At our Annual General Meeting and Tea, Myles C. Gallagher was named our 2019 Person of the Year. He was raised in St. Angela’s parish by his parents Myles F. and Margaret, along with his siblings Mary Ellen (now Gavin, Fairfield, CN) and Collette Gallagher, Rocky River. He studied at St. Edward High School and John Carroll University.

A pioneer in premium seating and sponsorship sales with the Cleveland Indians and IMG, he quite naturally morphed into a full-service agency, transitioning Naming Rights from a sports stadium niche to an integral part of infrastructure financing. “We saw a need and filled it.” Formed 25 years ago, The Superlative Group (www.superlativegroup.com) is considered one of the premier consulting and sales organizations in the area of Naming Rights and Sponsorship Valuation and Sales in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and the U.K. and more recently, Asia. Under his creative leadership Superlative has produced more than $2.4 billion in corporate sponsorships and naming rights for its clients. Among them the US Marine Corps, US Army, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Twentieth Century Fox, San Diego Symphony, NUI Galway, Trinity University, Kent State University and many others. Most recently they added Asia to their market.

Moderator for the event was Gerry Quinn, who introduced Gallagher. ““Thank you for honoring me as your Mayo Person of the Year. A big part of our Company and who I am is from John Carroll. We are happy to support the scholarships between John Carroll and NUI Galway.” When Moderator Gerry Quinn remarked he thought it was the shortest acceptance speech of any others Gallagher quipped, “I got a C in Public Speaking at John Carroll… but there was a reason for it.” He didn’t elaborate further so we’ll have to wait until the Ball to ask him what the reason was!

Quinn said the Scholarship Program is the most important things we do each year. “Two students from John Carroll University are selected to go to Ireland for one semester. It’s a very unusual program, in fact, we pay for everything – the airline tickets, books, lodging and in the future we hope to expand it.”

Our 2019 scholarship recipients are Emily Robinson and Kayla Thielen. “I am very, very excited to go abroad and learn about Ireland’s deep history,” said Thielen. “Anytime I speak to anyone who’s been to Ireland they always tell me how amazing and kind the people are. Thank you for the opportunity.”

Emily Robinson was sorry she could not have been here for the Tea. Writing from her home in Philadelphia she said, “Thank you to the Mayo Society of Greater Cleveland and NUI Galway for the scholarship. It is helping me achieve my dream of studying internationally and learning about living in Ireland.”

Quinn took a moment to single out who he said is most responsible for the Society becoming affiliated with John Carroll University. “That person is Dr. Jeanne Colleran. This link would never have taken place without her friendship, dedication and hard work.” Colleran responded by saying “It has been a great privilege of my life to have met all the great people from Cleveland and Mayo.”

Gallagher’s Irish roots are County Mayo and County Kerry. His grandparents are Edward Calvey – Achill, County Mayo and Mary Agnes O’Sullivan – Ballyhar, County Kerry; Patrick Gallagher – Achill, County Mayo and Bridget Corrigan – Owenduff, County Mayo. He will be honored at the InterContinental Hotel at Cleveland Clinic on Saturday September 28, 2019. He and his spouse Laura have been married 31 years. They are parents of Meghan, Molly, Myles F. and Sean.