Johns joins Trailblazer Society
QUEENSBURY, N.Y. >> Former long-time Saratoga Springs teacher and coach Rich Johns is one of five inaugural inductees to SUNY Adirondack’s Trailblazer Society, a new distinguished alumni program for the college.
Ceremonies were held Friday at the school’s main campus in Queensbury.
A native of South Glens Falls, Johns began his academic career at Adirondack Community College in 1968 and transferred to SUNY Potsdam, where he graduated in 1972. He taught elementary and middle school, and coached tennis at Saratoga Springs High School for 38 years.
Under his guidance, Saratoga won 17 league titles, nine sectional team titles and holds the Sec-
tion II, Class AA record for consecutive wins, with 85. His teams posted a record of 107– 2. Johns won numerous awards as a coach.
In addition, he was honored with Excellence in Teaching Awards by the SUNY Albany Chapter of The National Society of Leadership and Success in 2015 and 2016. He is an inductee of the Hall of Fame at both SUNY Adirondack and SUNY Potsdam as well as the Saratoga Springs City School District and South Glens Falls Athletic and Community Pride Halls of Fame.
Following his passion for personal character development, Johns started a “pay it forward” mission called Act With Respect Always, which has grown into a national model of student and athlete character development.
The college’s Distinguished Faculty evaluated and selected the inaugural class from a competitive pool of nominations. Criteria for consideration include demonstrated excellence in the areas of professional achievement, community service, service to ACC/SUNY Adirondack and/or outstanding spirit.
Other 2018 inductees are Stephen Conigliaro, Sarah Ghent, Dennis Harris and Brett Lange.
Conigliaro came to ACC from Flushing in 1974. A student of Professor LeRoy Aiken, he studied Radio and TV Broadcasting and worked at the newly established WACC radio station. After graduating, Conigliaro left ACC to work at WIPS Ticonderoga, then moved to WBZA in Albany.
He later settled in Charlotte, N.C., where a position as a professional DJ came with a new professional name, Steve Harmon. Through the years, he has won numerous awards, including three Billboard Major Market Air Personality of the Year awards, CMA Awards and, most significantly, an induction in 2018 to the Country Radio Hall of Fame in Nashville.
Ghent earned an associate’s degree in nursing while raising her family, and then earned a bachelor’s in Health and Human Services from Columbia Pacific University in San Rafael, Ca. Ghent continued a career in nursing that covered many diverse aspects of the profession.
Her positions and roles included medical/surgical nurse at Staten Island University Hospital and Glens Falls Hospital; manager of a home care staffing agency on Staten Island; implementation of the first case management program on Staten Island for H.I.P. Plan of Greater New York; clinical review, quality improvement for Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield; and clinical reporting to physicians for Mohawk Valley Physicians.
Harris is currently a systems engineer working at United Launch Alliance, where he is helping the company qualify their newest rocket, Vulcan, which will be used to launch manned missions to space as early as 2020. He graduated from SUNY Adirondack in 1996 with a math-science degree and then went on to SUNY Albany where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics. He received his MBA in 2010. Dennis has worked for several aerospace companies, and his projects include instruments for NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Air Force and South Korea.
Lange graduated in 1992 with a degree in radio broadcasting. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in finance marketing from the University at Albany.
Today, Lange owns four local businesses in Lake George: Christie’s on the Lake, S.J. Garcia’s, Pablo’s Burrito Cantina and Magic Castle Indoor Golf. His entrepreneurial career has kept him linked with SUNY Adirondack. Many of his employees are student or graduates, and he has established two scholarships, one supporting students pursuing culinary degrees and another related to the study of the humanities.