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A Mayo native has been honoured at the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce annual Women of Excellence Awards luncheon.
Empire City Casino’s Ursula McIntyre was recognised as one of this year’s Women of Excellence and received the Above and Beyond Award.
As Director of Mutuels for Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway and assistant to Timothy Rooney, president and CEO, Ursula serves as the pari-mutuel manager for harness racing at the racetrack and provides support to the executive team. She is well-known among her colleagues to always go 'above and beyond' for the casino, racetrack, and community.
Ursula, who was born and raised in Mayo, the eldest of nine children, attended Galway Regional College, studying hospitality, before immigrating to New York at the age of 20.
It was at a hotel in Ireland where she first met Tim Rooney and his wife June. Upon hearing that McIntyre was New York bound, Rooney offered her a job.
By 1982, McIntyre was a Rooney employee and in 1989 she began working at Yonkers Raceway.
“For nearly 30 years Ursula has been a part of the Yonkers Raceway and Empire City Casino family,” said Rooney. “She is not only an exemplary member of our executive team but is also unwaveringly dedicated to the City of Yonkers and its communities. Her tireless energy never ceases to amaze and I am thrilled that she is receiving this much-deserved community recognition.”
Throughout her career, Ursula has held various positions spanning multiple departments for Yonkers Raceway and now Empire City Casino. She credits the longevity of her career to the working environment created by the Rooney family, whom she claims are some of the most upstanding people she has ever encountered.
In May 2000, she reached a personal milestone by becoming a citizen of the United States. She is a member of the Police Athletic League (PAL) board of directors, serves on the executive board of the Yonkers St. Patrick’s Day parade, and is involved in many other non-profit organisations and charitable undertakings across the city.
She was named Woman of the Year by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Westchester & Hudson Valley in 2013 for her fundraising efforts on behalf of the organisation. She has also been honored by the PAL Board and the Aisling Irish Community & Cultural Center.
