The Lakeshore Excellence Foundation has given its Distinguished Alumni Award to Barbados RPCV Jerry Catania



Catania holds a bachelor's degree in industrial design from Michigan State University and a master's degree in art education from Western Michigan University. He worked for the Peace Corps in Barbados and then taught art education for Michigan State in the Far East and Middle East, instructing American teachers in schools and on American military bases.

The Lakeshore Excellence Foundation has given its Distinguished Alumni Award to Barbados RPCV Jerry Catania

Glassworks founder receives Lakeshore alumni award

Saturday, June 19, 2010 3:58 PM

(Source: Stilwell Democrat Journal)trackingBy William F. Ast III, The Herald-Palladium, St. Joseph, Mich.

Jun. 19--STEVENSVILLE -- The Lakeshore Excellence Foundation has given its Distinguished Alumni Award to 1964 Lakeshore High School graduate Jerry Catania.

Catania and his wife, Kathy, in 1997 started renovating the historic Hinkley Building in Benton Harbor's Arts District and transformed it into Water Street Glassworks. The nonprofit studio and glassblowing school recently added metalworking to the curriculum. It has served more than 1,000 adult students.

Catania also created an award-winning after-school glass program called Fired Up, which in 2009 was ranked in the top 50 after-school programs in the country.

In addition, Water Street Glassworks has started Water Street GelatoWorks, an Italian ice cream and retail glass gallery in the Hinkley Building. That serves as a training program in job skills for students.

Catania holds a bachelor's degree in industrial design from Michigan State University and a master's degree in art education from Western Michigan University. He worked for the Peace Corps in Barbados and then taught art education for Michigan State in the Far East and Middle East, instructing American teachers in schools and on American military bases.

In 1972, Catania helped build Pilchuck, a glass school north of Seattle, in exchange for learning glassblowing. He helped famed glass artist Dale Chihuly, who was his first glassblowing teacher.

The Catanias live south of Glenn in Allegan County.

The foundation presented the award at high school graduation ceremonies on June 6. It's the fourth such award given out by the organization.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: June, 2010; Peace Corps Barbados; Directory of Barbados RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Barbados RPCVs; Awards; Michigan

When this story was posted in November 2010, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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