Christine Scully running the 2014 Cape Cod Marathon

This Boston Marathon fundraiser is especially meaningful to Christine, as much like John Mastronardi, Christine has devoted her professional career to working with special education students.  She currently works for The Crossroads School in Marlborough, MA.  The Crossroads School provides exclusive services to students with various special education needs.

Christine has been an avid runner and yoga enthusiast for many years.  She has competed in a total of four half marathons, including the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) Half Marathon in 2011.  Christine worked her way up to her first full marathon in 2014, when she completed the Cape Cod Marathon in a very respectable 4 hours and 22 minutes.

Christine has been training diligently over the last several months and has ambitions to lower her previous marathon time on the Hopkinton to Boston course.  Christine’s training regimen has included numerous long runs throughout the Boston area, and she plans to complete several more training runs throughout the Newton Hills and some of the other challenging areas along the route.  Christine has benefited from training with good friend, and running partner, Laura Bariso, who will also be running with her in this year’s Boston Marathon.

Christine Scully running the South Shore 1/2 Marathon

The 2018 Boston Marathon will be especially meaningful to Christine, as she is fundraising for a cause near and dear to the Mastronardi family.  Monetary support for Christine’s efforts will fund the two John Mastronardi Memorial Fund Scholarships presented to Revere High School graduates in the Spring of 2018.  The scholarships will be awarded to two students who plan to follow in the footsteps of both Christine and John, by entering the field of special education.

Additionally, the prestigious Boston Marathon has been high on Christine’s bucket list, since she first attended the historic Patriot’s Day race as a spectator, while a student at Northeastern.  Christine is eagerly looking forward to seeing many of her close friends and family members along the marathon route.

Along with enthusiastic fundraising through word of mouth and social media, Christine plans to host fundraising events locally at Jake and Joe’s in Woburn, in early March, as well as in her home town of Bethpage, NY at B.K. Sweeny’s Tavern on March 11th.

As always, the Mastronardi Family wishes Christine lots of luck and strong westerly winds on Marathon Monday!

DeNuzzio’s long distance running career also includes two half-marathons, the Boston Athletic Association Half, which she ran in October of 2016 and the Run to Remember, which she ran last May.

Amy DeNuzzio (left) after the 2016 Cape Cod Marathon

While having never officially run the 26.2 mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston, DeNuzzio has made the trip many times.  For the past five years, she has been a Boston Marathon volunteer, working at the finish line, in the drug testing area and for the past several years has been a part of the team driving one of the lead vehicles along the course.  “I have always dreamed of running the Boston Marathon, and truly never thought it would be possible,” DeNuzzio commented.

DeNuzzio is a 2014 graduate of Emmanuel College, where she was a three-sport collegiate athlete, competing in Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field for the Saints.  While at Emmanuel, DeNuzzio ran among the top seven for the Saints Cross Country Team and advanced to the NCAA Division III Regionals three out of four years.  As a junior, she finished 1^st for Emmanuel in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Cross Country Championship.  Prior to her collegiate career, while living in Windham, New Hampshire, DeNuzzio ran Cross Country for Salem High School in Salem, NH.

DeNuzzio running for Emmanuel College

DeNuzzio’s love for running began at an early age.  “I went on my first run with my father in 2006 to better my health.  I went from running/walking (mostly walking) a couple miles with my father, to trying out for my high school team as a sophomore and running varsity, to competing at the collegiate level.  My dad always pushed me to do my best and I took it to another level because I loved how running made me feel physically and emotionally.”

“I met my Emmanuel College Cross Country and Track & Field family in 2010, and became a familiar face in the athletic training room, as I was very good at finding ways to develop different sports injuries.” However, despite suffering an array of injuries over the years, DeNuzzio has truly developed a passion for running.  “Running has become an irreplaceable part of me.  My coaches at Emmanuel (Tony DaRocha and Alice Kramer) supported me every step of the way and helped me grow as an athlete and a person.”

After graduating from Emmanuel, DeNuzzio earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Boston College in 2016.  She currently resides in Brighton and is employed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), working with adolescents on mental health residential units in Massachusetts.  “I am SO thankful for this opportunity and to raise awareness and money for The John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship Fund.  I’m also thankful for those who choose to enter the field of Special Education.”

The Mastronardi Family wishes Amy lots of luck and strong winds from the west on Marathon Monday!

Thank you to the following people for donating to Amy’s marathon run:

• Carol Mastronardi
• Alexis, Gerry & Jaelyn Walsh
• Michael Mastronardi
• Irene & Bob Kimball
• James Ivers
• Fred DeNuzzio
• Michelle Bojarsky
• Mimi Flanagan
• Laura Cunningham
• Molly Whittemore
• Shirley Butcher
• Danielle Cleasby
• Linda Christian
• Natasha Zis
• Paul Daley
• Rebecca Levine
• Lori & Tom Simmons
• Pam Andren
• Danielle Martin
• Danny Brown
• Joseph Scire
• Taso Souliotis
• Elizabeth Kozlowski
• Meri Wells
• John Gennaco
• Nick Tzavalas
• Tani Lawrence
• Diane Gigliuzza
• Julie Comart
• Maureen Roach
• Emily Shields
• Sharis Barkhordarian
• John Ciccolo
• Robert Lemire
• Konstantina Rentumis
• Roberta LeBlanc
• Peter Jespersen
• Eliana Builes
• Nicholas Tzavalas
• Mark Tobin
• Baseball Tavern Fundraiser on March 18th
• Alison & Bobby Holmes
• Morgan Blumenfeld
• Antoinette and Rich Russell
• Dick Vitale
• The Hill School – Revere, Mass.
• Ed Moccia
• Elisa LaPlante
• Cindy LaPointe
• Denise Ford

The 2016 scholarship recipients were informed of their awards on June 2nd and were then presented with their scholarships on June 8th by the John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship Committee.  The informal ceremony took place in the library of the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, one of the schools were the late John Mastronardi taught

2016 Scholarship Winners

Special Education.  Buonopane and Guadagno were selected to received the JM Memorial Scholarships through the assistance of the Revere High School Guidance Office.

With his 2016 scholarship, Anthony Buonopane will attend Wheelock College in the Fall of 2016 and plans to double-major in Special Education and Political Science.  In high school, Anthony volunteered in the Challenger’s League Basketball program for students with special needs and was nominated for the Jewish War Veteran’s Scholarship.  Anthony is also a recipient of the Wheelock College Passion for Action Scholarship

With her 2016 JM Memorial Scholarship, Courtney Guadagno will attend Bridgewater State University this Fall and plans to major in Education and English.  At Revere High, Courtney was involved in the Yearbook, was a member of the National Honor Society, was Co-Director of the PAL’s Mentoring Program and was involved in the Outdoor Club.  Courtney has been awarded the Boston College Book Award and the John & Abigail Adams MCAS Scholarship.

Buonopane and Guadagno participated in the 22nd Annual JM Scholarship presentation and were the 27th and 28th recipients of the John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship.  These scholarships have been awarded every year since John’s death in 1995.

The John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship Committee wishes the best of luck to Anthony and Courtney as they pursue their careers in the field of Education!!

Meri, who currently resides in Malden, grew up in Woburn, graduating from Woburn High School in 2007 and Northeastern in 2012.  She now works in the Talent Acquisition Department as a recruiter for PAREXEL, a clinical research organization.

Meri’s love for running began on Cape Cod, where she spent the summers with her family.  “I grew up watching my mother and aunt run the Falmouth Road Race, so it was always a goal of mine to run it one day. About 8 years ago, I ran the Falmouth Road Race for the first time and have done it every year since!”

After mastering the seven-mile Falmouth course, it was only a matter of time before Meri got the urge to push herself to run further.  In 2012, following her college graduation, Meri got serious about running and signed up for her first half marathon, the Boston Athletic Association Half.  Since 2012, she has gone on to run six half marathons and then doubled up to conquer the New York City Marathon in 2014, her first 26-mile trek.

The Patriot’s Day race will mark Meri’s first time running Boston and she is very excited for the opportunity.  “After completing the NYC marathon, there was a huge part of me that couldn’t help but think about how much more it would mean to finish 26.2 in my favorite city.  The Boston Marathon has always been a dream of mine ever since I watched my Aunt Mary run it when I was a little girl.”

In addition to extending her own family tradition in running Boston, Meri is also excited and honored to run Boston in memory of her good friend’s father, with all of the fundraising efforts from her run going toward the 2016 John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarships “It gives me pride to run for a great cause and to support the scholarship for someone who is pursuing a degree in education.”

With a mild winter thus far, Meri has been doing most of her marathon training on her own, but also running with the Shamrock Running Club at least once a week. Preparing herself for the often heart-breaking hills of Newton, Meri has added some cross training into her workouts and has been doing many of her training runs on hills … “trying to prepare for the worst,” she commented.

In terms of a goal for April 18^th, “I would love to finish Boston in under 4:30,” she said.  “That was my goal for New York, but the weather made that difficult with 30mph winds.  Regardless of the time, I just want to finish strong and be able to enjoy every minute!”

“I cannot wait to experience this day of running the prestigious Boston marathon route and seeing many friends and family along the way.”

The Mastronardi Family wishes Meri lots of luck and strong winds from the west on Marathon Monday!

2015 Scholarship Winners Vanessa Restrepo and Brittany Couch (pictured with John Mastronardi’s children: Michael and Alexis Mastronardi)

The two scholarship recipients were informed of their award on May 30th.  The 2015 scholarships were then presented in June by the memorial scholarship committee in the library of the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, one of the schools were the late John Mastronardi taught Special Education.

Couch, in addition to her success in the classroom at Revere High, was a member of the rock ensemble all four years. Brittany is attending Gordon College in the Fall and plans to pursue a degree in Special Education.

Restrepo was a member of the National Honor Society, the Student Council, the Culture Club, and the Future Teacher’s Club. Vanessa is attending Salem State University in the Fall and plans to pursue a degree in Education. 

The John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship Fund is now in its 21st year of existence.  The Fund awarded one scholarship annually from 1995 – 2010.  Then in 2011, the Fund began awarding two scholarships each June.  Brittany Couch and Vanessa Restrepo are the 25th and 26th winners of the Annual John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship.

Congratulations to Brittany and Vanessa!!!

After training through a historically New England brutal winter, Roach braved the wind and rain throughout the rigorous course on Patriot’s Day 2015 to cross the finish line on Boylston Street in an official time of 4:44.57.

Kerri Roach with her parents, Maureen and Bob Roach

A native of Revere, Massachusetts, Kerri graduated from Revere High School in 2009, even further connecting her to the spirit of the John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship Fund. “As a graduate of Revere High, I feel I have a connection to the recipients of the scholarship and understand how much a scholarship may mean to a student entering college. In addition, it is nice to be able to raise money for a charity in John’s name to help students achieve what he did in his career.”

Following Roach’s 26.2 mile run and her incredible fund-raising efforts, the John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship Fund presented two $3,500.00 scholarships to Revere High School graduates: Brittany Couch and Vanessa Restrepo.

The 39-year old, who had a goal of completing a marathon before her 40^th birthday this August, cruised through Seattle’s course in an impressive marathon debut time. Throughout the run, the words, “I’m going the distance in honor of John M.” could be read on the back of Grissom’s “Team in Training” singlet.

Grissom easily surpassed her “Team in Training” fundraising goal of $1,600.00.  Her sub-4:20 trek took her through the city streets of downtown Seattle, around Seward Park and out and over the Interstate 90 bridge to Mercer Island, with fabulous views of Lake Washington and Mount Rainier.  She then ran back through the I90 tunnel and past Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, before touring the Seattle waterfront and finishing on Mercer Street, near the Seattle Center and at the foot of the Space Needle.

Grissom nears mile 20 in the Seattle Rock-n-Roll Marathon

The John Mastronardi Memorial Fund congratulates Kelly on her incredible accomplishment!!!

Since the fund’s inception eighteen years ago, Phil rarely missed a fund raising activity and was an active participant at every one of the scholarship presentations.  More than his dedication to the John Mastronardi Fund, Phil was a great person and a true friend.  He will forever be missed by all of us.

Falzone was the son of the late Philip and Anna (Maniscalco), loving brother of Maryanne Carrabba & her husband Michael of Brighton, Anne Travalini of Revere, Carolyn Cucinatti & her husband Paul of Winchester, Christine Mandracchia of Danvers, Richard Falzone & his wife Rosemary of Wilmington, Joseph Falzone & his wife Robin of Manchester-By-The-Sea, and the late Theresa Catapano & her husband Frank Catapano of NH.

As a tribute to Phil’s dedication to our scholarship fund, his family chose to mention the John Mastronardi Memorial Fund in Phil’s obituary.  We are truly thankful for such a thoughtful acknowledgment.  We would like to thank those who generously donated in loving memory of Phil Falzone:

• Brian Fox
• Joanna and Michael Travalini
• Carol Mastronardi
• The Paul Revere School
• Les and Margaret Vitale
• Phyllis Vitale
• Lena Marble
• Chris MacKenzie
• Scott Lucey
• Susan Fox
• John McKenna
• Demetra DiGregorio (Broadway Motors)
• Rose Ross
• Wayne Kurpiel
• Jennifer & Mike Messier
• Sergey Grigoryan
• John & Janet Craven
• Anne Travalini