Domenic Gatto's Blog

In 1972, Domenic Gatto founded Atlantic Express Transportation Corp., a small school bus business in New York.

Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club: Family Friendly Amenities

By Domenic Gatto

I became a Partner and Chairman of the Board of the Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club in 2003. This organization, located in Farmingdale, New Jersey, provides a championship-level golf course for amateur and professional golfers. Other features of Eagle Oaks include the Southern Colonial-inspired clubhouse. Many of the club’s initiatives strive to involve its members’ entire families, and Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club exists to give individuals a place to relax, practice their game of choice, and enjoy the lush surroundings.

Furthermore, Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club maintains a family-friendly atmosphere that invites members of all ages to participate in athletic activities. Some of the club’s youth-focused programs include a family bingo night, seven movie nights throughout the year (drive-in, indoor, or poolside), and parent-child golf outings and barbecues. Other examples of family-friendly events at Eagle Oaks are Valentine’s Day family brunch, Easter egg hunt and brunch, Mother’s Day brunch, a family Halloween hayride and dinner, and gingerbread house decorating at Christmastime. Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club provides golf clinics and outings for children and their parents, and a junior tennis schedule is created each year. The recreational and social aspects of the club provide members with many unique opportunities to strengthen their families.

Additionally, Eagle Oaks is a venue that provides members comfort and pleasure. While some members of the family might enjoy a massage, others can participate in outdoor activities and work out. For those with children, Eagle Oaks provides a baby pool for toddlers, a “kids eat free” night each Tuesday, and a kids-only menu at the club’s grill. The private club even has a pizza bar for kids. Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club continues to welcome families and seeks new ways to expand its offerings.

Benefits of Conducting Business with the Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation

Domenic Gatto

As the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Atlantic Express Transportation Corp., I have turned my company into the fourth-largest school bus corporation and the largest American-owned operation as well. We employ more than 7,000 professionals who work in 6 states to transport children to and from school. Throughout the past 39 years, I have raised more than $650 million in public markets. The Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation provides services such as operator training, routing, vehicle maintenance, capital investment, school bell time management, and other specialties.

Moreover, school districts and private schools that outsource their transportation business with the Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation experience many benefits. My company creates a strategic maintenance schedule, bus time and capacity, and current route chart. We work to give clients opportunities to save money: Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation provides its programs for a fixed annual fee. This way, the fees and costs for our transportation services never surprise customers.

Additional benefits of working with the Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation include a maintained level of student safety that is due to the experience our drivers possess. We conduct thorough testing and comprehensively train each employee to be aware of the issues presented when escorting students on a school bus. Also, Atlantic Express offers supplemental programs such as accident prevention programs, video surveillance options, and Child Check Mate Systems for school districts that are willing to pay a little more for the opportunity to fully protect their students.

With its extensive experience, the Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation gives clients unmatched reliability and quality. The professionals who work with students on a day-to-day basis possess expertise in safety regulations and driving preparedness. Recent independent research suggests that riding a yellow school bus to and from school is the safest method of transportation, and outsourcing a bus system from the Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation can save school districts a significant percentage of their original transportation costs. For more information about the benefits of hiring Atlantic Express as a transportation provider, visit our official website at AtlanticExpress.com

A Brief Overview of Richard Nixon’s No More Vietnams

By: Domenic Gatto

During my period of service to the U.S. Army, I traveled overseas and fought in the Vietnam conflict. In Richard Nixon’s book, No More Vietnams, he details the events leading up to the conflict and gives meaning to the issues surrounding the initial bombing of Vietnam. This is one of my favorite books, as it provides a closer look into the endeavors of the federal government during the Vietnam years.

One of Richard Nixon’s main points in this book is that the U.S. became involved with Vietnam for one purpose: to provide relief to the South Vietnamese from an oppressive Communist North Vietnam government. Richard Nixon writes about the smear campaigns that plagued the U.S. government during this time, as well as the formation of the decisions that led to the 1972 bombing of Vietnam and the mining of the Haiphong harbor in that same year. Nixon gives readers insight into both the mistakes and victories of the U.S. military during this supposedly “unwinnable” conflict.

While Richard Nixon was known as a supremely partisan politician, he mostly shrugs his party affiliation in this novel and presents the actions of the U.S. government in a straightforward manner. His personal goal was to free the Vietnamese people from the tyrannical Communist powers in their country, and Richard Nixon describes the Vietnam conflict as a mistake because his plan failed. In the book Richard Nixon also strongly criticizes the actions of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. No More Vietnams makes important information about the Vietnam era apparent to the public that wasn’t available during the war.

Domenic Gatto: Hope for The Warriors

As a businessman and private philanthropist in New York, Domenic Gatto supports many non-profit organizations. As a disabled veteran who fought in Vietnam, Domenic Gatto maintains a special affinity for charitable organizations that provide support for war veterans. One such organization, Hope for The Warriors, seeks to enhance the lives of service members injured in the line of duty, as well as their families. More than 10,000 Americans soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan since the start of the war there, and more than 30,000 have been wounded in Iraq. Many of these soldiers face permanent disability and disfigurement, and will require special services and accommodations for the rest of their lives.

Hope for The Warriors seeks to show a nation’s gratitude towards its war wounded by sponsoring multiple programs aimed at providing for the needs of these heroes. Programs include A Warrior’s Wish, which helps veterans satisfy goals that enhance quality of life; Above and Beyond, which provides services geared towards reintegration into society; family support programs; recreation and respite opportunities; and, an initiative aimed at meeting the immediate needs of families coping with a newly injured soldier.

Robin Kelleher and Shannon Maxwell cofounded Hope for The Warriors in 2006, after Maxwell’s husband sustained a traumatic brain injury in Iraq. The two gathered a community ready to help its war wounded, and the foundation has grown steadily since its inception. Hope for The Warriors raises funds via special events, and accepts philanthropic donations. To learn more, visit hopeforthewarriors.org.

Domenic Gatto: First Tee

Founder and CEO of Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation, Domenic Gatto, also serves as the chairman of the Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club in New Jersey. Combining his love for the game of golf with his pursuit of private philanthropy, Domenic Gatto supports the First Tee of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, a non-profit organization that seeks to affect the lives of children through golf. Golf offers many benefits to those who pursue the sport, and children who golf develop skills they will use throughout a lifetime, such as perseverance, integrity, respect, and courtesy, all of which are inherent in the game. The First Tee program is a national organization providing facilities and instruction to bring golf into the lives of children.

Aimed at teaching nine core values; integrity, honesty, responsibility, courtesy, perseverance, sportsmanship, respect, judgment, and confidence, the First Tee program reaches out to youths from all walks of life, providing them with the opportunities to grow personally through sport. The First Tee of Monmouth and Ocean Counties takes place at the Colonial Terrace Golf Course in Ocean Township, New Jersey. Formed in 2005, the local program provides learning facilities and instructions for children aged 8 to 17 who might not have access to golf without the First Tee. O

n both national and local levels, the First Tee also sponsors a scholars program, which provides college scholarships to program participants who demonstrate excellence in academics, leadership, character development, and community involvement. To learn more about the First Tee program, visit thefirsttee.org.

By Domenic Gatto

Vietnam Veterans of America

Before launching his career as a successful businessman and President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Express Transportation Corp., Domenic Gatto served his country in the Vietnam War. Upon returning home in 1969, Domenic Gatto became a member of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).

Founded in 1978 by a small group of Vietnam veteran activists, Vietnam Veterans of America is an advocacy organization that exclusively represents soldiers returning home from the Vietnam War and their families. Although VVA maintained a high level of activity during its early years and gained the support of several media outlets, the organization experienced setbacks when arguing its case in front of Congress. After the triumphant return of hostages from Iran in the early 1980s, VVA began to demand proper recognition for Vietnam veterans. One year after the dedication of the Vietnam War Memorial in 1982, VVA established the Vietnam Veterans of America Legal Services (VVALS) to assist veterans seeking benefits from the government. Soon thereafter, VVALS became the most prominent veteran benefits legal service and contributed to the growth of the VVA as an organization. The VVA soon won the respect of Congress and the public and began to enact new advocacy programs for veterans of the Vietnam War.

Today, VVA maintains a membership of over 50,000 veterans across more than 600 chapters in the United States. Under the guidance of a national board of directors, composed of 24 men and women from local chapters across the country, VVA seeks to advance the cultural, educational, health, economic, and emotional needs of Vietnam veterans adjusting to their lives as civilians.

To accomplish the stated goal of serving Vietnam veterans, VVA identifies three courses of action for legislative success: working with the media, lobbying, and mobilizing constituents. The strategy has produced significant results in the past, including the establishment of the Vet Center system, increased job placement and unemployment services for veterans, and health care assistance for veterans suffering from the effects of Agent Orange exposure. To learn more about Vietnam Veterans of America or to find out how to become involved, visit the website at vva.org.

Eagle Oaks Golf and Country Club

By: Domenic Gatto

In addition to serving as President and CEO of Atlantic Express Transportation Corp., I am Chairman of the Eagle Oaks Golf and Country Club. Located in the small town of Farmingdale near the Atlantic coast in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Eagle Oaks offers a championship level course designed by Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller, two PGA Tour legends. Eagle Oaks` links-style course features a variety of meadow and forested contours with a full array of bunkers, water hazards, sand traps, and rough to navigate. Eagle Oaks honors the traditions of golf with a contingent of more than 40 caddies willing to accompany players on foot. The entire Eagle Oaks course is viewable online as an 18-slide show at eagleoaks.com.

In addition to its 18-hole course, Eagle Oaks offers a full driving range and a 75-yard short-game practice area that has multiple putting greens and all the hazard elements of a full course. Eagle Oaks also offers family friendly amenities such as the “Li’l Eagle” golf course, introducing youths to golf with a specially designed scorecard. After a day on the greens, Eagle Oaks offers relaxation at a 60,000 square-foot Southern Colonial-style Clubhouse. Ongoing renovations include guest suites, swimming pool, day spa, state-of-the-art tennis courts, and Kid’s Club services.

Eagle Oaks has played host to numerous tournaments throughout its 20 year history including the 1991 New Jersey PGA Championship, the 1992 US Amateur Qualifier, and the 1992 New Jersey State Amateur Championship. More recently, Eagle Oaks hosted the 2007 New Jersey State Mid Amateur Championship, the 2010 U.S. Open Local Qualifying Tournament, and the 2010 New Jersey Tournament of Champions. I am proud of the numerous high-profile tournaments held at Eagle Oaks in its short history and look forward to similar events in the future. I maintain a very close connection with the Eagle Oaks Golf and Country Club as my son has been club champion these past three years.

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