Press Releases

May 11, 2001
Two Bellport Residents Named Distinguished Alumni of Southampton College

Frank Trotta and Joseph Gagliano to be Honored at Commencement on May 20

Contact:
Jane Finalborgo
Patricia Conway
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

Bellport Village Mayor Frank Trotta and Joseph Gagliano, Principal of Eastport High School, will both receive Distinguished Alumni Awards during the May 20th commencement ceremony at Southampton College of Long Island University.

Trotta graduated from Southampton College in 1975 with a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and Business Administration and later earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Long Island University. He has served as the mayor of Bellport Village for the past 18 years and has spent much of his adult life as an advocate for senior citizens on Long Island.

Trotta is former Director of the Suffolk County Office for the Aging. He founded the American Center for Senior Citizen Services, an organization that delivers meals to the elderly, and served as the Executive Director of the Long Island Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. In June 2000 Trotta was given the Community Leader of the Year Award from the Suffolk County Office of the Aging for his many efforts on behalf of the aging population on Long Island. He is the publisher and editor of 50 Plus Senior News and Fire News, two publications that are distributed to senior citizens and fire fighters, respectively, and is the President of Prime Time Travel Club, a Long Island-based club geared to people aged 50 and over. He is on the advisory board of the Suffolk County Office of the Aging and the Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs, is a member of Friends Assisting Nassau Seniors, a private sector board that raises money for Meals on Wheels. He also serves as the Chairman of the Zoning Board o f Appeals for the Town of Brookhaven, and works with numerous civic and county organizations. He lives in Bellport Village with his wife, Marie, and two children, Frank III and Christina.

Joseph Gagliano received his B.S. in clinical psychology from Southampton College in 1968. For 30 years, Joseph P. Gagliano has been principal at Eastport High School, making him the longest serving high school principal on Long Island. When he started at Eastport he was 25, the youngest known principal on Long Island. Known affectionately as Mr. G to generations of students in a district that has grown tremendously in size and reputation since Gagliano took it over, he is recognized for his hands-on management style and his ability to cement relationships with students and faculty. Last year his colleagues and students honored Gagliano for his three decades of dedication to the school, and in 1994 The Suffolk County High School Principals' Association gave him the "Principal of the Year" award. He lives in Bellport with his wife Carole, and daughters Jaime and Cara.