City schools honor Lariccias

YOUNGSTOWN -- Philanthropist Tony Lariccia came to a city school board meeting Tuesday to be recognized for his generosity to the school system.
He left promising more, offering to pick up the 8,000-plus tab to send The Rayen School's Destination Imagination academic team to global competition in Tennessee in May.
Lariccia and his wife, Mary, were honored by the school board for their generosity to the district. Money they have provided paid for student trips, Camp Fitch sponsorships, choir risers for an elementary school and various program enhancements.
Lariccia also got special recognition from the six pupils who participated in Sojourn to the Past, an educational trip in March to areas of the South where important issues of the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement played out. He had picked up a big chunk of the 2,400-per-pupil cost for the trip.
Later, the district's Destination Imagination teams from four schools were introduced, and, when it was mentioned that The Rayen School team, which took first place in state competition, needed to raise 8,000 quickly to finance its trip to the global event, Lariccia jumped to his feet and shouted, "You got it. You got it." This drew a standing ovation from the crowd as the five members of the team rushed to his side to offer their personal thanks.
The Rev. Michael Write, school board president, said the presentations made by students at the meeting showed joy, love, support, accomplishment, hope, spirit and more.