Street Renamed for Bishop
Ignatius Catanello ’62
The city honored the
late Bishop Ignatius
Catanello ’62 this
summer by naming
a portion of a street
after him. Seventyfourth Avenue, between
175th Street and
Utopia Parkway in
Fresh Meadows, was renamed Bishop
Ignatius A. Catanello Way. The street is in
front of Holy Family Church where he was
bishop emeritus. ●
Henry E. Riehl ’64 is proud to report that his son,
Matt, now has his own law practice in Wyoming.
Joseph E. Scalia ’64 is a writer and painter. You can
see his watercolors at josephescalia.com , where you
can also buy his books.
Thomas M. Laquercia, Esq. ’66
is the proud grandfather of Philip
Antonio Laquercia, born October
2014 to Justin and Maria Anjelica
on Justin’s 35th birthday.
William “Billy” O’Connell ’66 was
elected to the Huntington Beach
City Council (California) in his third
attempt running for the office.
He is the founder and director of
Colette’s Children’s Home, which
provides homeless single women
and homeless mothers and their children a safe home
where they can obtain the support and services they
need to get back on their feet.
John P. Russell ’67 is extremely grateful for the
excellent education he received at St. Francis
College. He considers Dr. Arthur Hughes, James
Flynn and Frank Altimari to be the best teachers he
had in his life, and looks at Mr. Joseph Castronovo
as an administrator who ‘got it right with Humanity.’
James M. Theisen ’67 worked in development for
over 35 years, and praises SFC on its efforts.
Thomas J. Killeen ’69 recently received the
Community Champion, Friend and Advocate Award
at the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America’s
“Laugh ’til It Stops Hurting” event held this past
April at Glen Oaks Club, Old Westbury, NY.
Paul A. Murphy ’69 was sorry to hear of Dr. Arthur
Hughes’ passing and wishes he could have attended
the 2014 History and Political Science Reunion and
seen him there. (For more on Dr. Arthur Hughes, visit
sfc.edu/page.cfm?p=456 &newsid=452 . )
1970s
Alan H. Hoffman ’70 became a grandfather again
as his daughter, Frances, gave birth to her third child,
Michael. His older daughter, Sharon, is now expecting
her first child.
James P. Lawler ’71 is a professor of information
technology at Pace University’s Seidenberg School
of Computer Science and Information Systems
and received the 2014 Community Partner Award
of AHRC NYC, an agency that helps those with
developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Michael P. Magnavita ’71 still fondly remembers his
years at St. Francis and sends greetings to all current
students as well as alumni and his 1971 classmates.
James C. Malone ’73 is the new chief financial officer
of XIFIN, a financial cloud computing company
dedicated to optimizing the economics of healthcare.
Tom Raleigh ’73 was honored with the Timothy J.
Coughlin ’76 Memorial Award for Outstanding
Contributions to St. Mary’s High School, Manhasset,
NY. Raleigh also played basketball at St. Francis
for three years before joining the Nassau County
Police Department.
John A. Rowinski ’73 was recently inducted into
the St. James/Bishop Loughlin Brother Aurelius
James McManus Athletic Hall of Fame for his
accomplishments on the basketball court.
John Tantillo, Ph.D. ’73 is now the Branding Editor
of Fridge Magazine, a publication directed at small
business owners and entrepreneurs. Tantillo is the
author of People Buy Brands Not Companies, and
the Udemy on-line course: Go Brand Yourself with
Dr. John Tantillo — The secrets of branding for
personal and professional success! He is the former
radio talk show host of BrandTalk, a contributor to
the Fox News Opinion Page, and a go-to expert for
BBC on a range of marketing issues. He frequently
appears in the national media on programs such
as Cavuto, Fox & Friends, MSNBC’s Weekends with
Alex Witt, ABC News Live and Fox News Live.
Vincent A. Gardino ’75 has
been promoted to Vice President/
Chief Revenue Officer of Straus
News in New York City. Straus News
publishes 17 local weekly newspapers and associated websites in
NYC, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Barbara G. Koster ’76 was recently recognized by
STEMconnector ®, a consortium of companies and
organizations concerned with science, technology,
engineering and math education and careers, as
one of its 10 0 Diverse Corporate Leaders in STEM.
Koster is senior vice president and chief information
officer at Prudential Financial.
Alexander M. McComber ’76
was awarded an honorary degree,
Doctor of Science, by Queen’s
University in Canada during
the school’s June Convocation.
McComber also gave an address
to the graduating seniors. The degree was given in
recognition of McComber’s tireless efforts for the
past 35 years to enhance the well-being of Aboriginal
people and communities throughout Canada.
Ellen M. Leonardi Miseo, APN, ’76 has joined
the editorial advisory board of Spectroscopy
magazine. She has practiced vibrational spectroscopy throughout her career, and has developed new
instrumentation, commercialized new techniques,
and anticipated new trends in the industry.
Robert Huzinec ’77 received the
confectionery industry’s highest
honor when he was inducted into
the National Confectionery Sales
Association Candy Hall of Fame.
He lives in Hummelstown, PA with his family and
works for The Hershey Company in their Global
Product Development Department in the Sweets and
Refreshment Group. “The Hershey Company still
believes in what Mr. Hershey started and continues
his vision of giving back to this day. I consider myself
very blessed to work for a company and an industry
where I am able to go beyond my job to promote our
industry in positive ways and bring goodness to the
world every day,” said Huzinec.
Steven Virgadamo ’77 was appointed Associate
Superintendent for Leadership Formation for
the Archdiocese of New York. He oversees all
archdiocesan efforts related to identifying, recruiting,
developing and retaining administrators and teachers
and also supports prospective, new and veteran
principals. Mr. Virgadamo has served in Catholic
education and the Catholic Church for more than
30 years. “After working to enhance and transform
Catholic education in more than 10 0 dioceses and
thousands of Catholic schools, I am pleased to return
to my roots in NYC and take on this role with the
Archdiocese of New York.”
Mr. Brian J. Smith ’78 was recently honored with the
2015 Irish Echo Law and Order Award in a ceremony
that took place this past January at the Manhattan
Club in NYC.
1980s
Irma Garcia ’80 was awarded the 2015 Administrator
of the Year Award for NCAA Division I FCS by the
National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics
Administrators (NACWAA).
Mary E. Callahan ’80 is serving her second term
as president of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office
Foundation (Florida), a 1,5 0 0 member, non-profit
organization.
Kevin J. Hinchy ’80 was named Branch Manager
at the Community Resource Federal Credit Union
branch in Latham, NY.
Gaetano Messina ’80 was recently honored at the
2015 NYC Soccer Gala held at the New York Athletic
Club in Manhattan. The event honors those involved
in the past and present of New York City soccer, and
those who have contributed to its success.
John Sheehan ’80 was recently inducted into the
St. James /Bishop Loughlin Brother Aurelius James
McManus Athletic Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the basketball court.
Mark J. Long ’82 is now portfolio manager of
Sterling National Bank, and provides financing
solutions to clients in the metropolitan New York and
Mid-Atlantic regions.
James E. Leonard ’83 has been appointed Chief
of Department, the highest ranking uniformed
position in the FDNY. Chief Leonard will oversee
the Department’s 15,0 0 0 uniformed firefighters
and EMS personnel and four major agency bureaus:
Fire Operations, EMS Operations, Training, and Fire
Prevention.
Walton D. Pearson ’83 is a managing director
and senior portfolio manager at Brown Capital
Management, and is a member of the Alex Brown
Center for Entrepreneurship at the University
of Maryland Balt imore County. He is also a
member of the board of trustees of the Baltimore
Community Foundation.
Glenn ’84 and Theresa ’88 Huzinec are proud
to report that their daughter, Monica, will begin
Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College this
September on a full-tuition academic scholarship,
while their daughter, Colleen, has received a
scholarship to Notre Dame Academy.
ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER | FALL 2015 | 15