Riley left his native Pittsburgh after high school to serve in the Marines during World War II. After his discharge, he was in no hurry to settle down. A friend's father-in-law was a vice president at the National Savings and Trust Company and offered Riley a job with a string attached: He had to promise to stay for a year. He stayed for 37.

Starting as a clerk in the auditing department, Riley headed the securities, corporate trust and real estate lending departments before becoming president in 1976 and chairman in 1980. NS&T was bought by United Virginia Bankshares, which became Crestar. Retired since 1984, Riley is still a consultant to the bank and goes to work every day to make the connections that put people and resources together.

Riley joined the Greater Washington Board of Trade in 1954 and became part of the city's civic leadership. He recalls: "We were all close friends so it was easy to unite for things that were good for the city." He was president of the Board of Trade, the Kiwanis Foundation, the Washington Convention and Visitors Association, and the National Alliance of Businessmen, headed the annual Christmas Pageant of Peace, and is still treasurer of Heroes, Inc.

"I came along at the right time," Riley concludes, "when you got promoted from within. You tell them Joe Riley thinks he is the luckiest man in the world."