EDUCATIONAL TRUST Trust Board Elects New Chairperson Dan Dragone, chief sales officer of BAUER- Pileco, is the new chair of the Board of Trustees of the DFI Educational Trust, effective January 1. He succeeds M. Byrl Williams who retired as chair and member of the board this past December. Dragone joined the Trust board in 2012. Since that time, he has served as board secretary and, most recently, as vice chair. He joined BAUER-Pileco in 2009 after working in various positions with Kelly Tractor Co. for over 28 years. Dan and his wife, Linda, reside in Montgomery, Texas. New Board Member Seth Pearlman, P.E., D.GE, North American director of Menard, responsible for the activities in the U.S. and Canada, has been elected to serve a five-year term on the DFI Educational Trust Board of Trustees. Trust Board Meeting The Trust Board held its fall meeting on November 10, 2017, in Queens, N.Y. The financial report revealed that the Trust’s total assets are up by 16 percent from 2016, thanks to both generous contributions and to the excellent performance of the Trust’s investments during 2017. Among the many items on the agenda for the day, the board reviewed the 2018 budget and authorized the first disbursement from the Francis Gularte Scholarship Fund, which will take place this year. In addition, the board discussed various strategies for increasing fund- raising in the coming year. Annual Gala Dinner The 12 Annual DFI Educational Trust Gala Fundraising Dinner took place on November 9, 2017, at Terrace On The Park in Corona, N.Y. The gala was attended by 168 guests and netted over $51,000. Proceeds from the dinner benefit the George J. Tamaro Manhattan College Civil Engineering Scholarship Fund, established in 2016. This year, four students received th awards from the Tamaro Scholarship Fund, totaling $10,000. The recipients, Michaela Amicucci, Valeska Flores, Anthony Dan Dragone, Chair [email protected] 2018 DFI Educational Trust Board Officers Chair Dan Dragone BAUER-Pileco, Inc. Vice Chair Tracy Brettmann, P.E., D.GE A.H Beck Foundation Co., Inc. Treasurer Michael Wysockey, Ph.D., P.E. Thatcher Foundations Secretary Rudy Frizzi, P.E., G.E., D. GE Langan Engineering and Environmental Services Ricciutti and James Curra, were present to accept the award from Gala Chair Zac Curanovic. All four are students at Manhattan College, pursuing degrees in civil engineering. Frank Lombardi, P.E., DIST. M.ASCE, F.SAME, former chief engineer of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, delivered the keynote presentation. His lecture, entitled, “The Dual Nature of Leadership,” covered the underlying prin- ciples of self-management, management and leadership. It focused on the phil- osophical concepts that give rise to the dual nature of leadership. Scholarship recipients with George Tamaro and faculty from Manhattan College Pearlman is a former president of DFI. For 10 years, he was the event chair of the DFI Educational Trust Pennsylvania Golf Outing, which has raised significant funding for Trust scholarships at Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State University and the University of Pittsburgh. The Trust board is confident that Pearlman’s leadership, fundraising skills and his passion for the educational mission of the Trust will be a great help to the Trust in achieving its organizational goals. Pearlman is replacing Byrl Williams. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2018 • 51
