With ties to Derby High School stretching back some 70 years, retired educator Al Vitello had every right to boast at the June 18 board of education meeting.
“As a father of three boys, you do a good job, hopefully — and I know that I did. I know I’m bragging a little bit, but I think I’ve earned it,” Vitello said, smiling.
Earned it he has.
The board of education formally recognized Vitello’s service to the school district Thursday by naming the Derby High School gymnasium in his honor.
Vitello attended Derby High School from 1937 to 1941. He played just about every sport the high school offered, including football, baseball and track.
He was named the high school’s athlete of the year in 1941.
He worked in the school district for a jaw-dropping 41 years — from 1951 until 1992 — working as a social studies teacher and then athletic director.
He also coached the baseball and basketball teams and was an assistant coach for the football team.
At Thursday’s board of education meeting, vice-chairman Kenneth Marcucio read a resolution in Vitello’s honor.
It was clearly more than lip service for Marcucio, who called Vitello his mentor and an “icon in the school system.”
Marcucio is a former student of Vitello’s.
“He’s been like my father. This is one of the better pleasures of my life,” Marcucio said. “He’s an amazing guy and we’re honored to do this for him.”
Vitello received a standing ovation from the approximate 40 people in the audience.
Bradley School Principal Linda Coppola said she was also one of Vitello’s students in high school.
When asked how she fared as a student, Vitello paused, then tilted his head, slightly.
“She was OK,” he said, joking.
(For the record, Coppola later said she had straight A’s, but may have been distracted by her high school sweetheart, who she later married.)
Vitello thanked the board for the honor.
“When you speak of 41 years, I wonder where the time went,” he said.
Vitello was joined at the meeting by his sons, his grandson and his wife, Eulalia.
The couple have been married for 62 years.
“She needs a plaque,” Vitello said.
The school district will hold a dedication ceremony for the newly named gym sometime later this year, most likely in the winter.
