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CALCUTTA -- The Beaver Local "Alumni" Association will induct four new members to its Alumni Hall of Fame at noon today at Longs Run Presbyterian Church.
John Tice
John was born in East Liverpool and attended Calcutta Elementary, BL Middle and High School, graduating in 1975. He attended Baldwin Wallace University after graduation on a partial baseball and basketball scholarship.
Tice joined the US Air Force (USAF) in 1977 and was a member of the USAF All Star Basketball Team in the Azores, Portugal. Member of USAF Men's Fast pitch Team that was Air Training Command Champions 1981-83, Lowry Air Force Base (AFB), Denver, Colo. Assigned official travel orders to represent the USAF and participate in men's fast pitch tournaments in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and throughout Colorado. Served as Director of Student Athletic Program at Lowry that included over 2500 male and female military members. He served as the East Liverpool Air Force Recruiter from 1984-88 and was a four-time silver badge winner, recruiting several Beaver Local grads that went on to serve their country and have successful Air Force careers.
During his military career, Tice was awarded the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, and five Air Force Commendation Medals, among others.
Tice is now retired from the Air Force. During his time here as a recruiter he was also a high school varsity basketball official, served two years as Beaver Local boys freshman basketball coach and one year as a varsity assistant. He also was honored to umpire in the boys Colt League World Series in 1986, Lafayette, Indiana, alongside his dad, Jim. In 1989 and1990 he managed and organized local boys baseball All Star Teams that traveled to Missouri and Iowa to compete in the Continental Amateur Baseball Association World Series. His teams included some local players from Beaver Local schools that went on to play at the high school and college levels.
In 1992 Tice was the Toronto Boys Basketball Varsity Head Coach that won an Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Championship, set a school record 19 regular season wins, and finished 5th in the final AP state poll. He was a member of Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association, serving as Vice President in 1991-92, member of the Scholarship committee, and Head Coach, District 5 Boys Basketball All Star game. He has over 20 years in coaching high school varsity sports.
Tice is also a retired teacher. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, and was certified in Special Education and Physical Education. He also earned his Masters Degree in Sports Administration.
He is the son of Dorothy and the late Jim Tice. He resides in Calcutta with his wife of 47 years, Brenda Huston Tice. They have three children, Jay, Krista, and James (Mike) and nine grandchildren.
Valerie Arcuri Bonacci
Valerie Arcuri Bonacci attended St. Aloysius Elementary School in East Liverpool, and is a 1977 graduate of Beaver Local High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Sports Administration from Ohio University.
She began a 20-year career in professional baseball in 1983. She is the former General Manager of the Kinston (NC) Blue Jays (1984-1985) and spent 17 years with the Cleveland Indians, finishing as Vice-President of Marketing and Broadcasting.
Valerie married Bill Bonacci in 2004 and moved to Scranton, Pa., where she spent 11 years as an adjunct Marketing instructor at The University of Scranton and Keystone College. She published a novel in 2017, Fatima and the Sons of Abraham, and is now happily retired, traveling as much as possible.
Aaron "Arnie" Quetot
Aaron Quetot, a 1982 graduate and a globally experienced, Logistics Management Specialist (LMS) for United States Army Cadet Command G4 team Fort Knox Kentucky from 2012 to the present. Responsible for logistics of 1475 Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (High School JROTC) units and 274 Army SROTC (college, university, and senior military college) units working with a $676 million-dollar operating budget for training, transportation, subsistence, and clothing for over 600,000 total combined Army Cadets worldwide.
Quetot entered military service in 1985 as an active-duty soldier. After five years of training to become specialized in operative assignments he worked in critical areas of nuclear, chemical and biological research for the United States Army Science and Technology Center. He helped in discovering working solutions for thrust vectoring technology in modern US fighter jets collaborated during a prototype Russian Su-37 flight demonstration, was instrumental in contracting rights for shared technology with reactive armor used in the main battle tanks, negotiated multi-million-dollar contracts for research and development of rotter wing aircraft form the JSC Russian vertical lift and Armaments Company and contracted, purchased and transported highly sophisticated land mine technology used by the Serbs and Croats in a multiethnic war, to help NATO understand the gain of function in disarming and harvesting thousands of buried devices around cities and countryside.
Quetot was a hand selected counterintelligence operative and returned to Bosnia for a sole purpose of finding Serbian and Croat war criminals and leadership responsible for the genocide of Bosniaks, up to 100,000 people perished at the hand of the ethnic cleansing during the conflict. Working as a Joint Task force team chief, his teams sent several suspects for trial in Hague during the deployment. He retired from the Army after a 20-year career in 2005 as a highly decorated Veteran. He was accepted into civil service June 1, 2005 with continued support of the United States Army. He took on a challenging position with US Army Corps of Engineers in Louisville, Ky., as an operations budget analyst working all the civil works projects in navigation, flood control and natural disaster relief. Served five years working as the operations budget analyst before returning to Fort Knox as a G4 team member.
Quetot has a passion for learning with an associate degree Network Administration and Engineering, (ITT Tech with honors) and a member National Technological Honor Society. He continues working and researching ways to better systems and software for Army Logistics Systems. His down time is consumed with spending time with his family watching them grow and flourish. His Goal is to retire "again" to travel and assist Tammy, his wife of 38 years grow her grief counseling center into a place for helping others cope with grief.
Brenda M. Wamsley
Brenda M. Wamsley is a proud 1985 graduate of Beaver Local High School. She credits her education and involvement in extracurricular school activities at Beaver Local for instilling in her the fundamentals and core values that she has utilized lifelong not only in her personal life, but also her professional life. Brenda credits the outstanding teachers and staff for helping her establish her core values: Dedication, community service, teamwork and "self before others."
She is a 1990 summa cum laude graduate of Kent State University with a Baccalaureate in Arts, Criminal Justice Major. She received the prestigious Alpha Phi Sigma award for her academic excellence in the Criminal Justice field. Further, she was inducted into the Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society.
Although her first interest was the criminal justice field, God intervened and led her to the field of nursing. She is a 1992 summa cum laude graduate of Kent State University majoring in Nursing. She began her career as a critical care nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio and quickly developed a passion for critical care nursing. However, that passion quickly accelerated when she was exposed to Emergency Nursing. She furthered her education and training to achieve her Pre-Hospital Registered Nurse Certification which opened the pathway for her experience in Emergency Medical Services. She has continued her education and training to earn her Certification in Emergency Nursing- a credential that demonstrates the individual's specialized knowledge, skills, and level of expertise.
As a lifelong leaner, Wamsley attended Carlow College in Pittsburgh and earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Nursing again graduating summa cum laude. She then uniquely combined both her Bachelor's degrees to join the United States Public Health Services Commissioned Corps earning the rank of Lieutenant. She worked for the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense stationed at the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a Nursing officer. While stationed at the Bureau of Prisons, she was able to combine her education, training, and skills in both diverse fields to provide emergency and chronic health care to incarcerated persons. While at the Bureau, she earned the role as Clinical Nursing Supervisor. During her tenure, she developed chronic care clinics and served as the Health Promotion Disease Prevention Officer. She received numerous accolades including recognition for her Exceptional performance and academic excellence at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy. Additionally, she received several commendations, medals, and awards from both the Bureau of Prisons and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps for exemplary performance of duties. She also received a Medal of Commendation for her heroic life saving efforts performed during her off-duty time.
She also attended Milazzo's Legal Institute for additional training and education and currently is active as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.
Wamsley's love of nursing and all that it entails finally peaked when she earned the position as a Flight Nurse over 22 years ago. It is a demanding and autonomous emergency flight care environment that utilizes advanced clinical knowledge and skills matched with unparalleled safety. She has earned the distinguished honor of achieving her certification in flight nursing. Flight nursing combines the thrill of the unknown with the complexities of spur of the moment critical assessment and clinically necessary life-saving interventions all the while in a rotor wing aircraft at altitude with just her, her partner, and her patient. She sees patients on their worst days, sick or injured, some clinging to life -- all clinging to hope. Some never remember the flight, others never forget. But the flight crew is there with them, for them, holding hands and wiping tears praying that their care, with God's guidance and grace, positively impacts the patient's life and outcome.
Wamsley's career path has spanned various arenas servicing a multitude of populations in Intensive Care Units, Level 1 trauma center, and community emergency departments as well as the pre-hospital care setting. She currently serves as both a mentor and preceptor to nursing students as well as professional colleagues. She is actively involved in a multitude of committees and unit based practice councils with the goal of continued patient care improvement and outcomes.
Wamsley has dedicated her career to humbly serving others as well as providing for her family. From her love of the healthcare profession, to her empathetic nature and lifelong learning as a driving force, she remains steadfast in her abilities and passion for the gentle art of nursing. However, her proudest accomplishment and greatest joy is being the best "Aunt Bebe" that she can be.
She is the daughter of Audrey Springer Wamsley, (Beaver Local Class of 1962) and the late David Wamsley. She currently resides in Calcutta with her yorkie Max.