Board of Directors

Vin Gattullo - President Vin is “Mr.non-profit/community service” on Staten Island. For 57 years he has served as the Director of the Staten Island Zoo: President, CEO, Board Chairman of the American Parkinson Disease Association: Physical Director of the Eastern District YMCA; former chairman and member of the Staten Island Community Fund: Supervisor of Science C.S.D. 31: Founding member of the Staten Island Chapter (RSSA) and founding member of the S.I. Science Teachers Association (S.I.T.A.). Vin has worked as an adjunct professor at C.S.I. Wagner College, St.John’s University and Hunter College. He has a third year degree in Administration and Supervision from C.S.I.;M.S in Science Education from Wagner College and a B.S. in Biology from St. John’s University. At Curtis H.S he threw the shot put and set the Staten Island record. At St. Francis College (Brooklyn) and St. John’s University he threw the shot put,12lb, and 16lb hammer and the 35 lb. weight throw. In the U.S. Army he was the Fort Carson and the 5th Army track coach. Vin became a board member in June of 2009.

Bob Orazem - First Vice President Bob has been involved in different aspects of running on Staten Island for over 35 years. He began his running career at Susan Wagner HS where he was a member of a nationally acclaimed four by mile relay team. His college running took place at East Stroudsburg College in Penn. After graduation he was one of Staten Island's most successful road runners and ran an outstanding 2:26 marathon, one of the best in SI history. From 2001 to 2008 he  worked as the meet director for the NYC Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) for Cross Country and Track and Field. Bob served two stints as President of the Staten Island Athletic Club from 1976-1980 and 1996-2002 and the elite Greenery Bar Racing Team from 2000-2003. A retired NYPD-NYFD member Orazem is 1st Vice President for SITRAC. He is the father of two children; Corey graduated from Msgr. Farrell in 2009 and has followed Dad's footsteps at East Stroudsburg University. Jessica attends Notre Dame Academy and is a varsity bowler.

Pete Whitehouse - Second Vice President Pete Whitehouse is one of Staten Island’s native sons. He was born in West Brighton in 1942 and attended Blessed Sacrament Grammar school and St. Peter’s Boys High. In 1960, after finishing an outstanding high school career in track and field he rejected athletic scholarship offers from several eastern colleges, choosing instead to take a less traveled path to Notre Dame in what was considered then to be the "distant" mid west. In the words of Robert Frost, "that made all the difference." At Notre Dame he thrived. He earned a degree in sociology in 1964, sharing that proud moment in South Bend with his father and mother, Leo and Julia. His was the first college degree earned in his family. At Notre Dame he served as team captain and monogram club secretary. By his senior year he set the record as the highest point scorer in Notre Dame track history. He finished that memorable year by earning first team All America honors when he took second place in the 110-meter high hurdles in the NCAA championship meet in Eugene Oregon. Later that summer he qualified for and ran in the 1964 Olympic trials. After graduation Pete moved straight into the profession he always envisioned for himself, that of teacher and coach. He taught in both Catholic and public high schools but finished his 33-year career at Tottenville high school in 1997. The track teams he coached won more city championships than any other team in any other sport in PSAL history. His cross country program was ranked among the top five in New York State for the decades of the eighties and the nineties.

Alberto Garcia - Secretary Al has been involved with track and field for most of his life. He graduated from Mount St. Michael High School in the Bronx, where he was the city champ four times in the 1600m(2), 3200m and 4 x 800.  Al went on to run at St. John’s University where he was elected Captain and became a multiple scorer in many collegiate events. He was part of the 4 x 1500m relay that was ranked 5th in the country in 1987.  At St. John’s Al also met his wife of 17 years, Youree, who was an exceptional runner. Al and Youree reside in the Silver Lake section of Staten Island with their four daughters Pariis, Brianne, Ariella and Sofia.  After college Al’s running career didn’t end. In 1988 he won the very prestigious Mercedes Mile, Metropolitan section in 4:10.23.  In 1989 Al was Puerto Rico ’s National Champion in the 1500m.  Al is an admired runner on Staten Island .  He has run for the SIAC team since moving to Staten Island in 1989. In 1995 Al set the St. Patrick’s Day Forest Avenue Mile record (4:13).  That record still stands today. Additionally, in 2008 Al was inducted into the Mt. St. Michael’s Hall of Fame at which he still holds all the records from the 1500m to 5K Cross Country.   At this time Al coaches at Notre Dame Academy high school and at Our Lady of Good Counsel CYO track program.  He is the meet director for the annual track and field Mad Dash meet. He also finds the time to coach the CYO basketball team at OLGC and the Unity Games. Al is a leader in his community and volunteers a lot of his time which he enjoys greatly. He has been working for the department of education for the past 22 years and 15 years as a supervisor.  He is currently the Assistant Principal at ACORN High School in Brooklyn .  He looks forward to being a part of SITRAC.

Jack Minogue - Treasurer Jack Minogue has been involved in Staten Island sandlot baseball for more than a half-century. He has coached teams in nearly every sandlot level:  Kiwanis Junior, CYO, Titan League, Babe Ruth, American Legion, and the Twyford-Muche Major League, which he helped reorganize, eventually ran and still runs. He began coaching in 1955, as an assistant for the Violets, a role he continued with the perennial Kiwanis Junior state champions until the team disbanded in 1960.  He also started and coached CYO baseball and basketball teams at St. Rita’s parish in 1956. In 1968, Jack organized a twilight baseball league that continues to operate with 28 teams and bears Fred Muche’s name. Jack also teamed with Murphy League president Rich Guarino, a former player, to organize the S.I. Baseball Alliance, which combined into one operation the three Sunday leagues (top-seeded T-M, mid-level Murphy, and entry-level Pete Tomasino) with the Fred Muche League. Jack also still finds time to coach a team, Victory Sports.  Jack taught at St. Peter’s H.S. for two years, at Port Richmond for 13 years, and then transferred, in 1974, to help start and administer the St. George School, a GED school. He retired in 1993, and then, five years later, was asked to reprise his role for the St George evening program. He retired again in 2002.Jack is best known by Staten Islanders for his work as sports writer and columnist at the Staten Island Advance. In 1960 he began working part-time as a sports reporter/columnist and today, as a full timer was one of the most influential sports writers the SI Advance employed. He retired from the SI Advance in November 2008.

  

Board Members

Bill Welsh  Everyone would agree that Bill is the "dean" of all coaches and runners on Staten Island. Consider that he coached numerous champion athletes up to the level of the Olympics. Consider again that during his running career (which continues through today), he was one of America’s top-ranked distance runners. Honors that have been bestowed upon him are too numerous to list, but they include the highest in all categories related to running and coaching. He is a member of the SI Sports Hall of Fame and that of St Francis College. He has a lifetime membership in the SI Athletic Club and the Central Jersey RRC. He was there when the first SI high school cross country championship was held in 1954--- sponsored by his team, Augustinian Academy. Between 1946 and 1964 if there was a distance race of merit contested in the metropolitan area, Bill was probably in it and probably the winner. While he was discouraging the running competition, he was coaching successful runners as well. First at St. Francis College and then at high schools and clubs. His greatest coaching moments were perhaps at New Dorp High School beginning in the 1970’s. His coaching knew no boundaries as indicated by the variety of stellar performers. Bill knew the shot. hurdles, vault, sprints, distance and especially the high jump, where his pupil Billy Jankunis went on to qualify for the Olympics. Bill Welsh’s wisdom, optimism, good cheer and character give SITRAC a dignity it could not get anywhere else.

Jim Hughes Jim began coaching track and field at the Parish of St. Clare on Staten Island in the spring of 1977, two years after competing his high school running career at Moore Catholic H. S. He, and his twin brother John ran cross country and track. Both excelled as exceptional sprinters. The St. Clare cross country and track and field programs have for some years numbered several hundred and have taken more than their share of Staten Island C.Y.O. Championships. Many athletes of St Clare have had successful high school and college careers in track and field. For thirty years Jim has been instrumental in developing and coordinating the CYO Track and Field program on Staten Island, the New York Archdiocesan Track and Field Championship Meet, and the CYONY team. The last mentioned has sent teams to the AAU National Track and Field Team Championships and the AAU Junior Olympics. He, along with the assistance of about a hundred volunteers, directs an average of 500 competitors in each cross country meet and more than 1000 competitors throughout each of the meets of the outdoor season. Jim has also been a track and field and cross country coach at Moore Catholic since the fall of 1977 and is the President of the Staten Island High School Track and Field Association a post he has filled with distinction for 25 years. In recent years, Jim and coaches Tom Kelly and Bob Orazem guided the Moore HS track program, which won the coveted New Balance Team of the Year Award. Jim graduated from Moore Catholic High School in 1975 and Pace University’s New York Campus in 1980. He has been teaching at Moore since 1980.

JoAnne Kopycinski JoAnne received her B.S. in Athletic Administration and an M.S. Elementary Education, both from St. John's University. She has been a teacher for the past 23 years at Sacred Heart School. For the past twelve years after classes every day she journeys to St. Joseph by the Sea HS where she is the head coach for girls. Her teams have won titles in indoor and outdoor track and a CHSAA Sectional title in Cross Country. Joanne has held numerous offices in local T&F organizations since the 1970’s. Currently she is Vice President of the S.I.H.S.Track and Field Association and is New York CHSAA Sectional Representative on the Games Committee for the CHSAA Intersectional Meets. For the past 20 years at NYC Marathon time, JoAnne has been a tireless volunteer working at the starting line. She did her high school running at Tottenville HS where, among her other honors, she was the SI champion for 400 meters.

Larry Rampulla I am a partner in Parisi Rampulla & Lenza, P.C. along with spouse, Valerie Lenza Rampulla, Esq., and have practiced law for more than thirty (30) years.  My practice specialty includes business law, real estate and estate resolution. I am a director of Staten Island Business Trends, a business newspaper mailed exclusively into the business and not-for-profit community. I consult with Internet companies where we introduced affinity based email.  I have worked with MLB Properties Advanced Media, and currently consult with websites desiring member acquisition and strategic alliance. Managing Member of Lamp of Knowledge, LLC., d/b/a KnowledgePoints Learning Center Co owned with spouse Valerie Lenza Rampulla. I consulted with a former NYC Commissioner for Youth and Community Development who was a member of the Central Board of the NYC Board of Education, and NYC Area Director of the NYS School Boards Association.  I consulted with the NYC Central Board of Education and participated in the formulation of online Internet safety rules and advisories. I am one of the founding members of the Michael J. Petrides Parent Athletic Club which has enrolled students in Staten Island athletic programs including the SI Soccer League,  P.A.L. basketball, and competitive swim.  These programs have operated more than a dozen years and have served thousands of children and families. I served five (5) years as an assistant coach with the Petrides School baseball team. I am a Board member of the Staten Island Heroes Foundation, a not-for profit which has hosted an essay contest for school age children who recognize heroes in the people that impact their lives and not the false idols of sport and entertainment. I am a Board member of the Staten Island Creative Photographers Guild, dedicated to the introduction of photographic arts to the community including presentation and instruction to school age children.

Jim Grogan Jim has worked for M-F Athletics since the spring of 2005 covering the Mid Atlantic region.  He was with UCS for 10 years until their move to North Carolina .  Jim has strong connections in the NYC metro area.  He coached the men’s X-C and Track program at Columbia University (1985-1994) and began the women’s teams at both Wagner College in 1981 and Moore Catholic H.S. in 1974.  He is s Staten Island native (Farrell ’69) now living in Westfield, NJ with his wife Jackie and twin daughters Aileen and Bridget.

Honorable Michael Brennan Native Staten Islander, PS 18, Curtis  H.S. Ran track and cross country at Curtis H.S. and St. Peter's College, Co-Captain S.I. Championship Track Team at Curtis and 1959 100 yd. Dash Champion. Co-Race Director Arielle Newman/Pepper Martin Run and Race Director Lou Marli Run. Past President of the Staten Island Athletic Club. Member S.I. Harriers.  Graduate St. Peter's College: St.John's University and N.Y.U. Graduate School of Law and the National Judicial College. Attended University of Saigon School of Hard Knocks (1968-1969). U.S. Army (1965-1971) Private to Captain (Bronze Star Medal and Parachute Badge)  President Division 3, Ancient Order of Hibernians: Past President and current Secretary Brighton Kiwanis Club: Member Board of Directors: Dr. Theodore Atlas Foundation: Judge Advocate, Richmond County American Legion: Member VVA Chapter 421,VFW,Catholic War Vets and Am. Vets  S.I.N.Y.  Past Judge, NYC Criminal Court: Current Justice, N.Y.S. Supreme Court: Adjunct Professor Wagner College. Married to Olivia Garand Brennan: Two children, Olivia and Michael (Mickey). Resides West of New Brighton.

Arnold Obey

Edward Josey Edward Calvin Josey was born September 22, 1940, in New York City to the Late Anna and James Josey. As an infant Edward and his parents moved to Tottenville Staten Island. He received his education at P.S. 1 and Tottenville High School , both in Tottenville. He graduated from the College of Staten Island in 1964.   Edward has been a member of Bethel United Methodist Church for over 40 years and has served as Vice President of the Trustee Board, a Boy Scout Committeeman and is currently the Chairman of the Church Council.   Edward worked in the communications field for over 37 years retiring from Lucent Technology in August 2000.   Membership and affiliations have included:   President of the SI Branch NAACP Since 1997 President of the Staten Island League for Better Government Treasurer of the Brown Bombers SAC of Staten Island Board member of the College of Staten Island Alumni Association Membership- Sandy Ground Historical Society Membership-Staten Island African American Political Association Member-SI North Star Lions Club   Awards Received:   1997- New York City Police Department Certificate of Appreciation 1997-Distinguished Citizen Award from Tottenville High School 1998- Superintendents Conflict Resolution Award from the New York City Board of Education 1998- Rossville A.M.E. Zion Church Men’s Club Award 1999-120 Pct. Community Council Award 2000- New York State Conference of NAACP Branches Foot Solders Award 2000- Staten Island H.O.P.E. Humanitarian Award 2000-Rev. Arthur D. Phillips Humanitarian Award 2001- Inducted into the College of Staten Island Alumni Hall of Frame 2001- Brown Bombers Achievement Award 2004- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award from Councilman Michael McMahon 2004- 369th Vets Association Distinguished Service Award 2008- Celebrating the Dream Award from Stapleton UAME Church 2009- Presented Community Leadership Award by the Richmond City Democratic Committee   Edward and his wife Doreen of 35 years live in the Clifton Section of Staten Island