{"id":522,"date":"2021-06-07T18:48:24","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T18:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/inductee\/dom-minic-giordano\/"},"modified":"2021-09-27T18:43:46","modified_gmt":"2021-09-27T18:43:46","slug":"dom-minic-giordano","status":"publish","type":"inductee","link":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/inductee\/dom-minic-giordano\/","title":{"rendered":"Dom “Minic” Giordano"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When the time arose for improvement to recreation facilities and programs for children, 1996 Branford Sports Hall of Fame inductee Dom \u201cMinic\u201d Giordano always exhibited passion in his efforts to make the town of Branford a proud, enriched, successful, shoreline community to all.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Born in Branford on December 26, 1914, Dom was one of ten children consisting of nine boys and one girl.\u00a0 He attended schools within the Branford system before making his claim to the town and to the Branford Recreation Department.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While a member of the Branford Board of Recreation for 20 years from 1964 to 1984 and as the Chairman of the Board for many of those years, Dom played a vital part in making the Recreation Department what it is today, a national model for all Recreation Departments.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was through tonight\u2019s inductee\u2019s efforts that the first Carl \u201cHop\u201d Nuzzo Invitational Softball Tournament was originated in 1951.\u00a0 Also that year, Dom played an important role in setting up and organizing the Annual Frank J. Kinney Boys Invitational Basketball Tournament and the Annual Joan G. Bradley Girls Invitational Basketball Tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dom served on the new Community House building committee and also contributed to the development of Foote Park and the John B. Sliney Park which has four ball fields and a soccer field.\u00a0 Through his dedication and dynamic leadership qualities, the Warren Sampson Little League Park at Indian Neck was built.\u00a0 He was also instrumental in rebuilding the baseball diamond at Hammer Field, putting up four backstops and building the outdoor basketball court and field house.\u00a0 He personally took charge of setting up the model playground at Hammer Field and assisted in the construction of the Damascus School Buddy League Field and the Branford Hills Buddy League Field. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In 1958 when the newly formed Little League was in dire need for a President, Dom took the position and through his strong, dedication, and dynamic leadership, the program began to flourish.\u00a0 In 1965, he was honored by the National Recreation Movement in America and in the Town of Branford<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tonight\u2019s inductee was valuable in setting up a recreational program for Branford\u2019s beloved handicappers and special education students which has been used as a model for the country.\u00a0 In 1975, he was presented with the National Tommy Wilson Award and in 1980 he was honored by the Special Education\u2019s Group for his outstanding service.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dom was the guiding light behind the construction of Veteran\u2019s Memorial Park on Brushy Plain Road which has won national acclaim for programming and maintenance.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For many years, Dom was Chairman of the Youth Activities Committee for the Elks Club in Branford and through his efforts, the Branford Elks Club was voted to have the outstanding Youth Program in the state.\u00a0 He also served as Chairman of Dinners that annually honored theBranford High School basketball and football teams.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Married to his wife for 60 years, Palmina, Dom is the father to Ann (Joyce), Dominic, and Leonard, the grandfather to eight and the great grandfather to nine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis award is recognition of things that I did and accomplished in the town.\u00a0 It means a lot to me in that I am satisfied in what I did for the kids in Branford,\u201d said Giordano. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":523,"template":"","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductee\/522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductee"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/inductee"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}