St. Joseph's names Man of the Year

Mecca

St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute Alumni Association has named John Mecca, class of 1969, as Man of the Year in recognition of his "outstanding service" to the school. The award presentation was held during the St. Joe's Father-Son Mass and Breakfast on March 30.

Mecca, an Amherst resident, still maintains a class e-mail group that allows classmates to keep in touch. Following graduation, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Cortland State College.

Mecca's involvement with the St. Joe's Alumni Association began in the 1980s. Since that time, he has actively participated in almost every event sponsored by the association. He served several terms as secretary and was elected president in 1996.

During his tenure as president, he was instrumental in making the Father-Son Communion Breakfast into a collaborative effort with the Parents' Guild. Mecca has also served on the St. Joe's Board of Trustees.

He retired from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority after 27 years of public service in August 2007. During his tenure at NFTA, Mecca was responsible for development and project management of all public transit grants issued to NFTA by the Federal Transit Administration and the New York State Department of Transportation.

Mecca has been recognized statewide for his expertise in FTA's transportation electronic grant-making system and was awarded a Rural Transit Assistance Program Scholarship by the State of New York to train transit properties.

Following retirement, he formed a consulting company and is currently performing triennial reviews and drug/alcohol audits under contract to the Federal Transit Administration. He is also involved with community theater in Lewiston and serves on the Board of Pioneer Ministries for Camp Pioneer in Angola.

Mecca and his wife Terri have two children: Brandon, St. Joe's class of 1997 and current Alumni Association member, and a daughter, Jillian.