Multiple Staten Island CYO community leaders honored at annual awards reception

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— While volunteerism is often carried out without expectation of recognition, plenty of contributors were celebrated for their decades of dedication to youth sports on Staten Island at the annual CYO Community Awards Reception on Tuesday evening at the Old Bermuda Inn in Rossville.

Emceed by CYO County Director Mike Neely, multiple awards were distributed to deserving coaches, officials and administrators throughout the borough.

The evening’s marquee honor — the Spirit of the Catholic Youth Organization Award, named for the late Staten Island Advance Deputy Sports Editor and St. Joseph Hill basketball coach Jerry Lee — was fittingly presented to Carmine Angioli, a longtime colleague of Lee’s in the newsroom and friendly rival for decades on opposing CYO basketball sidelines as St. Christopher’s and now Our Lady Queen of Peace’s coach.

Mary Lee, Jerry’s wife, presented the award, saying that “my family and I cannot think of a better person to receive the award. It is the perfect choice.”

Angioli began coaching basketball at Our Lady Help of Christians parish in Brooklyn in 1981, joined St. Christopher’s in Grant City in 1987 and moved to OLQP when St. Chris closed in 2023.

In his remarks, Angioli encouraged those in attendance to actively seek out others who might be interested in getting involved with youth sports — urging current volunteers to try to expand their ranks.

“I’m sure Jerry would want me to say this. He would want me to encourage everybody here to become a recruiter. If you know somebody who might want to coach, work on them, talk to them, convince them. Let them know that volunteering makes you feel good,” said Angioli, who joined the Advance in 1984, was sports editor for 14 years and still assembles the Advance’s print sports section each day.

While Angioli is a familiar face on CYO sidelines across the borough, the ceremony also paid tribute to those who make the games possible on the hardwood — its officials. This year’s Sports Official of the Year honor was presented to Scott Rothman, who has been refereeing CYO games for almost 50 years.

“It’s such an honor to be recognized; except when you’re doing a game. If you’re recognized, that usually means something bad happened, so I’m glad that this recognition is finally for something good,” Rothman joked to the audience.

Tony Navarino — a true jack of all trades in the CYO community, having served as both County Director and a basketball coach — was recognized with the CYO Community Service Award, which he described as “humbling.”

“I was very overwhelmed when Mike Neely called me about being honored. All my volunteering is for the kids and for the Staten Island community. It was the hardest decision of my life when I left the position as Staten Island CYO County Director 17 years ago; I have made friends with pastors, coordinators, coaches and refs that will last a lifetime,” Navarino poignantly said as he accepted his award.

As a parish, Our Lady Queen of Peace received dual honors — earning both the Bill Dunn Memorial Award for Parish of the Year and being recognized by the Warren Jaques Memorial Committee for outstanding sportsmanship across all competitions.

A major factor in OLQP’s recognition was its effort to welcome students from St. Christopher’s following the school’s closure in 2023 — an experience that Pastor Rev. Anthony Mizzi-Gili likened to his own childhood as a student at St. Margaret Mary’s.

“When I was a young kid, I used to play soccer there, and when we didn’t have enough members on the team, who else welcomed us with open arms but Our Lady Queen of Peace,” Father Mizzi-Gili said.

“It’s been a beautiful working collaboration with everybody, and it especially gives the kids the sportsmanship and the courage to see what it truly means to be dedicated to charity. It’s been a blessing,” he added.

Three other major honorees on the evening were the recipients of the CYO New York President’s Medal for Volunteer Service, awarded to Ronnie Addington and Elaine Grieco — longtime coaches of the Our Lady Star of the Sea cheer program — and Bob Smith, president of the Staten Island CYO Track and Field program.

“It feels like a combined 82 years [of service] seems like yesterday; thank you to our cheer family for coming to support us, we love you,” Addington and Grieco told the audience after receiving their awards.

The efforts of youth volunteers also didn’t go unnoticed, as Staten Island Academy’s Emma Valenti, St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s Connor Kukal and Xavier’s Dash Arteca Battista were in attendance to receive Gold Medals for their hours of service to the Catholic Youth Organization.

The following individuals also received Volunteer Awards from all of the parishes represented in the Staten Island CYO: Tom Mottola of St. Dorothy’s, Gabrielle Padilla of Bridge Prep, Sean Boyle of Blessed Sacrament, Stephanie Pascale of Holy Child, Prashana Selvarajah of Holy Family, Victoria Turner of Holy Rosary, Hend Gouda of the Islamic Center of Staten Island, Kyle Hand of the Jewish Community Center, Ronald Shamah of Notre Dame Academy, Michael Russo of Our Lady of Good Council, Dave Piasio of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Tracy Tessitore of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Donal Breslin of Sacred Heart, Vianna Passalacqua of St. Joseph-St. Thomas St. John Neumann, Brian Fitzpatrick of St. Ann’s, John Carrescia of St. Charles, John Valenti of St. Clare’s, Jill Benfield of St. Joseph Hill, Mimi Coluccio of St. Patrick’s and Paul Magahis of St. Teresa’s.