WARREN — Four people, all graduates of Warren G. Harding High School, were inducted Saturday into the Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame at the 30th annual awards dinner.

The four inductees were chosen by the board of directors for the Warren City Schools’ Foundation and the Hall of Fame committee.

This year’s inductees are:

• William E. Kush of Warren, a 1971 graduate and longtime employee of Warren City Schools, serving as supervisor of plant maintenance, operations and warehouse. Kush, who attended Youngstown State University Dana School of Music, retired from Warren City Schools in 2019 after 46 years of service. He served on the district’s last eight levy committees. He also has served as an Elks Lodge officer, local National Foundation chairman and District Honor Society; liaison to Boy Scout Troop 101; was guest speaker at Rotary Club of Warren; and volunteered as an MDA Lock-Up jailbird;

• Manuel N. Maligas of Spring, Texas, a 1961 graduate who went on to pursue a career in the aerospace and oil field industries. Maligas attended Youngstown University, where he received a Bachelor’s of Engineering degree in 1966 and a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering in 1973. During his career, he developed solutions that have delivered new processes and materials in the aerospace and oil field industries. He was elected to be a Fellow by the American Society for Metals; honored by the American Petroleum Institute; served on the board of the International Standard Organization for materials; was recognized in “American Men and Women in Science;” and included in “Who’s Who in Science.” He has authored more than 30 technical publications;

• Dr. Kristen E. Pearson of New Orleans, a 2008 graduate and assistant professor in the School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane University. She received her B.A. in psychology from Youngstown State University. She then earned her M.S. in education at Duquesne University. She completed a psychology internship at Louisiana School of Psychology Internship Consortium and a postdoctoral fellowship in child psychology at Tulane University School of Medicine. She has been employed at Tulane since 2017. She is a licensed school and clinical psychologist and certified school psychologist;

• Raymond D. Yannucci of Stow, a 1961 graduate who started his journalism career at the Tribune Chronicle then went on to work for the Dover / New Philadelphia Times-Reporter as scholastic sports editor and the Akron Beacon Journal, among other publications. He received a BS degree in business administration from Youngstown State University in 1968. He operated BN / I until the end of 2001 after purchasing it from the Browns in 1986. He owned and published 49ers Report, Oiler News, Broncos Report and Ravens Report. He covered 23 straight Super Bowls, was co-founder of the Pro Football Publications Association and a member of the Pro Football Writers Association. He is a 2006 Warren Sports Hall of Fame inductee. In 1990, he was a keynote speaker at a rally for a Warren City School levy that passed. He serves as a co-chairperson for the Warren Football Legends project that in five years has raised nearly $150,000 for the Warren Harding football program.

Also at this year’s awards dinner, 36 Harding High School graduating seniors were awarded, collectively, $50,000 in scholarships.

Additionally, members of the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020-21 were recognized for the first time in person. The 2020 awards dinner was canceled because of health and safety concerns because of COVID-19. This year’s awards ceremony, held at Warren G. Harding High School, marked the first in-person event since the statewide shutdown in 2020.

Members of the Class of 2020-21 are:

• Robert Berk of Warren, a 1972 Warren G. Harding graduate, went on to serve as CEO of Berk Enterprises;

• Dr. Adam Cash of Cortland, a 1998 Harding graduate, specializes in plastic and reconstructive surgery and is adjunct professor at Mercy Health, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Gannon University and NEOMED;

• Edward Lukco of Dresden, a 1966 Harding graduate, went on to become a professor at The Ohio State University, Ohio Dominican and Franklin University in the College of Arts and Sciences;

• The late Nick Macris, a 1944 Harding graduate, pursued a career in education as a teacher and administrator for various school districts before serving as superintendent of Howland Local School District;

• Constantine “Angelo” Kafantaris of Torrance, Calif., a 2002 Harding graduate, pursued a career in automotive design and is CEO of Hyperion, working with NASA to create electric vehicles;

• Vincent Peterson of Warren, a 1982 Warren Western Reserve High School graduate, became officer-in-charge of adult probation and staff supervisor; U.S. Marshal Violent Fugitive Task Force supervisor; and an FBI hostage negotiator;

• Sara Kingsbery Walsh of Princeton, New Jersey, a 1966 Harding graduate, pursued a legal career devoted to public service law, first as a public defender then with the Legal Services of New Jersey.

With each induction ceremony, the Alumni Hall of Fame’s Committee and the Warren City Schools’ Foundation Board of Directors also honor two Distinguished Faculty members of the Warren City Schools. This year, Frank Bubba, longtime Warren City Schools teacher and basketball coach, and Tony Berarducci, longtime Warren teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, personnel director and superintendent, were recognized.

Nicholas J. Angelo, former physical education teacher, coach and guidance counselor, as well as district business manager, and Frank Supancic, social studies teacher and swim coach, were recognized as the 2020-21 Distinguished Faculty.

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