FOR RELEASE – SEPT. 30, 2016 FOR MORE INFO: COMMUNICATIONS@RANNEYSCHOOL.ORG ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… RANNEY TO HONOR SCARYMOMMY DOT COM CEO, FASHION WEEK DESIGNER, MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, AND ASBURY PARK AUTHOR AMONG 2016 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES Ranney School (Tinton Falls, NJ) will honor several distinguished alumni and faculty members at its 2016 Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on Saturday, October 8, 2016. The annual event brings together Ranney graduates, past and present teachers, and families from across Monmouth and Ocean Counties to celebrate the exemplary achievements of graduates, coaches, athletes, and teachers. Among the inductees this year are: CEO and Founder of the Some Spider Multimedia Network and Co-Founder of Diapers.com Vinit Bharara (Class of 1989), Asbury Park Travel Writer and Photographer Helen Pike (Class of 1974), Responsive Textiles Designer Kristine Rodriguez (Class of 2008), and International Center for Metropolitan Growth Founder and Monmouth University Professor Dr. Walter Greason (Class of 1991). Vinit Bharara, whose brother and 1986 Ranney alum Preet Bharara – now the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York –was inducted in 2014, co-founded and sold to Amazon the multi-million dollar eCommerce site Diapers.com as well as other top websites in 2011. Today, he is the founder and CEO of Some Spider, a multimedia network launched in 2014 that operates Scary Mommy (ScaryMommy dot com—one of the largest entertainment parenting properties in the country), The Mid, and Café dot com. He resides with his family in New York City.
International travel writer and photographer, Helen Pike currently lives in the Upper Connecticut Valley. Her illustrated books about communities along New Jersey’s northern coastline include Greetings from New Jersey, A Postcard Tour of the Garden State, a companion volume for children growing up in the Garden State subtitled A Workbook for Young Adventurers, and Asbury Park’s Glory Days.
Fashion designer Kristine Rodriguez is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. Her knitwear line RESPONSIVE TEXTILES, has appeared at the prestigious Fashion Weeks of New York (2016), Los Angeles (2015, 2016), and San Diego (2014, 2015). Known as a conceptual maker, she continues to blend knitted stich with graphic design from her home in Augusta, Georgia. Ms. Rodriguez’s works will be on display as part of Ranney School’s annual Alumni Art Exhibition through early November.
Dr. Walter Greason of Manalapan, an economic historian at Monmouth University, was named a “Contemporary Black History Maker” by the Philadelphia Daily News in 1996 for his work to advance equal justice for all people during his fellowship time at Villanova University. He is the founder of the International Center for Metropolitan Growth, a company dedicated to attracting global investment to North America, and won the Author Prize for Non-Fiction from the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance in 2014 for his work, Suburban Erasure. His newest collection, The American Economy, examines changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and services since 1750. Dr. Greason serves as the Treasurer for the Society for American City and Regional Planning History, and recently earned a fellowship to develop a digital model of international economic growth from the National Endowment for the Humanities. “It is an honor to be able to induct such an outstanding group of individuals into our Hall of Fame this year. It is wonderful to recognize all of our inductees for their accomplishments as they serve as positive role-models for generations of students to come,” said Tom Moriau, Ranney School’s Director of Alumni Relations.
Ranney School’s Hall of Fame awards are divided into four categories: Distinguished Alumni, Distinguished Faculty, Visual & Performing Arts, and the Panther Athletic Hall of Fame. Additional 2016 inductees include: Class of 1984 Alum and part-owner of Sea Bright’s Ama Ristorante and Driftwood Cabana Club William Stavola; Class of 2004 Alum and Performer Adam Metzger; former English teacher and Army Colonel A. Kevin Quinn (posthumously); former Forensics Coach and Middle School Administrator Nancy Wade of Jackson; current Performing Arts Chair John Doyle of Keyport; current Fifth-Grade Teacher Doreen Fowlkes of Holmdel; and current Coach (soccer, tennis, and basketball) Barbara Bongiovanni of Wall Township. Both Fowlkes and Bongiovanni have been at Ranney for approximately 30 years.
Ranney will also celebrate its Alumni Weekend with Varsity Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer games on the night of Friday, October 7 (5 p.m. start time); a Play4TheCure Field Hockey game benefitting the National Foundation for Cancer Research on Saturday, October 8 at noon; and its Parents’ Association’s annual Family Fall Festival.
To DaVinci, From Imhotep 