Don Mucci - 2017 National Ace of the Year

When Don Mucci learned that he was Legatus’ 2017 National Ace of the Year, the president of the new Louisville Chapter joked that he had to look up what the award was about.

As National Ace of the Year, Mucci recruited the most new members into Legatus last year. He helped grow the chapter from zero to 20 members in about three months, and estimates that he has already helped recruit five or six new members this year.

With a rewarding career in insurance and commercial real estate, Mucci, a married father of three grown sons, says he sees Legatus as a perfect fit for his faith, family, and business life. He recently spoke with Legatus magazine.

How did you get acquainted with Legatus?

Last spring, Archbishop [Joseph] Kurtz invited some people to his house to learn about Legatus. My wife Caryn and I went and thought it was something we’d want to get involved with. About a month passed by, and we hadn’t heard anything. So I reached out and suggested inviting people to my house, kind of following the same setup we did at Archbishop Kurtz’s house.

Knowing that we wanted to be large enough to be effective but small enough to be somewhat personal, we decided on seven couples. We had a typical cocktail hour, then dinner, then we did ‘the ask.’ I always joke that you can’t host an ‘ask event’ in Louisville and not serve bourbon. Well, one of the guys stood up at our party after a bunch of drinks and said he couldn’t see a reason why we all don’t join right now, so all seven people signed up that night. That got us started.

What was it about that dinner night that got people interested in Legatus?

I think one of the things that made it neat, and it wasn’t scripted or anything we planned to do, was that we went around the table and had everyone tell a story about themselves and their faith journey. It was amazing how it was almost like being on a Christian Awakening retreat. People were telling their story, their love of the Church, their love of Christ. I think that got us off to a good start and gave us some momentum.

What have been your initial impressions of Legatus?

Certainly, it’s been extremely favorable, or I wouldn’t be putting in the time as president of the chapter and the amount of recruiting I’m doing. All told, we’re now up to 25 or so members. I probably invite an average of two guests to every meeting and chapter event. I want to continue to grow it, because the more people who get involved in it, I absolutely believe the world will be a better place. And it’s been a great thing for my wife and me.

How do you go about recruiting new members?

At this point, I constantly keep my eyes and ears open, thinking about who I know in the business realm who would qualify, then picking up the phone and inviting them to one of our events.

We have a good story to tell. The speakers are the sales pitch, but the food is good, the Mass is good, the rosary is good. You can go out to dinner and for drinks anywhere, but to get together with a group of Catholics and say the rosary together is not as common. You don’t get that everywhere. Plus, the quality of speakers we’ve had has been truly phenomenal.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

It was a real treat for me to pick up Tom Monaghan up at the airport and take him to our archbishop’s office, and spend an hour listening to Mr. Monaghan and our archbishop talk about the Church. It was a real thrill for me to be able to spend that time with him. I’m just appreciative for him for starting this organization.