Two alumni in spotlight for their career achievements

FREDONIA, N.Y. — Oct. 14, 2008 —SUNY Fredonia will award two of its alumni with the 2008 Outstanding Achievement Award on Homecoming weekend. The recipients, Michael Petsky, ’85, and John Poppo, ’84, will be honored at separate events on Saturday, Oct. 18. 

Poppo will be honored in Rosch during Anniversary celebration of the Sound Recording program

Poppo, a Sound Recording Technology major, is founder of Pop Productions, Inc., and a 25-year veteran of the music business, will receive his award at 10:30 a.m. in Rosch Recital Hall during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the SUNY Fredonia Sound Recording Technology program. President Dennis L. Hefner will be presenting the award with a reception to follow. Tours will be available of the new sound recording studio, which was newly renovated and formally dedicated in January.

Poppo is a producer, engineer, mixer, arranger and musician who has worked in the fields of pop, R&B, hip-hop, dance, rock and classical music. He is also a published songwriter, signed to BMG/Universal Music Publishing, and holds the copyrights to numerous major label releases throughout the world. His credits are found among recordings of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, NSync, Seal and Madonna, to name a few. He’s also worked with famed rock producer legends like Jack Douglas (who worked with the likes of John Lennon and Aerosmith), as well as artists such as Daryl Hall (of Hall & Oates), Luther Vandross and Al Green.

Poppo is also very involved with The Recording Academy, the preeminent arts advocacy and outreach organization in the country which also produces the annual GRAMMY awards for the music recording industry. He has served as a member of its illustrious board for five years, and presently also serves on its Producers and Engineers Wing Advisory Council, as well as various committees, including the Hall of Fame and Grammy Foundation Grant committees.

Petsky will receive honors during Alumni Award Luncheon in Cranston Marche

Petsky, a Business Administration major, is a partner and CEO of Petsky Prunier LLC, a leading investment bank that provides merger and acquisition as well as private placement advisory services to companies in the advertising, marketing and digital media industries. He is also a partner of the Winterberry Group, a leading strategic consultancy serving the same industries. He will be honored at the annual Alumni Award Luncheon at noon at the Cranston Marché in the University Commons.

All totalled, Petsky’s companies employ 35 employees in New York City with offices in Chicago and Tampa. Previously, he was a managing director at Gruppo, Levey & Company, a boutique investment bank specializing in catalogue and direct marketing company mergers and acquisitions. In 1992, he founded Information Authorities, a competitive intelligence and industry research firm that served direct marketing companies, which he sold to Gruppo, Levey in 1994.

Petsky is recognized as one of the foremost experts on marketing, advertising and digital media industry trends and strategies for maximizing shareholder value. A highly sought speaker, he has appeared on CNN, been a guest lecturer at New York University's Direct Marketing Program, and frequently presents at marketing and Internet trade shows and events.

He is an avid supporter of SUNY Fredonia’s Phillips Cross Country/Track and Field Endowment, as well as Fredonia’s Business Club. Mr. Petsky lives on Long Island with his wife of 21 years, Mary Beth, and their three children, Nicholas, Kevin and Mary Kate.

Both presentations are open to students, faculty, and the public, although the luncheon does have a $15 fee. For tickets to the luncheon and all other homecoming events, please contact the Office of Alumni Affairs at 716-673-3553 or fill out the reservation form at www.fredonia.edu/homecoming.