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PRESS RELEASE
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Contact:
Michael Draves, Principal
Date:
March 11, 2014
Brunswick High School
Phone: 330-273-0495
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The Brunswick High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Class of 2014 will include the late Jack R.
Schendel, PhD, class of 1967; Bonnie M. Robinson, class of 1969; Bridget D. Ginley, class of 1989; Kevin M. Reed,
class of 1990; Trista Moldovan, class of 1998 and Patrick Ciamacco, class of 1998.
The ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Brunswick Education Foundation 2014 Spring Fling at 6 p.m.
April 26 at Orchard House Restaurant, 294 Pearl Road. The event will also include induction of members into the
Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, whose winners have not yet been selected.
In addition to a banquet, the event will include musical entertainment and a silent auction featuring baskets
donated by area businesses and school organizations. All proceeds help fund teacher grants, scholarships for
graduating seniors, Teacher of the Year Award and other curricular and extra-curricular activities. Tickets are $35
for adults; $25 for students kindergarten through 12th grade. Tickets may be purchased from any BEF board
member or call Jan Rizzo at 330-273-0201 or Lynn Koch at 330-273-4573 or email BEFSpringFling@aol.com.
Schendel attended Wittenberg University graduating with his bachelor’s degree in 1971. He earned his master’s
degree in math and computer science from Miami University in 1973 and in 1974 earned a master’s degree in
physics from Montana State University. He completed his education with a PhD in physics.
He started his career as a nuclear physicist at Los Alamos Laboratories in 1981 and then moved to Sandia
National Laboratories in 1985 until he retired in 2006. He was involved in research and development and is said
to have contributed greatly to national security through non-proliferation work. One of the highlights of his career
was traveling to the Soviet Union with a team of scientists to witness the destruction of long range nuclear
missiles in Siberia and working with Russian physicists. He died in 2013 at the age of 63 due to complications of
brain cancer.
Bonnie Robinson earned her bachelor’s degree in education from The Ohio State University, her master’s degree
from Case Western Reserve University and her PhD in social work from the University of Pittsburgh. She began
her career with the Medina County Youth Service Bureau in 1973 as a counselor working with juveniles and their
parents. the police, juvenile courts, schools and the probation departments. The next seven years were spent
with the nonprofit agency, Lorain County Children and Youth Services where she was a supervisor. She taught at
several universities including the University of Pittsburgh has been an assistant professor of social work/director
of field education at Chatham University.
Ginley is a visual artist who graduated from Kent State University with a degree in fine arts. For the next two
years, she was regional admissions recruiter for the School of Visual Arts in New York City and followed that up
as regional curator of the vast corporate collection of Progressive Insurance. She founded and organized Buzz
Gallery in 2002 and curated the cooperative venture of Cleveland area artists. In Sept. 2006, she opened Studio
404, a live-work studio where she sells fine arts, creates works of art, does framing and more. Recently, one of
her pieces was selected as part of the Progressive Insurance collection. She has also been a music programmer
and DJ since 2006 at WRUW FM, Case Western Reserve University where she hosts the Erie Effusion Retro Radio
Show.
Kevin Reed was a college student with a successful band when, in 1994, he sustained a catastrophic, traumatic
brain injury and numerous spinal fractures. He was life-flighted to a level-one trauma center and his family was
told that he would not live. He remained in a coma for 75 days. When he awoke, he couldn’t talk, swallow, breath
or even remember his name. But the longtime percussionist would tap in rhythm to music played in his room.
After 2500 therapy sessions, he plays in his band but is also the inventor of the TrashKat Drum. He and his
mother are the forces behind ThunderEcho Drum Company of Brunswick.
As part of his physical rehabilitation, seven years after the accident, Kevin, with the help of Professor Tom Fries,
wrote “Odyssey,” a percussion ensemble rock suite premiered by the talented students of the College of Wooster.
It is a musical expression of brain injury, coma, rehabilitation and celebration of life. Craig Reed, Kevin’s brother
and fellow band member, composed the piano score. Fries directed Odyssey, and the Kevin Reed Band joined in
the celebration of life. The Odyssey was professionally recorded by Paul Hamann at Suma Recording Studio, and
was released in 2002 in NE Ohio. Kevin also engineers unique drum kit setups, repairs percussive instruments –
and he still plays gigs, often using the TrashKat Drum.
Moldovan’s former high school drama teacher, Donna Mittler said, “I have worked with many talented students
during the 30 years I taught and directed theatrical productions at BHS. There were a few that were exceptional
actors. Trista was one of them. She had everything that it took for success in the industry – great acting talent,
beautiful voice, charm and good looks.”
Following graduation, Moldovan earned her bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College and continued
training with the Atlantic Theatre Company and private teachers in dance, voice, musical theater technique and
television. She has appeared both regionally and nationally and is probably best known for her work on Broadway
as Christine in “Phantom of the Opera.” She took on that role after portraying Christine in the national tour of
Phantom. During the national tour, she performed the role in Cleveland in 2010 and also chaired the benefit
“Songs for the Cure,” a benefit concert for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. On May 9 Moldovan will be
playing Mary McCutter in a reading of the new musical “Academia Nuts.” written by Becca Anderson, Dan
Marshall and Julian Blackmore and produced by Emerging Theater Artists as part of their New Works Series. She
recently played Miss Sarah Brown, opposite Burke Moses, in “Guys and Dolls” at the Riverside Theatre in Vero
Beach, Florida. She can be seen on season 4 of the Biography channel's "Celebrity Ghost Stories." She plays the
ghost of Renee Taylor's mother.
Ciamacco landed his first professional acting job in 2000 in Cleveland’s longest running show, “Tony and Tina’s
Wedding.” Since then, he has performed professionally and is featured in print ads, voiceovers and TV
commercials. In 2002, he became the director at Near West Theatre. In 2004, he founded and created the sketch
comedy group, The Laughter League. The League has performed at many comedy festivals as well as all over the
Cleveland area.
Ciamacco organized and produced a benefit show in 2010 for Community Assessment & Treatment Services,
which helped raise enough money to build a separate women’s center. He has performed, volunteered and
helped with the AIDS Taskforce Benefit of Greater Cleveland, raising thousands of dollars for the cause.
In 2012 he founded Cleveland’s hottest new theater – Blank Canvas Theatre -- to fulfill his dream of bringing
professional quality entertainment at an affordable price. Its first production was named as one of the Top 10
productions of the year by the Plain Dealer. It was also named Best New Theater by Scene Magazine. This past
year, he was named one of Cleveland’s 30 most interesting people.
Mr. Jim Bigam
Mr. Mike Draves
Mr. Bill Eyssen, Jr.
Charter Committee
Mrs. Barb Gelhar
Mr. Dave Goodyear
Mr. James J. Hayas
Mr. Russ Huston
Ms. Aqua Neura Witkowski
Ms. Nancy Zelei