Eleven Bloom High School graduates who have made outstanding contributions to their professions and their communities will be inducted into the school¹s Hall of Fame in September.

The newest Hall of Fame honorees will be recognized at a September 25 induction ceremony, joining an elite group of 88 current Hall of Fame members. Each new Hall of Fame member also will be honored with a bronze plaque bearing his or her likeness placed on permanent display in the Dr.

James D. Steckel Learning Center at Bloom High School. The dinner ceremony will take place at Olympia Fields Country Club.

Selected as the 2010 inductees (graduation year given) are Robert DeGraaff, Ph.D., 1981; Joyce Gavin-Exum, Ph.D., 1957; Vanessa (Brassea) Kinder, Ph.D., 1980; John E. Meyers, 1931; James A. Monteleone, M.D., 1950; Wilhelmina "Billie" Pignotti, 1935; Col. Thomas Rotondi Jr., 1970; Carl F.

Salans, J.D., 1950; Richard Sylla, Ph.D., 1958; Louis Thomas Jr., M.A., 1942, and Edward C. Uliassi, Ph.D., 1948.

The Hall of Fame was established in 1976 during Bloom¹s 75th anniversary celebration. Additional members are chosen every five years by a Hall of Fame committee. Brief profiles of the 11 individuals to be inducted follow:

Robert DeGraaff is the director of graduate programs in health services management at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He also teaches in the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the university¹s School of Medicine. DeGraaff gives presentations regarding his field of expertise at professional association meetings and at universities throughout the country. He has been recognized with teaching awards and is involved in numerous professional health care organizations. He has a bachelor¹s degree from Northwestern University, and he received a master¹s degree and a doctorate in health care management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a resident of Columbia, Missouri.

Joyce Gavin-Exum was an educator in Chicago Heights School District 170 for 33 years. She was a teacher, an administrator and was the first woman to be appointed an assistant superintendent in School District 170. After her retirement from the district, she served as the director of the DePaul McPrep Program at DePaul University in Chicago. Gavin-Exum continues to be active in many community service and education organizations. She has been the recipient of numerous awards. She earned a bachelor¹s degree from Illinois State University, a master¹s in urban teacher education from Governors State University, and her Ph.D. in educational administration/management from Walden University. She lives in Chicago.

Vanessa (Brassea) Kinder is the executive director of the South Cook Intermediate Service Center in Chicago Heights, which provides educational services to school districts. She has been with the Intermediate Service Center since 1994 when she was appointed director of educational programs.

Kinder received a Distinguished Scholar Award from Governors State University in University Park. She is a member of both professional organizations and community groups. She has a bachelor¹s degree from Illinois State University and a master¹s degree from Governors State University. She received a doctorate in educational leadership from National Louis University. Kinder resides in Chicago Heights.

John E. Meyers was sports editor with Star Publications in Chicago Heights for more than 50 years, retiring in 1984 as executive sports editor for all editions of the newspaper company. Mr. Meyers died in 1996. He began his journalism career as a sports writer in the 1930s. His sports column, the Hot Corner, was a popular and widely read feature of the newspaper. Hundreds of his columns were about Bloom athletics. In recognition of his writing and editing, he was honored with induction into the Illinois Coaches Hall of Fame and the Bloom Township Hall of Fame. He mentored many sports writers who moved on to national sports journalism careers. After Mr. Meyers¹ retirement, he taught journalism courses at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights. He lived most of his life in

Chicago Heights.

James A. Monteleone has held numerous faculty and leadership positions with St. Louis University School of Medicine and Cardinal Glennon Children¹s Hospital, both in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University School of Medicine and served as director of the pediatric endocrinology section in the department of pediatrics, St. Louis University and Cardinal Glennon Children¹s Hospital. Monteleone was named a professor emeritus at St. Louis University and received Best Doctors in America recognition three consecutive years. He earned his doctor of medicine degree from St. Louis University. He also achieved first lieutenant rank with the United States Army. He is credited with innumerable medical publications, abstracts and presentations. Monteleone lives in Town and Country, Missouri.

Wilhelmina "Billie" Pignotti, now retired, held the elected office of student mayor of Bloom High School in 1934-35, with her husband reared four children, held a number of occupations, served on the District 206 Board of Education for 18 years and devoted countless volunteer hours to Bloom and to community organizations. Her ongoing support of Bloom High students, teachers and administrators continued for years after her children were graduated from Bloom. She was the chairman of the Bloom Township High School Hall of Fame Organizing Committee in 1975. After her retirement as a State of Illinois social case worker, she continued her volunteer work.

Pignotti lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Thomas Rotondi, Jr., is the leader and commander of the United States Army Band "Pershing¹s Own" in Virginia He presently holds the Army rank of colonel. Rotondi joined the U.S. Army as a trumpet player. During his service career, he has held a number of Army band positions, including executive officer of the U.S. Continental Army Band; commander/conductor of the U.S. Army, Europe, Band and Chorus in Heidelberg, Germany, and commander/conductor of the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, New York. He has studied conducting with renowned musical conductors and directors, and he has received military decorations, including the Legion of Merit. He has a bachelor¹s degree in music from Millikin University and a master¹s degree from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Carl F. Salans is the founding partner of the Salans law firm in Paris, France, and has served as the chairman of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce. Salans is a specialist in international arbitration. The Salans law firm, with an active global arbitration practice, has 20 offices throughout the world. He is a member of several European arbitration organizations. He served as legal adviser to the United States delegation to the Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam from 1968 to 1992 and as adviser to the Paris Conference that created the World Heritage Convention in 1972. Salans received a bachelor¹s degree from Harvard University, master¹s and bachelor of law degrees from Trinity College at Cambridge University in England, and a doctor of laws degree from the University of Chicago. He resides in Paris.

Richard Sylla is a Henry Kaufman professor of the history of financial institutions and markets, and a professor of economics at New York University. His previous academic positions include serving as professor of economics and business at North Carolina State University, visiting professor of economics at both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina and as editor of the Journal of Economic History. Sylla has given lectures and seminars at colleges and universities in the United States and other countries. He served as president of the Economic History Association and the Business History Conference. His honors include numerous research grant awards. He received his bachelor¹s and master¹s degrees and his doctorate in economics all from Harvard University. He lives in New York City.

Louis Thomas Jr. is retired from a lengthy career as a school administrator. First a teacher in Blue Island School District 130, he later served as principal of several District 130 schools prior to his appointment as the district¹s superintendent. His tenure in that leadership position earned him the Outstanding Superintendent Award from the Illinois Education Association. He was a medic with the United States Army based in London treating and rehabilitating German prisoners of war wounded during the World War II Normandy Invasion. After retirement, he has been doing volunteer work. He has been active in professional and community service organizations. Thomas earned bachelor¹s and master¹s degrees from the University of Illinois. He is a resident of Cary, North Carolina.

Edward C. Uliassi retired in 1997 as a professor of political science at Northeastern Illinois University, where he taught for 35 years. The university awarded Uliassi the title of professor emeritus in a 1997 ceremony. Before joining the Northeastern Illinois university faculty, he was an instructor at the University of Chicago and at two Chicago City College campuses. During his career, he was invited to participate in many professional conferences and seminars in the U.S. and overseas, and authored a lengthy list of publications. Uliassi served in the United States Army¹s counter-intelligence corps. He completed his bachelor¹s and master¹s degrees at the University of Chicago and earned his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in New York. He resides in Park Ridge, Illinois.