CBA Distinguished Alumni

In 2013, Christian Brothers Academy established the Distinguished Alumni Award to honor outstanding alumni and celebrate their achievements. The purpose of the award is to recognize alumni of CBA Syracuse who have made significant contributions to society and whose accomplishments, affiliations, and/or careers have honored the legacy of excellence at CBA. Classes are inducted bi-annually, alternating with the CBA Lasallian Athletic Hall of Fame. Having postponed the 2020 Lasallian Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony to November 2021, the next planned DAA ceremony will take place in November 2022. Since the award’s inception, CBA has honored 37 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients. These highly accomplished graduates bring pride to the institution and it is our intention to continue to highlight members of this elite group in the Alumni News as often as possible. For more information about the award or to submit a nomination for the next class to be awarded in Fall 2022, please contact the CBA Advancement office at advancement@cbasyracuse.org or 315/446-5960 x 1140.

Joseph Charles, Class of 1930

(Deceased, inducted in 2013) Joe Charles was a leader in the field of team sports for half a century, when he instituted many community-wide programs that are still active in both the City of Syracuse and in Central New York. In 1939, Joe, along with Frank Leahy, who coached at both Boston College and Notre Dame, and Steve Eppler, the inventor of six-man football, started a six-man football league in Central New York. Many junior high schools and parochial teams participated in the league. Joe was instrumental in bringing innovative youth sports programs to Central New York in the early 50’s. From Biddy Basketball to Pee Wee Hockey (which he underwrote with Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins), to helping found the Optimist Youth Basketball Program, thousands of young athletes have a lot to be thankful for. Joe was also a driving force in bringing the Pop Warner football program to our fair city. The program started with eight teams in 1959. It was so well-received that it won the National Scholastic Championship Award, the Top Athletic Team Award and the Team with the Highest School Mark Average Award. In 1958, Joe was one of the original inventors of Slow Pitch Softball in the country. He brought the game to Syracuse from the Chicago conventions and started here with just four teams. Today, there are over 500 teams, both male and female, that participate in softball leagues throughout Central New York. The City of Scranton awarded Joe its Gold Key as one of the inventors of Biddy Basketball. He received a lifetime membership to The Optimist International Club for his work in making the Optimist Youth Program in Central New York, one of the outstanding youth programs in the country. He was honored with the “Polio Award” in Binghamton for promoting the Polio All-Start games in 1951, 1952, and 1953 between the Onondaga County All-Stars and the Broome County All-Stars for Polio Charity. He established the Joe Charles Sport Shop, which was a mainstay sports supply store for 35 years.

Fr. Fred Mannara, Class of 1955

(Inducted in 2015) The son of immigrant parents, Frederick Mannara was born and raised on the North Side of Syracuse. He was the eighth of 10 children. The Mannara’s were members of Our Lady of Pompeii Parish. He was offered a scholarship to CBA by his brother Joe’s employer and friend, Ray Flynn, who also happened to coach basketball. Fred went on to play basketball and baseball as a Brother’s boy, in addition to earning high honors for academics. Father Fred first thought about becoming a priest as a young boy. He cited the wholesome family atmosphere in which he grew up, the examples of good priests in his life, and the environment at CBA as factors that influenced his vocation to the priesthood. After graduating from CBA in 1955, he attended St. Andrew’s Seminary and St. Bernard’s Seminary, and earned a Master’s in marriage and family counseling from Syracuse University, as well as a Master’s in Divinity from St. Bernard’s Institute. Ordained in 1963, Father Fred served as associate pastor in parishes in Norwich, Binghamton, Jordan, Baldwinsville, and New Hartford, and as pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes and Most Holy Rosary in Syracuse. He is known for his total commitment to each parish where he serves and a deep devotion to its parishioners. This spring, he celebrated his 58th year as a priest. Many friends of Father Fred remember him from his days teaching at Bishop Ludden, Henninger, and Fowler Faith Centers. His stamina and energy are legendary. He has organized trips for youth and seniors to places from Water Safari to the Vatican. Father Fred was awarded the Bishops Medallion by Catholic Charities for his true and heartfelt devotion to serving people of the diocese and to living as a model of service to others. Father Fred is a people’s priest who cares for his flock—the young and old, healthy and sick, rich and poor—and his flock is forever loyal and appreciative of their shepherd.

Dr. Daniel Georgianna, Class of 1961

(Inducted in 2015) Dr. Daniel Georgianna is Chancellor Professor Emeritus in the School of Marine Science and Technology at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he taught for 35 years. He received a BS in mathematics from College of the Holy Cross and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His fields of concentration include marine resource economics, history of economic thought, and labor history. He is a member of several policy-making organizations including: the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the New England Fishery Management Council and the Massachusetts Seafood Marketing Council. He was President of the UMass Faculty Federation, Local 1895, American Federation of Teachers for 13 years. Dan won several academic awards including: the Yvonne Sandstroem University Service Award, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award, the Leo Sullivan Teacher of the Year Award, and the Richard Fontera Memorial Award for Community Service. Dan is the author of 30 journal articles and chapters in books, more than 35 monographs, more than 150 newspaper and magazine articles, and has successfully completed over 20 government research grants, almost all concerning coastal resource economics. In 2008, he was awarded The Best Column Award by the AFT Communications Network. He lives in Fairhaven, MA with his wife, Sharon and two of their four sons.

Gianfranco Zaccai, Class of 1965

(Inducted in 2013) After graduating from CBA, Gianfranco earned a degree in Industrial Design from Syracuse University and an Architectural Degree from the Center of Architecture in Boston. An Italian immigrant at the age of 8, he has strong ties to Italy and has spent a great deal of time in that country through the years. Gianfranco founded Continuum, an industrial design firm in Boston, in 1983. At Continuum, he invented the Swiffer cleaning system, the Compass system (hospital modular wall units to save space and keep rooms comfortable for patients) and OMNIPOD (the miniature insulin delivery system device for children.) He worked with MIT to develop the $100 laptop, the Reebok Pump, the NALA patient chair for healthier posture and to assist the disabled people in sitting and standing. Gianfranco served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Design Management Institute (DMI) in Boston and on the Board of Advisors to the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. He was a Visiting Lecturer at the SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan, Italy and has given talks at the Emtech conference, the Forum for Social Entrepreneurs, and the Future of Healthcare Technologies. Gianfranco has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and Metropolis Magazine. Among the many national and international awards he has received are: the McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) Cradle to Cradle Silver certificate; NeoCon 2008 Silver Certificate; Industrial Designers Society of America, “Design of The Decade” award; iF Seal of Excellence from the iF Industrie Forum Design in Hannover, Germany; The “Compasso D’Oro” from ADI, the Italian Industrial Design Association and the Commune di Milano, Italy; and the Presidential Award for Design Excellence, from President Clinton for the Egis Explosives Detection System. Gianfranco is currently the Founder and President of the Foundation for Augmented Intelligence in the greater Boston area which seeks to develop, stimulate, and leverage technological, educational, and organizational innovation to enable and empower individuals with intellectual disabilities, their families, and their communities, in order to improve quality of life, enhance independence and productivity, lower cost, and benefit society as a whole.