East Haven High School Alumni Association Newsletter
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East Haven High School Alumni Association Newsletter Fall 2019 Editors: Steve Narracci & Carol Pompano SEVEN TO BE INDUCTED AT HALL OF FAME’S 33rdANNIVERSARY ON NOV. 24 Seven distinguished honorees will be inducted into the 33rd Annual East Haven High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019 at Seasons, 980 Foxon Rd., East Haven (formerly Country House Restau- rant). Slated for induction are: Kenny Horton ’85, Jim Oca ’85, George Durso ’98, Rashaad Roach ’01, Michael Lau- dano ’03, Ashley Palmese Redente ’05 and Coach Martin “Rusty” Dunne. Kenny Horton, Class of 1985, was a four-year varsity football team member and received Honorable Mention recognition to the All-Housatonic League Football Team. After graduat- ing EHHS, Kenny was hired as an apprentice electrician by Pasquariello Electric Corpora- tion, a company he went on to purchase in 1994. The firm specializes in converting old factories to housing units. It has completed major projects from Florida to Massachusetts, the most notable of which was transforming an old textile mill to student housing on the University of South Carolina campus. This reflects Kenny’s love of the character of histori- cal buildings and his commitment to their “adaptive reuse and development.” In 2001, Ken- ny formed the Horton Group, LLC, an award-winning, full-service construction, general contacting and facilities maintenance firm specialized in developing residential and com- mercial sector projects throughout the Northeast. The firm has worked on more than 5 mil- lion square-feet of housing on the East Coast, and a recent Connecticut project – the Resi- dences at 66 High Street in Guilford – was awarded 2016 “Project of the Year,” “Best Luxu- ry Condominium Unit” and “Best Historic Rehab Overall” by the Home Builders Associa- tion of Connecticut. Kenny is an enthusiastic supporter of and contributor to many youth sports programs, schools and charitable causes, most notably Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital NICU. He lives in Guilford with his wife Lynn and their sons, KC, Matty and Kyle. For more than 31 years, James F. “Jim” Oca Jr., Class of 1985, has served the East Haven Fire Department, where he currently is the senior battalion chief in command of Division 1. He is also an EMT and a fire inspector. In 2018, he was honored as a “Shoreline Hero” by the Exchange Club of Branford. He is owner and lead trainer with Oca & Associates, LLC, a company providing first aid, CPR and OSHA training, pri- marily within the social services sector. Jim is a dedicated community volunteer who has been a member of the EHFD Volunteer Company 1 for 34 years. He is member of the East Haven Yellowjacket Athletic Club and was active with the former St. Clare’s Church. He is a 13-year volunteer with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS), an organization that provides free remembrance photography to parents who have suffered the loss of an infant. He served as NILMDTS Board president from 2016-2018. He is also a member of the Porcini International, the Umberto Club of New Haven, the Buo- ni Amici Club and the Irish American Community Center. He has been married for 29 years to Kim Consolatore Oca (’86). The couple lives in East Haven and has two grown children: Jimmy and Katie. (Continued on Page 2) Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner are $50 each. Send checks, payable to “East Haven HS Alumni Asso- ciation,” to 247 Bayard Ave., North Haven, CT 06473. NO TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR! (Continued from Page 1) George Durso Jr., Class of 1998, played for the East Haven Youth Hockey Association, which won the Division II Bantam State Championship (1994). A four-year defenseman at EHHS, he was the hockey team’s lead scorer at that position (118 points) and made four consecutive State final appearances. The squad won the Division II State Championship in 1998. Among his achievements, he received the Plus/Minus Award (1996) and was named to the All-Southern Connecticut Conference and the New Haven Register All-Area Team (1997). That same year, he achieved a career-high +73 rating. In 1998, when he was team co-captain, he was named to the New Haven Register All-Area Team, the All-Southern Connecticut Conference and the All- State First Team. Also in 1998, he had a career-high 51-point season, with 13 goals and 38 as- sists. From 1998-1999, George was starting defenseman for the Connecticut Jr. Wolves of the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League, where he helped lead the squad to a playoff appearance in its inaugural season as a junior hockey team. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at American International College (AIC), Springfield, Mass., which is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. There, he played as defenseman in 100 Division I collegiate hock- ey games for the AIC Yellow Jackets as a walk-on. In 2003, he attended the minor league hock- ey training camp for the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League, playing in three preseason games. He also served as EHHS varsity/junior varsity assistant hockey coach (2003- 2004).George earned his certification in Special Education at Southern Connecticut State University and has been a special education teacher for 13 years. He currently works at Elizabeth Ives School for Special Children in North Haven. Rashaad Roach, Class of 2001, has been a member of the Branford Police Department since 2007. He is a field training officer and instructor and has specialized training in defensive tactics and undercover and narcotics investiga- tions. He earned nine unit citations for teamwork exceeding the requirements of police service and a Medal of Commendation for effective police work. He obtained the rank of sergeant in 2018 and was promoted to the position of pa- trol supervisor. Rashaad was a three-sport EHHS athlete. He was a three-year starter and lettered in football as wide receiver and defensive back, serving as captain during his senior year. In 2000, he was named to the All-Hammonasset Football Team at wide receiver and to the New Haven Gridiron Club Levi Jackson Football Team at defensive back. He lettered and was a three-year starter in basketball and captained the team as a junior and senior. He excelled in track and field as a sprinter and jumper, lettered for four years and was named captain of the squad his junior and senior years. He was SCC Ham- monasset 100-meter champion in 1998, SCC Hammonasset long jump champi- on in 1999, and took All-State Honors in decathlon in 2001. During his high school career, he set records for the 100- meter (1998) and the 400-meter (2001) events. He went on to Springfield College, where he was a two-year member of the indoor track and field team. He captained the team as a senior and received All-New England Honors as part of the 4x100- meter relay team (2006). He is VP of the James “Nunu” Glee Athletic Scholarship Fund, which honors the memory of an EHHS Alumni Association Hall of Famer. Rashaad is pursuing a master’s in Public Administration at UNH. Michael Laudano, Class of 2003, was a four-year starter on the East Haven High School soccer team. During his career, he scored 33 goals and had 22 assists. He was a three-time All-Hammonasset team selection and was named to the All-Area and All-State team as a senior. He went on to attend college at Western Connecticut State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Ancell School of Business. A dean’s list student, he played on WCSU’s men’s soccer team for four years. During that time, the squad won the Little East Conference (LEC) and made it to the NCAA tournament, both for two years. In his senior year at WSCU, he was named to the LEC first team. During his college athletic career, he scored 11 goals and had 19 assists. He served on WCSU’s Student Athletic Advisory Commit- tee during his junior and senior years and also worked on service projects in the Dan- bury area as part of Habitat for Humanity, an international nonprofit organization that helps families build/improve affordable housing to create strong, stable communities. A Watertown resident, Michael is lead construction accountant at Belpointe Capital of Norwalk. He formerly served as an auditor at Cartus of Danbury for eight years. (Continued on Page 3) 2 (Continued from Page 2) Ashley Palmese Redente, Class of 2005, is senior project coordinator at East Haven- based Nexgen Public Safety Solutions, where she provides onsite technical support for the Connecticut State Police and supervises Department of Public Safety employees, among other duties. She formerly served as an assistant manager at Planet Fitness in Branford and as an office assistant/intern at the Yale University Club Sports, Intramurals and Outdoor Education Center in New Haven. Ashley was an outstanding EHHS athlete. As a varsity volleyball setter in 2004, she set school records for most career assists (1,246), season assists (785), match assists (41), career aces (188), and season aces (74). She was named to the SCC All-Hammonasset Team (2003) and the All-Oronoque Team (2004). In 2004, she was named the C.H.S.C.A. Class L State Championship Team’s MVP, to its All-State Volleyball First Team, and to its Senior All-Star Volleyball Team East. She received the Sportsmanship Award (2003); was recognized as Most Consistent Player (2004); and was featured by the East Haven Courier as its “Sportsperson of the Week” (2004).