Alumni News and Notes

ALUMNI NEWS

1950s

Joe Plandowski ’58 has been added to the Cannabis Advisory Committee for Nantucket, MA. MA allows the sale of cannabis products for medical and recreational purposes.

1960s

Gary Salzyn(ski) ’65 and his wife Carolyn have been retired since 2010 and reside in Blue Ridge, GA. Carolyn graduated ‘70 from SUNYAB with her Nursing degree and Gary graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Superior with Political Science & History majors in ’69. Carolyn was a nurse, and Gary worked as a Surety (Bonding) underwriter. Last year they celebrated their 50th Anniversary.

1970s

Gene Gebhard ’71 reports he is happily living the coastal life in Charleston, SC where he “has accumulated several children and a dozen grandchildren.” Gene owns several Pearle Vision Centers in Buffalo, Rochester and Charleston.

Deacon John Lozano ’72 recently published the book “Good News in Bad Times- Finding Spiritual Meaning in the Midst of Uncertainty.” It was published by TWENTY-THIRD PUBLICATIONS. He also created and hosts the Podcast site: “Real Life Christianity with Deacon John Lozano” John sends warm regards to all his classmates and looks forward to seeing as many as possible at their 50th reunion.

Tim McNamara ’74 retired in December, 2017 only to return to work in August, 2018 after being recruited to his dream job as a Commissioner/Mediator with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Recently transferred to Buffalo after starting his career with FMCS in Erie, PA. Tim and his wife Pauline have lived in Lake View, NY since 1998 and are grandparents to two boys and two girls with a fifth grandchild, and a third granddaughter, expected in May 2022. His three children, two daughters and their husbands and son (Curran ’11) and his fiance live in the Village of Hamburg. Also, he is the unofficial Class of ’74 social organizer having organized local (monthly pre-COVID) and occasionally out of town get togethers.

Joe McQuillen ’75 is one of the top mortgage bankers in the Chicago area. He has been married to his wife Sally (a therapist) for over 30 years. Joe has three adult children, and one on the other side. After a canoe accident in 2016 took the life of his oldest son Christopher, Joe began to research the metaphysical and has published two successful books. “My Search For Christopher on the Other Side” and “We’re Not Done Yet Pop, My Lessons From the Other Side.” If any member of the St. Francis Family would like a copy of either book, he would be happy to send one free of charge. Along with writing, Joe speaks to families who have lost children. He also sits on the board of In Balance Ranch Academy, a boarding school for boys between the ages of 14 and 18 years old. Joe is grateful to St. Francis for the huge impact on him as it provided a spiritual foundation that played a large part in his life, especially after the tragic accident that claimed the life of his son.

Joseph Guttuso ’79 moved to Tampa, FL from Boca Raton, FL to become the Director of Land Development for American Homes Development in 2019. He remarried in September, 2020 to his wife Debbue Lindo Guttuso.

1980s

Gerald Mead ’80 recently retired from a 35-year career at SUNY Buffalo State College which included tenures as a curator at the Burchfield Penney Art Center (the art museum at the College) and lecturer in the Design, Fine Arts and Art Education Departments.

Chris Kania ’86 was named Head of Western New York Commercial Banking at M & T Bank. Chris has been with the Commercial Banking Team since 1998 and in his new role will be responsible for building relationships with small and mid-sized businesses while creating differentiated strategies to serve customers throughout WNY and Southern Ontario. He is also active in the Buffalo Community as a Board Member and past chair of the Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and chair of Leadership Buffalo.

Keith Calveric ’87 is about to release his first solo album after singing/performing/writing music for over 35 years. Available on all major streaming services on April 1st, the six song EP ‘Untold’ is a diverse and cathartic collection of highly personal songs reflecting on the most significant events of his life. Keith enlisted Multi-Grammy Award winning producer/engineer Neil Dorfsman (Springsteen, Sting, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney) to help guide him through the process and lend his talents to preproduction work as well as mixing two tracks on the album. Keith also brought in Grammy Award winner Jon Kaplan (Black Pumas, Zach Williams, Sara Bareilles) to mix one track. Through ‘Untold,’ Keith melds a wide array of musical influences into a style all his own. Keith began his professional career as the lead singer of Johny Vegas (1992-1999), a pop rock band who released three independent albums and played nearly 150 shows a year from coast to coast, sharing the stage with bands such as The Goo Goo Dolls, Weezer, Blues Traveller, Bare Naked Ladies, 10,000 Maniacs and many more. Johny Vegas sold over 30,000 copies of their albums combined. For more info please go to keithcalveric.com.

AND NOTES...

Christopher Kovacs ’89 wanted to let his classmates know that, after living in New York City for over a decade, he is happily moving back to Buffalo and looks forward catching up with everyone and becoming more a more active part of the SFHS Alumni Association.

Jim Kubiak ’89 was recently named the first head football coach at Hilbert College in Hamburg, NY. After graduating from St. Francis, Jim went on to have a stellar collegiate career as a quarterback at the Naval Academy as well a six year professional career in the NFL, NFL Europe and the Arena Football League. After his playing days, his passion for football led to stints as a coach and executive in the AFL, a college coach and as an analyst/columnist for several media outlets including the Buffalo News. In addition to being Hilbert’s Head Coach, Jim currently is the owner/operator of the Western New York Quarterback Academy. He and his wife Jennifer have three children, Abby, Anna and Alaina.

1990s

Andrew Pfeiffer ’95 and Rob Kubiak ’95 came together at SFHS to resurrect SFTV, and now they’re at it again. Andy launched Arthur Elliott in 2007, a full-service marketing communications firm, in Charlotte, NC and it has grown steadily ever since. Recently, Rob joined the team, working on client strategy from the Buffalo office. Companies from across the country have elevated their brand working with Andy and Rob, and they encourage all St. Francis alums to check out their latest work at arthurelliott.com!

Todd Zielinski ’95 and his Assistant Coach/son Dylan Zielinski ’24 coached The SS. Peter and Paul 8th grade boys basketball team to an undefeated Father Baker League season (10-0) and a 14-2 overall record. Pictured are incoming SFHS Freshman Matt Zielinski ’26, Todd ’95 and Dylan ’24.

2000s

Joe Scarsella ’00 recently formed The Assist Foundation, a youth sports non-profit. The mission is, to provide youth in Western New York the opportunity to participate in sports regardless of their socioeconomic situation. Fellow Alumni Bernie Switzer ’95 and Jason Gordon ’97 are Board Members. The Foundation recently completed a 14-week beginner ice hockey program sponsored by Variety Club, where 30 youth in the City of Buffalo got the chance to participate free of charge learning how to play hockey. They also partnered with Buffalo PAL to run a learn to skate program on synthetic ice at the Hennepin Community Center. If you want to learn more check out the website www.theassistfoundation716.org

Peter Shrader ’00 and his wife Trish are pleased to announce the birth of their first son, Charles William, was born on January 6, 2022 weighing in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

Jeff Bubar ’01 recently started a new position as a Management and Program Analyst for the Office of Field Operations Headquarters at U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, DC.

Angelo Colucci ’03 was promoted to homicide detective at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Homicide is generally considered the highest detective rank on any police department, and the LVMPD is considered one of the elite homicide departments in the country with a case solve rate at 92%. Detective Colucci has been with the LVMPD for 13 years.

Dr, Anthony DiMateo ’03 has been a practicing board-certified urologist at Butler Health System in Butler, PA since 2017, focusing primarily on minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and benign prostate hyperplasia. He is also currently the chairman of the department of surgery. My wife, Molly, is a primary care physician. They have two young sons, 7 and 1 years old.

Jacob A. Miller ’04 married Mallory Lewis on March 19, 2022 at a destination wedding outside Zion National Park. Jacob and Mallory met in 2017 while working together at the Cleveland Clinic. Jacob and Mallory now live in Cincinnati, OH, where Jacob works as a flight nurse practitioner with University of Cincinnati Air Care and Mallory is a perioperative nurse at Beacon Orthopedics. Jacob will be completing his Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree at the University of Cincinnati this spring.

Michael Ellement ’06 was named a partner at James and Hoffman, PC in Washington, DC, where he practices labor and employment law. His work in recent years has involved protecting the rights of workers during the pandemic. He represented a teachers’ union in litigation and collective bargaining, which led to increased safety protections for teachers and students during the return to in-person learning. He also represented fast food employees in securing a novel injunction against a major chain that was alleged to have created a public nuisance by operating without appropriate safety measures in place.