May 3, 2025
The Salem High School Alumni Association held its 144th annual meeting, featuring the annual scholarship award ceremony and honored alumnus presentation at the Salem High School Auditorium April 26. The 2025 honored alumnus was Frank Zamarelli Jr. of the class of 1982, who was joined by his family. Shown from left are Taylor Cappa, Glory Zamarelli, Frank, and Brittany Maniscalco. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)

SALEM — Since 1903 the Salem High School Alumni Association has supported Salem’s graduates with monetary support to further their education. On April 26, the alumni association marked a new millstone having officially distributed over $10 million to Salem graduates over the last 121 years.
“As you step into the world remember this, it’s okay not to have everything figured out. It’s okay to try, to fail, to change your mind, and to redefine your dreams along the way. The most successful people are those who learn, embrace change, and never let fear dictate their decisions. You are leaving Salem High school with more than just a diploma, you’re leaving with values that matter,” said 2025 Honored Alumnus Frank Zamarelli Jr.
The alumni association began holding its annual meetings, which now include the scholarship award ceremony and honored alumnus presentation, since June 14, 1882. Twenty years later in 1903 the alumni association was the first in Ohio to form a scholarship fund with the investment of a $1,000 bond, distributing its first scholarship in 1908. Since then, through careful stewardship and generous donations, the alumni association’s investment portfolio has expanded to more than $12 million. Following Saturday’s ceremony, the alumni association has officially distributed $10,084,522 to 2,730 Salem High School graduates to support their postsecondary education. At the ceremony alone the alumni association distributed $405,500 in scholarships, of which $281,000 was distributed to 49 members of the class of 2025, and $124,500 was distributed to 52 past Salem High School graduates who are continuing their postsecondary education.
A member of the class of 1982, Zamarelli earned his bachelor’s in business administration from Youngstown State University majoring in management with minors in accounting, marketing, and computer technology in 1986, opening Salem Computer Center in 1987.
“‘We make time for the things we believe in.’ That has been the maxim of Frank Zamarelli for many years, and I want you to remember that … born and raised in Salem in a very community active family Frank was engaged in community activities at an early age … his classmates remember him as always being involved in band, choir, theater and community events,” said Dr. Peter Apicella, Salem High School Alumni Association first vice-president and Scholarship & Grant Committee chairman.
Several members from the Salem High School class of 1950 were present to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their graduation. Shown from left are Quaker Sam, Katy Lederle, Treva Miller, Marilyn Snyder, Ethel Davis, Helen Cranmer, Nina Wisler and Dr. Will Stamp. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Zamarelli will be a familiar face to most Salem residents having lent his skills, and expertise in management, marketing and technology, and his leadership to numerous community organizations including: the Rotary Club of Salem, the Salem Rotary Foundation, the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Hope Cemetery Association, the Grandview Cemetery Association, the First Presbyterian Church Pre-School, A.I.D., the Salem Community Theater, Salem Renaissance, Salem Community Center, the Salem Italian American Club Education Fund, the St. Paul Home and School Association, the St. Paul School Foundation, the Salem High Schol Choir Boosters, the Kent State Salem Business Advisory Board, and even the alumni association itself.
“Frank and his wife Glory have become synonymous with generosity and giving in the city of Salem,” said Apicella.
During his tenure as president of the alumni association’s board of trustees Zamarelli was part of the team which revived the school’s living Quaker Sam mascot for high school athletic and community events. Zamarelli remains involved with the now-revived mascot, managing Quaker Sam’s appearance schedule with assistance from high school administrators. Zamarelli also remains directly involved with his alma mater serving as the high school auditorium manager, a sports announcer, and scorekeeper for Quaker football, girls and boys basketball, wrestling and volleyball. Zamarelli has been married to his wife Glory since 1992, with whom he has two daughters Taylor Cappa, and Brittany Maniscalco, both of whom are 2016 Salem High School alumni, and he has one granddaughter, Francesca “Frankie” Maniscalco.
Zamarelli said that it was “an absolute privilege” to be honored as the 2025 alumnus of the year. He said that Salem High school was where he “first learned the values” which would shape his life after graduation, and that the class of 2025 now stood at the “threshold of [their] own next great chapter.” Zamarelli described graduation as “an incredible milestone” and that through “perseverance and resilience” they had reached that milestone.
“I want to share a lesson with you that I learned after I left Salem High School in 1982. Success is not measured by titles, wealth or prestige. It is measured by growth, impact and the way you lift others along your way. When I left Salem High School, I believed success meant following a straight path and that I knew exactly where I was headed,” said Zamarelli. “But life, as I quickly learned, doesn’t move in straight lines. It twists, turns, throws challenges in your path and takes you in directions you never would have imagined. Through those unexpected turns I discovered my passion and built resilience and learned the value of persistence.”
Dr. Will Stamp, Class of 1950, told the assembled members of the class of 2025 that 75 years after his own graduation he hoped each of them would find a career they were passionate about, and that he believed that if he could do so could they. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
In keeping with tradition the ceremony also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the class of 1975, and the 75th anniversary of the class of 1950. Representatives from both classes addressed those in attendance, congratulating the class of 2025 on their upcoming graduation and encouraging them to pursue their passions.
Alberta Totani Bowman and Sally Boone Sexton, representatives of the class of 1975, said that it was “hard to believe that 50 years has gone by,” and that “it happened in the blink of an eye.” They announced that the class of 1975 would hold its 50th anniversary reunion the weekend of July 26. They also said that it was remarkable to see how much the alumni association had grown since they graduated, and that the class would be contributing to that growth by endowing a new scholarship based on academic achievement and financial need.
“When we graduated, we were one of the largest classes that there’d ever been of almost 300 students, at that time 12 scholarships were given. … college was very expensive at that time, my parents and I worried a lot about it and nothing has changed,” said Sexton. “Because it was a hardship when we went to college and it hasn’t gotten any easier, we decided that we were going to pull together a scholarship to be endowed in the name of the class of 1975.”
Dr. Will Stamp of the class of 1950 said that “it seemed impossible” that it has been 75 years since he and his classmates were sitting where the class of 2025 was for their own scholarship award ceremony. He said that he hoped that as time passed the class of 2025 would also be able to contribute to the alumni association’s scholarship fund and “keep it going successfully.” He also told the class of 2025 that he hoped each of them would find a career they were passionate about, noting that when he had gone to The Ohio State University to study optometry that he had planned to “try college for one year” and expected to “flunk out” but ultimately graduated cum laude “a few years later.”
“If I can do it, I’m sure all of you can do it. Just have a high goal and work hard to attain that goal,” said Stamp.
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