnessy:

His name is Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. … he’s a Westchester guy, lives in Rye with his wife Peggy.  Didn’t you two fall in love right in our backyard here?

Al Kelly:

We did.  I grew up in the Crestwood section of Yonkers.  Peggy grew up in Port Chester.  I actually met her at her senior prom at Holy Child where she was …

William O’Shaughnessy:

Was she with somebody else …?

Al Kelly:

She was with somebody else!  I was a year older, a freshman at Iona College after four years at Iona Prep.  She was going to Iona College … so I was introduced to her at the prom and six months later, in December of 1977, I took her to an Iona College basketball game and that was our first date and we dated for seven years and September of last year, we were married for 30 years, so we’ve been together quite a while …

William O’Shaughnessy:

And you have a few children?

Al Kelly:

We do, we have five children.  Our two boys are graduates of Iona Prep.  Our two girls are graduates of the School of the Holy Child where I happen to be Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  And believe it or not we have this incredible gift of a fourth grader who is ten years younger than our fourth child and 17 years younger than our oldest child and she is an absolute gift from the good Lord and she keeps us as young as can be.  She is a fourth grader at Resurrection School in Rye. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

Al Kelly, Jr., you’re what I used to call a “Castle Irishman.” It’s a term of admiration, it’s not a pejorative term.  You remind me of another son of Westchester … Jim Comey, he’s got five kids.  And what does Comey do?  He’s head of the FBI!  Is this a Roman thing … you’ve got to have five kids?  Kelly … and Comey?  Or the Plunketts!

Al Kelly:

I don’t know … I’m the oldest of seven.  We never really set out, when we were engaged or in our early years of marriage, with a particular number of children in mind.  It is what it is.  There was no plan for us vis a vis children.  But we have five terrific kids.  The older four have gone to … Boston College and we’ve had four BC graduates.  Father Lahey, their president, told me our fourth grader is already accepted into the Class of 2026! 

William O’Shaughnessy:

So your faith – the Catholic faith of the Roman Church – means a lot to you? 

Al Kelly:

It does.  I grew up … my parents still live in the Crestwood section of Yonkers. My dad goes to Mass every single day at Annunciation in Crestwood.  I can’t quite be that loyal.  It does mean a lot to me.  I’m very fond of our current cardinal and he has me extraordinarily involved in the Board of Trustees of Saint Joseph’s Seminary.  I am on the Finance Council of the Archdiocese of New York.  I’m the Vice President of the New York Catholic Foundation.  So he’s a hard guy to say no to.  I have a lot of faith in him and a lot of faith in our Church.  It is an important part of my life.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Al Kelly, who better to ask:  What do you think of the new Pope?  I can’t get enough of the guy …

Al Kelly:

I do think he’s been an incredible breath of fresh air.  One of the challenges the Church has is that it has lost a great deal of people.  Not necessarily to other faiths or other churches … just the fact that they’ve lost them.  I think they can be brought back and I think Pope Francis has been a real evangelist and I happen to think Cardinal Dolan has that similar personality.  And quite frankly, Bill, not enough priests have this evangelistic personality and objective where they really need to understand the Church is about the people and we need to have the people there for the Church to be vibrant.  I think that message the Pope is sending is that we need people back and involved in the Church and I think he’s done a wonderful job of setting tone in his first year as Pope. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

Alfred Kelly … Mario Cuomo … father of our present governor, Andrew Cuomo, was rooting for your friend Cardinal Dolan to be pope.  Did you ever talk to the cardinal and say, did you want the job?

Al Kelly:

Well, I think he, like many people in that position, would do whatever you are asked, much like our incredible young women and men who serve in the military.  I’ve gotten a chance to witness some of these people in this role of running the Super Bowl.  These people are incredibly selfless and do what they’re needed to do and go where they need to go and I think people like Cardinal Dolan will do what is necessary and what is right.  And if the wisdom of the other 125 Cardinals would be that he should be the pope, I think he would gladly embrace that.  If the wisdom is that he should be the head of the Archdiocese of New York, he would be happy doing that as well.  That’s one of the great things about him: he’s living in the moment. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

Alfred Kelly, Jr. … I don’t want to patronize you, but you have neighbors … in Scarsdale, Bronxville, Rye and Bedford … places with a lot of “yuppie,” hedge fund guys who take and give nothing back.  Do you and Peggy ever get kind of discouraged when you look around you … at the lack of manners … the lack of involvement?  The selfishness?

Al Kelly:

We do what we do and we don’t look around at others or judge other people.  I think both of us feel extraordinarily blessed.  I’ve had success from a combination of hard work and good fortune and our big things are healthcare and Catholic education and that’s the real core or our focus from a charity perspective, Bill.  It’s something we believe: if we’ve had some good fortune, we should try to help other people where we can.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Second time I’ve mentioned him, but Mario Cuomo said he prays for “sureness.”  Your Catholic faith, you’ve spoken eloquently of it this morning … are you … sure … about all this? 

Al Kelly:

You have to have faith.  Without it, it kind of leaves a void.  Does that mean our Church is perfect?  It’s far from it.  And it has its warts like every other or many other organizations do and I think one of the things Pope Francis is trying to do is deal with some of those warts.  Whether you look at the lack of men going into the priesthood …  I don’t know what it’s going to be like for my kids.  Who is going to say Mass on Sunday?  I know there are many more priests retiring every year than there are being ordained and obviously it’s just mathematics!  So that certainly is a concern for me.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Did you ever think about being a priest?

Al Kelly:

I never did, no.  I don’t know why.  It is a calling … but it is not something I’ve thought about. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

Al Kelly, Jr., we’ve roamed far and wide.  Let’s get away from your soul and your Church for the moment and your friend the cardinal … and go back to the Super Bowl which you ran, in every telling and in every account, brilliantly.  What’s next?  You also ran that little company American Express, which has been so good to me, in every season.  Aren’t you also a director of Hershey and a big insurance company?

Al Kelly:

Well, I am not currently on the Hershey board anymore, but I am on the board of Met Life and  recently, in January, I joined the board of Visa in San Francisco and I’m on the board of New York Presbyterian Hospital where I spend a fair amount of time.  I think it’s a phenomenal facility and phenomenal organization.  I don’t know what’s next, Bill.  I’m going to take the next six – eight weeks and help them get things cleaned up and closed down, bills to pay, reports to write, tax returns to file, audits to complete.  And then I want to take some time.  I’m not looking to jump into anything.  I have to decide if I want to go back into a big corporate job or do a portfolio of things.  The thing I know for sure is I want to work full time, it’s just a matter of whether I piece together four or five or six different things that role up to a full time role.  Or whether I take a full time role in corporate America.  I also have to decide how strongly I feel about going back into financial services which is kind of where I have the most experience.  But it certainly has become an incredibly regulated industry.  

William O’Shaughnessy:

Football … Al Kelly.  I once had a conversation … again I summon the name of Well Mara, of sainted memory.  I once asked Mr. Mara:  isn’t it really sanctioned violence.  You seem like a nice, gentle guy.  Are you uncomfortable when you see them get knocked around and flattened on the field?

Al Kelly:

These folks are in incredible shape.  I’ve had the good fortune of  watching a couple of N.F.L. games from the field and from that angle and perspective, Bill, you really see how fast and tough the game is.  I think it’s one of the challenges and Commissioner Goodell talked about it.  One of the challenges for the  League is how to make sure these young men who play the game are as protected as they can possibly be.  But on the other hand, the roughness, the toughness of it is part of the attractiveness of the game.  I have to say that although I’m a football fan, I’m probably a college basketball fan more than anything else.  I didn’t take this job because of this dying love for football – or even of sports – I took this job because of a love for this region of the country where I grew up and seeing that this incredible, ultimate football game could be a catalyst for economic benefit, tourism, charitable legacy work for this region and galvanize people around the Super Bowl much more than just watching a football game.  And that’s what got me excited about this opportunity and has me feeling good about it now that it is over.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Flash … I’ve got a thought.  Have you ever thought … Al Kelly, Jr. … about politics?

Al Kelly:

There was a time, Bill … probably as little as ten years ago when I did.  My father dabbled in it a little bit in Yonkers …

William O’Shaughnessy:

What did he do?

Al Kelly:

He ran for the local city council in Yonkers.  I have to admit, I’ve been quite turned off, quite honestly.  To fix it, we almost would need a wave of people to come in at the same time with the same objective of saying let’s get rid of this nonsense and say what do we must do to really fix our problems.  It feels like whether it’s at the state or federal level, the country is paralyzed and I’m the kind of guy who likes action, likes closure and I don’t see a lot of action or closure in government right now, so that’s not something I see myself doing at this point.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Is there anybody out there whose conduct commends itself to your favorable judgment?  Anybody you admire abroad in the land?

Al Kelly:

Well I think Rob Astorino has done a terrific job as the Westchester county executive.  I know people see their property taxes going up.  But their taxes aren’t going up because of the Westchester tax.  Westchester County taxes are a small piece of it.  Rob, I think, has taken very much a business approach to this by not trying to make his job bigger, but to make his job smaller.  And to try to really focus on what’s important.  And I think he’s done a really nice job in Westchester. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

What about the governor he might run against?  Andrew?

Al Kelly:

Well, I think Governor Cuomo has done a good job as well.  He took on the courageous decision of doing something about the Tappan Zee Bridge and these are not easy decisions because of the fact that it takes years and years for these things to happen and you start these projects and you’ll never see them end on your watch.  And I know when I was at the White House, President Reagan initiated the new 747’s that would serve as Air Force One … but he was never going to fly on a 747 as Air Force One.  But those were courageous decisions to start something somebody else is going to get credit for.  That takes some courage. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

When you were at the White House, what did you do for President Reagan?

Al Kelly:

I was in charge of Information Technology for eight of the eleven agencies that comprise the Office of the President.  So I had the desktops, which at the time were word processing machines and I was converting over to IBM pc’s.  I was there during the email system profs which got a lot of  attention during the Iran Contra affair where John Poindexter and Bud McFarlane and ultimately Ollie North all had their … the history books will write that it is the first time people realized that – unlike phone calls that go away when they’re over – emails don’t disappear. … what really was the first instant of an email being a real zinger and capturing something that somebody did after the fact when the person would have thought it might have been private or might have gone away.  It was an incredible time for me as a young person to have a job of that stature and be able to enjoy Washington which is a wonderful city … a great place to live and we enjoyed the three years we were down there.

William O’Shaughnessy:

What did you think of Ronald Wilson Reagan?

Al Kelly:

I can’t say enough good things about him.  Again, a guy who had vision, tried to pull people together of all kinds.  We’ve talked about it, but it’s true … he and Tip O’Neill could get in a room together – their politics were vastly different – but let’s get stuff done.  It’s been so disappointing to me that President Obama and John Boehner can’t get in a room and put stuff aside and say: for the good of the country, let’s just get things done!  I’d be hard pressed for anybody to be terribly impressed with the list – or lack of a list – of things that have gotten done, unfortunately, since president Obama became President.  It’s not all his fault.  But it’s a short piece of paper.  It’s not a chapter in a book. It’s not even probably a full page in a chapter.  That’s because Washington has been really in a state of being paralyzed. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

What do you think about President Barack Obama?

Al Kelly

I did not vote for him … but when I watched him on Election Night and when I watched him on the first Inauguration … I said: you know what … this is going to be good for the country.  He is going to be a real breath of fresh air.  He’s going to bring people together.  He’s going to galvanize people.  I can’t tell you how disappointed I’ve been.  It’s been anything but that.  He’s been a bit too divisive and hasn’t really galvanized people.  And unfortunately, president of the United States is a humungous job and, quite frankly, if you look at his resume and his background, you wouldn’t hire him for president of practically anything. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

You would … not?

Al Kelly:

You wouldn’t … just on the merits of what he’s got on his resume!

William O’Shaughnessy:

Could he have run the Super Bowl like Alfred Kelly, Jr.?

Al Kelly:

I don’t want to get into that … I’m sure many people could have done a better job than I did.  I’m happy with what I did, but I don’t want to get into comparing who else could have done it.

William O’Shaughnessy:

I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but as I think about all the information and computer stuff in your background … you don’t look like a “computer geek” … yet your were running the damn White House.

Al Kelly:

Well, you’ve got to remember, Bill …  I have a 1980 Computer Science degree from Iona College and today my 10-year-old runs rings around me.  You wouldn’t want me …

William O’Shaughnessy:

You’re kidding …?

Al Kelly:

Oh, my gosh!  It’s changed.  It’s one of the most incredible things about the last 30 – 40 years, the changes in technology. And the speed at which they are changing.  It is truly amazing.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Al Kelly … you’re a man of so many parts … I have to ask what you think of this NSA spying on our European friends? It seems everything you do these days, the government is watching …

Al Kelly:

Well, I think the government has to do its job of safeguarding us.  I think it’s one of the principal jobs of the Federal Government … to safeguard our borders and safeguard our liberty.  And I’m not smart enough, Bill, to judge exactly what we ought to do to make sure we’re safe.  That said … I do think some spying, some active listening, probably has to play a role in that activity of protecting our freedom and protecting our way life and protecting our borders.  Whether it has gone too far is not really – I don’t have enough information – to make that judgment.  I’m not sure there’s really anybody in the private sector that does have enough information to make the judgment if we’ve really gone too far.  I could tell you we’d all be very upset if the Federal government wasn’t doing the things necessary to protect our liberty … because at the end of the day the thing that makes our country the great country it is, is that it is a true democracy and we do live in true freedom where you have all kinds of states doing all kinds of things but we all do coalesce as one country behind our freedom!

William O’Shaughnessy:

Alfred F. Kelly … what does F stand for?  I’ll bet I can guess.

Al Kelly:

Francis …

William O’Shaughnessy:

You’ve been very generous to indulge my curiosity about you and my questions.  I’ve admired you from afar for a long time.  How old are you now?

Al Kelly:

55, Bill … a young 55!

William O’Shaughnessy:

But you’re not finished yet, are you?

Al Kelly:

No, I feel … I’ve got a 10-year old.  No, I’m not finished.  I honestly think there will be at least two more chapters to my life.  Probably three … I want to continue to have a very active corporate career over the next number of years, again in one job or in a portfolio of jobs.  I’ve had a dream that, in my first stage of retirement, I’d go teach at the college or graduate school level and that remains a dream I would like to fulfill.

William O’Shaughnessy:

What would you teach?

Al Kelly:

I would probably teach a combination of management, leadership classes as well as product marketing classes … not computer science classes!  And the third chapter would be to travel, enjoying grandchildren, continuing to catch up with friends and those kinds of things. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

Let me beg another moment, Alfred Francis Kelly, Jr., what makes a good manager?  Who better to ask?

Al Kelly:

Bill, I feel there’s a huge difference being a good manager and a good leader.  I think a good manager is somebody who makes the trains run on time and fixes problems and has good follow-up and runs good meetings.  I think a leader ideally does those things … but a leader sets a vision.  A leader makes sure their ego is in check and their most important job in the world is to get great people around them.  A leader is somebody who is incredibly empathetic to their people and doesn’t look at their people like an asset like a building or technology, but realizes their people are human beings and treats them as such.  For me, the ultimate test of somebody being a good leader is if someone will follow them to the ends of the earth and work for them and tell other people you should work for this person.  Those are kind of the litmus tests of what I think are great leaders and many of them are good managers.  Some great leaders may not be as good on making the trains run on time, but they’re smart enough to put people in place who do know how to make the trains run on time. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

He ran the Super Bowl, among many other things.  His name is Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.  He’s a child of Westchester, a son of our county and we’re so proud of him.  Are you going to write a book about all the pressures and all the people and all the pleadings and importunings visited on you for tickets to that damn Super Bowl?  And the parking passes, even worse!

Al Kelly:

I don’t think so.  I probably could write a somewhat interesting book!

William O’Shaughnessy:

Did a lot of people pressure you?

Al Kelly:

It wasn’t too bad.  I was amazed at the amount of … I wouldn’t call it pressure … but interesting was the amount of people who wanted to work on this effort.  I probably got a thousand resumes or inquiries and at its height I had 31 full-time people.   So, I don’t know whether that’s a sign of when I started … we were still – not that it’s great now – still coming out of the hangover period of the late 2008 – 2009 meltdown.  But I also think the N.F.L.’s got an incredible brand.  The Super Bowl is incredible.  This was a Super Bowl of many firsts and to that end people were very interested.  I got ticket requests like crazy, but we were able to manage through it. 

William O’Shaughnessy:

Would you like Goodell’s job?

Al Kelly:

Roger has done a phenomenal job and has many, many great years ahead of him and I root for him to do well for decades to come.  I’ll go do something else and let him do his job! 

William O’Shaughnessy:

One final, crazy question … you and Peggy courted at the Beechmont, the local saloon.  Do you ever go back?

Al Kelly:

We haven’t been back in a while, I have to confess.  It’s probably been four or five years since we’ve been there.  Bill, when we first got married we lived in Mount Vernon and then we lived in two different homes in New Rochelle and when we lived in New Rochelle we would go there.  But now we’ve been up in the Harrison-Rye section of the county for almost seven years now.  So we don’t necessarily come down.  We come down a lot for Iona College basketball games but I haven’t been to the Beechmont or a lot of the New Rochelle hangouts I spent a lot of days and nights at in my Iona College years.

William O’Shaughnessy:

You honor us with your presence.  I promised your office … I’m running late, and they’re waiting for you in Manhattan!

Al Kelly:

Bill, thank you.  It’s been a pleasure to be with you.

William O’Shaughnessy:

Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. is his name … it will be interesting to see what’s next for this guy.

 

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William O’Shaughnessy, a former president of the New York State Broadcasters Association, was chairman of Public Affairs for the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington.  He has been a point man and advocate for the broadcasters of America on First Amendment and Free Speech issues, and is presently chairman of the Guardian Fund of the Broadcasters Foundation of America.  He operates two of the last independent stations in the New York area: WVOX and WVIP.

He is the author of “AirWAVES” (1999) … “It All Comes Back to Me Now” (2001) … “More Riffs, Rants and Raves” (2004) … “VOX POPULI: The O’Shaughnessy Files” was released in January, 2011.  He is currently working on his fifth book for Fordham University Press, an anthology which will include this interview with Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.

 

 

Contact:

William O’Shaughnessy
914-980-7003
wfo@wvox.com

Cindy Gallagher
Whitney Media
914-235-3279
cindy@wvox.com