|
Joe Concannon- Class President
Early on in life people surrounding Joe Concannon realized that if you want a job done, and done properly, get Joe to do it. This is basically why our Girard High School Class of 1960 voted Joe, Class President.
Being Class President was not the only leadership roll Joe held in high school. Joe also was President of the Thespians. His leadership there was effective. In his senior year his leadership helped Girard High School become a member of the Ohio High School Speech League.
And, he was a thespian himself with a role in the Junior Class Play and a lead roll in the Senior Class Play “He Tried With His Boots On.” Joe played opposite Marsha Powers and Pat Planton.
Yet Joe managed his time to keep respectable grades and further participate in Hi-Y where he was secretary, and in the Chemistry Club, where he was Vice President. In his senior year Joe was Vocational Chairman, on the Reflector Editorial Staff, in the Band, in the Key Club, a representative at Boy’s State, on the Prom Committee, and active in intramural sports.
In Boy Scouting, Joe reached the summit as an Eagle Scout.
Mr. Cramer gave Joe the inspiration to become a Chemical Engineer. “Cramer’s love of Chemistry was infectious,” Joe says. “I caught the bug early on.”
He credits Mrs. Canatti as a teacher who taught him one of the most useful skills he ever learned. Typing.
To the question of if “I had it to do all over again I would…” Joe said, “I wish I had been more assertive in High School.” (When he told me this I broke up laughing. What else could he have done. We both had a good laugh at that answer.)
Joe left Girard and enrolled in Cornell where he studied Chemical Engineering for the next two years. In his Junior year Joe transferred to Indiana Institute of Technology where he graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering.
At Indiana Joe became a member of Theta Mu Pi Fraternity and ended up as it’s President in his senior year.
He was also elected President of American Institute of Chemical Engineers at Indiana.
In his senior he was given an award as the most valuable graduate in Chemical Engineering that year.
Fresh out of college Joe headed for Lousianna MO and a job with Hercules where for the next two years he would work as a Chemical Engineer. “Missouri was a drag,” Joe says. “Hercules was located in the middle of nowhere and there were very few girls around.
That experience made Joe realize that more education would be helpful in his career. He applied to and was accepted at the University of Colorado in Boulder where he earned his Masters in Chemical Engineering.
In Colorado Joe turned his sports interest into skiing. He had the distinction of breaking his leg on April Fools day in 1970. He did not let that stop him and continued to ski for years afterwards. “Boulder was great, there were plenty of women,” he adds.
Upon graduating Joe was offered a job with Dupont where for the next 21 years he would work in their Delaware, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania locations. He eventually transferred to the Dupont Environmental Mediation Services in Wilmington DE where his focus turned to environmental issues.
“Being in my profession in the 70’s and 80”s was beautiful.” Joe says. “It was the time of ‘Plastics’ a la The Graduate.”
Joe took early retirement from Dupont at age 49. He had become an expert in some environmental issues. Dupont still needed his skills and he agreed to work with them as a consultant. That assignment lasted for the next 16 years. During this time he also consulted with the Delaware Power and Light company.
Finally in 2007, at age 65, Joe retired with his wife Rachelle to the Florida Panhandle. He lives today in Gulf Breeze Florida where he spends each Sunday on the Golf Course. The Concannons live in a condo complex. Guess who is the Condo President? You got it.
Ron Robinson, a friend of 62 years, tells of Joe’s several visits through the years to his home in the Chicago Area. “He ran the Chicago Marathon 5 years ago, came to two Notre Dame games, and came for a visit to Cubs Stadium at Wrigley Field.” Ron reports.
If Sunday is for Golf, the rest of the week is for the gym. Joe is extremely fit. In 2002 he competed in the Chicago and Pittsburgh Marathons.
His Mondays are always reserved for the Gulf Islands National Seashore, where Joe volunteers in the visitors center of Fort Pickens.
Joe’s interest in sports goes from running to kayaking and bicycling. . Joe and Rachelle have three children and two grandchildren
During the past 50 years Joe has stayed in touch with Ron Robinson, Ed Raney, Ron Teeter and Ed DeChant. He and Rachelle spent a fantastic week aboard the luxury European river cruiser Charlemagne in Germany with Ron and Nita Teeter, and, Ona and Ed DeChant in the fall of 2008. That spring he and Rachelle had cruised the same boat in Holland.
Since retirement they have taken two barge cruises to Europe, visited the Caribbean, driven throughout the American Southwest. His bucket list includes another cruise in Europe and a trip to New Zealand.
The Joe Concannon of today is not much different from the Joe Concannon we all remember. His philosophy is to “learn all you can, do the best you can, be honest, play by the rules and things normally will work out fine.” It appears this philosophy has done Joe and Rachelle very well.
Those of us who have known Joe in later years think he is like a bottle of fine wine that just gets better with age.
|
