- Details
- Category: Hall of Fame
- Hits: 3771
William Stewart, Class of 1971 is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for his academics and many years of extensive community service and volunteerism.
Bill was salutatorian of his class, and was in Honor Society for all three years. His academic achievements are numerous. He won the D.A.R. Award for Excellence in History, the Biology Award, the Spanish Award, had poetry published, was the representative to the American Legion Boys State conference, State Assemblyman at Boys State, was in Who's Who Among American High School Students, won the American Newspaper Publishers Association Most Valuable Staffer Award, and was representative to the Capital Newspaper Journalism Conference and the N.Y.S. Conference on Children and Youth. Bill was extremely involved in extracurricular activities including: Key Club, Dramatics Club, Student Council and Advisor to the Board of Education, "Ram Blurr" Staff, Varsity Club, Freshman Reception Committee Emcee in his senior year, and Yearbook Business Manager. Even with all of these activities, Bill still found time for athletics and was a member of the Varsity Cross Country Team and Track, Varsity Basketball Manager, Cross-Country and Baseball Manager.
Post high school, Bill earned his BA in Political Science from Siena College in 1975, and his MBA from SUNY Albany in 1977. His career was made in banking, rising to Vice President and Manager of Corporate Communications for KeyCorp. When the corporation moved to Cleveland, Bill left and took a job with Excelsior College, building a second career in higher education for 20 yrs, retiring recently as Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
While his family and career were growing, Bill became a vestry member and warden of the Church of the Redeemer in Rensselaer, and later, treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany. He was chairman of the Cable Television Commission for the city of Rensselaer, and later for the Town of North Greenbush. He was also Chairman of the Highway Specifications Committee there, as well as a member of the Youth Commission, the Public Safety Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals. His community service has also included being a member of the Board of Trustees for the Doane Stuart School, the Capital Chamber Foundation of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce and in 2003-4 was a member of the N.Y. Secretary of State's Fire and Life Safety Task Force.
Bill's current volunteer service is with the Defreestville Fire Department where he has been a life member for 22 years, and served in various capacities. He also attained his certification as an E.M.T. and Emergency Vehicle Operator. He sits on the town's Public Safety Committee and Emergency Services Radio Communications Committee for Rensselaer County.
Bill was nominated by his former classmate and co-worker, Sharon Craft DeMartini. He lives with his wife Nancy in Defreestville where they raised their two daughters. In their leisure time they love working on their camp upstate.
- Details
- Category: Hall of Fame
- Hits: 4941
Louis Polsinello, Jr., Class of 1978 is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for his volunteerism, heroism, entrepreneurship and his concern and generosity towards his community.
Lou played varsity football while opening a gas station and attending high school. He was a member of Honor Society and recipient of The Rensselaer County Firefighter of the Year award in 1978 for saving the life of someone who had fallen through the ice at Red Mill Creek.
Lou went straight from high school into the working world. He has been CEO of Polsinello Fuels, Inc. for 35 yrs. and operates 8 different corporations. He lead the company's efforts to build the business in numerous areas within the petroleum industry including: truck stops, convenience stores, wholesale gasoline and diesel, heating oil, propane, lubricants, and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning sales and service. Altogether he employs 140 people at 4 different locations from here, north to Plattsburg, west to Canastota, and south to Westbury, NY.
Lou has served on numerous boards and committees, both public and private, including: president of the Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce, the Rensselaer Planning Board and Rensselaer County Industrial Development Agency. He has held numerous leadership roles within volunteer organizations and charities, including: Rensselaer Little League, Pop Warner, The Boys and Girls Club and the Fire Department. He was elected for 2 terms to the Rensselaer County Legislature, becoming Democratic Minority Leader. He was instrumental in starting the Polsinello Foundation Scholarship Fund, giving RCSD vocational training students financial assistance. He is also a board member for Shell Oil, Citco and BP Castrol.
In his spare time, Lou is an avid golfer, boater and pilot.
Lou was nominated by his friend, Rick McCabe, former faculty member for RCSD and 2016 Hall of Fame inductee. Lou is married to the former Judy Mooney '79. They have 3 children, and are the proud grandparents of 5.
- Details
- Category: Hall of Fame
- Hits: 4287
Linda O'Toole Martino, Class of 1973, is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for her dedication to bettering the lives of the disenfranchised and fighting for legislative change.
Linda attended Van Rensselaer HS, leaving school at the completion of her junior year and earned her equivalency diploma in 1973.
She married her high school sweetheart and while raising their 6 children, earned her Medical Assistant Certification in 1988. She continued to work inside the home, also being a Cub Scout leader for a couple of years. During this time Linda and her husband became Fresh Air Fund parents to a little boy who has continued to be part of their family until this day. He still calls them mom and dad.
In 1998 Linda began volunteering with the Ombudsman Program after her father, who had been in a nursing home, was unsafely discharged. Her volunteering led to the position of Assistant Coordinator of the Rensselaer County Ombudsman Program. Later, she became the Coordinator of the program, overseeing 17 facilities ranging from family type homes, adult homes, assisted living facilities to skilled nursing facilities.
Over time, the state was trying to enforce the reduction of the number of mentally ill residents in adult homes for the elderly. Linda knew that this would mean that a large number of residents at a particular facility would have nowhere to go. Linda took it upon herself to physically go to the legislative offices to lobby for these residents, and it worked!
Linda is also passionate about the heroin addiction problem facing our society. She has personally known many cases of young teens and adults struggling with this problem and even some who have died. So she decided to do something about it by spearheading a heroin epidemic awareness program in Rensselaer County. She is the founder and board president of Nopiates. This organization, along with a legislative liaison lobbied to reduce the amount of opiates prescribed from 30 days to 7, and to enforce that those suffering from addiction could be held for 3 days in a hospital for observation, detoxification and development of a community care plan instead of being released after the emergency 911 call. Linda's group has marched and held rallies with the support of such community leaders as Father Peter Young and Assemblyman John McDonald to raise community awareness and provide outreach. Nopiates is currently working with the police on an "Angels" program where people suffering with the disease of addiction would be placed in treatment rather than be incarcerated.
Linda's friend from schooldays, Dr. Linda Rozell Shannon, class of '72 and 2013 Hall of Fame inductee nominated her. Linda and her husband Jim live in West Sand Lake where they are the proud parents of 6 adult children and grandparents to 8, and soon will be great grandparents.
