Sons of XAVIER
IT’S NOT THE YEARS, IT’S THE MILES
1973
1984
Rene Medina is proud to announce that his son, Marco, was selected to be a member of Xavier’s Class of 2018.
Classmates Alberto Roldan and Gregory McCartney recently met up in Waikiki, Hawaii for a class reunion. Alberto is an administrative judge in Sacramento, Calif., and Greg is the owner of Stars Above Hawaii. Aloha!
Victor Vallo is the chair of the Music Department of Newberry College in Newberry, S.C., where he is also the conductor of the Newberry Chamber Orchestra.
1975 “I had no athletic career at Xavier,” said Peter Canning ’63. Yet 12 years after graduating from the school, he found himself embarked on a demanding running regimen. He initially took up the sport to get into shape, and was soon running three days a week. After finishing a five-mile race in 1975, he says, “I was hooked.” A comptroller at Chase Manhattan Bank at the time, Mr. Canning trained with the Prospect Park Track Club. He entered the New York City Marathon in 1976 — the same year the 26.2-mile course moved from Central Park out to the five boroughs. Today, the famous marathon includes more than 50,000 runners, but in 1976, there were just 2,090 entrants. “You could sign up the day of the race,” he recalled. “That seems kind of quaint today.” “Running is the only sport I know where you can run in the same race where the top dogs are competing,” he said. “That’s what makes running a marathon extra special.” The Xavier alumnus has since run 13 more marathons. He is especially fond of the Jersey Shore Marathon, which he finished in 2:59:11 in 1978, the same year he qualified for the Boston Marathon. His most recent long distance race was the London Marathon of 1984. Mr. Canning lives in Manhattan, where he runs nearly every day. He still enters a half dozen races annually, including the Celebrate Israel Run and the annual 5K Harry Murphy Cross Country Classic. Thinking about the miles of road ahead, he laughed, “The bug re-bit me. But today I’m happy in the four- to six-mile range.” 32.
XAVIER MAGAZINE
Albert Gumbs extends his congratulations to Rt. Rev. W. Stokes on his appointment as well as his prayers and condolences to Chris Wenz on the passing of his mother. He can be contacted at aeg713@msn.com. On February 28, 2014, Richard Wefer retired after 25 years of firefighting with North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, serving the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. He remains active with the North Hudson Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 3950, as treasurer. He says it’s nice to have every night and weekend off! Peter Hyzak is now the Director of Wines and Spirits at the Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Estero, Fla.
1977 Paul Gugliermo is Director of Operations in the Peekskill, N.Y., School System.
1978 Michael Driscoll successfully defended his dissertation, Philanthropy and American Schools of Business, at the University of Pennsylvania and received his doctorate at the Penn graduation in May. Mike continues as a Clinical Professor and Senior Executive in Residence at the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business at Adelphi University. He is also a member of the Xavier Finance committee. Edward Gooding received the Rev. William J. McGowan, S.J. Award at the 30th Annual Golf Outing along with recent graduate Kevin Crockett ’14. The two were honored for having scored 1,000 points in their Xavier basketball careers.
1986 Robert Suarez has moved to the Tampa, Fla., area to open a new law practice after recently retiring from the U.S. Army as a Military Police Officer.
1988 Frank Luongo is back in the U.S. after a year working in France. In June he will take a new position working in Angola, Africa.
1989 Christopher Spataro is a partner in the litigation team of Faegre, Baker, Daniels, LLP. He recently accepted a board position with the Volunteer Lawyer Network which promotes pro bono legal services in northern Indiana.
1990 Francis Creighton has started a new job as Executive Vice President for Public Policy at the Financial Services4. Roundtable, a trade association representing the major financial services companies in the country.
1992 Michael Reardon was named Head of School at the Meadowbrook School in Meadowbrook, Penn.
1993 Thomas Giovatto is the head coach of the St. Francis College in Brooklyn, men’s soccer team. In the 2013 season the team went 12–6–1 and won the Northeastern Conference Championship, making it to the first round of the NCAA tournament.
1994 Dionis Rodriguez is founder and managing principal at Crimson Rock Capital, LLC. William Reidy was named Vice President for University Advancement at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
1995 Brian Colvin is the associate athletic director for finance & administration for Rutgers University. Edward Gooding ’78 with Xavier President Jack Raslowsky.