Honorary Marshal Joseph Fierro

Joseph (Giuseppe) was born in the town of Andretta, in the province of Avellino, Italy on April 2, 1967, to parents Nicola and Angelina. He grew up in the older part of the town near San Giovanni section where it was like one big family.  There was a wonderful piazza right outside their home called the “Chianetto” where everyone played soccer and enjoyed the outdoors while being with the neighbors.  Although it sounded like a wonderful place to live, Joe’s father who was a carpenter did not have much work; so he went to work in Rome and then later to Switzerland as a migrant worker. His mother would be left alone to take care of Joe and his two older brothers Francesco and Antonio, along with the three farmlands and farm animals. With the help of his Zio Ettore, (his father’s brother,) and his Zia Antonietta who were living in the United States, Joe and his family were able to immigrate and all be reunited.  His parents, who had immigrated in their later years in life, had to start all over again and leave their parents and all they had worked for in Italy.  His family struggled at first, but after a few years were able to buy a house in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, moving from 233rd St where they had originally settled. 

In Throggs Neck, his parents finally started to enjoy being in the United States.  They had a lot of Italian neighbors, the stores were close by, and they had a wonderful catholic church, St. Benedict’s, with an Italian mass nearby.  They lived on a small block called Sullivan Place, where the families were wonderful, with lots of kids Joe’s age.  Joe’s father continued to work with his uncle, and his mother worked at home as a seamstress, while taking care of Joe.  Growing up on Sullivan Place with a lot of Irish friends, Joe learned to assimilate into the American culture and learned all the sports of the United States, including baseball.  He started playing little league at the age of eleven, and the following year he made it into the All-star team for the Throggs Neck little league where he competed in the Little League World tournament.

At St. Benedict’s where he attended elementary school, he played Varsity Basketball, Softball, Track and Volleyball, as well as many intramural sports.  In his last year at St. Benedict’s he won many awards for every sport including the Presidential Physical Award signed by Ronald Reagan.  At his graduation of elementary school, Joe was awarded the James E. McQuade Memorial award for Scholastic Achievement and Exemplary Conduct for his high grades and involvement in sports.  He attended St Raymond’s High School in the Bronx, where he played on the soccer and baseball teams.  He also was a member of the Italian Club, National Honor Society, Math Team, and Student Council.  At his graduation at St Patrick’s Cathedral, he received The Brother Eugene McNamara Medal for Mathematics for the highest achievement in mathematics.

At the age of fourteen, he started working in the summers with his cousin Frank and Zio Ettore in the construction company, renovating houses and all sorts of carpentry and masonry work.  On weekend nights, Joe would also work setting up the band equipment for the Frank Terrace Orchestra for weddings. While in high school, he also started coaching the intramural basketball teams at St. Benedict’s elementary school and assisted the coach of the Varsity softball team.

He attended Manhattan College on a Presidential Scholarship pursuing engineering following his siblings. In 1989, Joe graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering.  He also continued his professional studies in the Electrical Engineering field at NYU.  His parents supported Joe and his brothers through college and were so proud of having three engineer sons. 

During his college years, Joe continued to help his cousin and uncle in the construction field during the summers and winter breaks.  At the age of eighteen he also started working as a videographer at MTA Video Productions who videotaped weddings.  He would work with them for over 20 years.  He also helped his father with many home carpentry projects and delivered pizza for many of the pizzerias in Throggs Neck.

 Joe started his professional life at TAMS (Tippet Abbott McCarthy and Straton) Consulting Engineers right after college in 1989.  His first project was the renovation of Penn Station in Manhattan where he learned about the many systems for that facility.  Soon after he became a team leader for smaller projects.   After a few years, Joe and his group became more involved in airport designs such as Second International Airport of Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, and many other facilities around the world and in the US.  At the age of 30, he became an Associate of the company and within a few years after that he was the Chief Electrical Engineer.  His greatest achievements at TAMS were winning NYACE awards for MEP systems at JFK Terminal 4 and for Continental Airlines Terminal C at Newark.  He also participated in a competition every year called Canstruction, where a group from TAMS would volunteer and build a sculpture out of cans where the food would be donated to the Food bank of NYC.   At TAMS, Joe along with others started many recreational teams such as softball and indoor soccer.

In 1992, Joe met his later to be wife Josephine, through a family friend in Throggs Neck.  Josephine was from Corona, Queens and also born in Italy with a similar upbringing.  They got married on September 8, 1996.  Before they married, they bought a two family house on Edison Ave in Throggs Neck that they completely renovated.  Soon after they also invested in a three family rental house in Pelham Bay.  In 1998, their first born, Giovanni, was born and the family started to grow. In 1999, Cristina was born and the house started to become crowded. So, in 2001 shortly before his third child, Nicole, was born, Joe and his family decided to move to Mahopac where his cousin Frank lived.

Joe continued to work at TAMS, which was located in midtown, which later became Earthtech owned by TYCO International (later AECOM) and moved down to the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan. During this time Joe started coaching his kids’ baseball and soccer teams, but commuting to NYC was long and exhausting from Mahopac and getting to games was very difficult. In 2008, he was asked by his college friend John Torre to join OLA Consulting Engineers in Hawthorne, NY who had an opening for a Team Leader position. Within a few years at OLA, Joe became an Associate of the firm. At OLA, Joe has worked as a project manager and lead engineer on many wonderful projects in Westchester and surrounding areas, such as JP Morgan Hangar at Westchester County Airport, Yonkers Seminary, Rye Playland Ice Casino, and many other wonderful projects over the last 17 years.

Joe has been involved in many professional societies such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Illuminating Engineering Society( IES), International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI) and Association of Medical Professionals (AMFP). He also volunteered for many events such as Breast Cancer walks at Manhattanville College, Habitat for Humanity, and Engineering Expo.

Joe has always helped the Mahopac community in many ways. While belonging to Mahopac Sports Association (MSA) he was on the Baseball board serving as secretary, treasurer and scheduler, and coached many teams including travel baseball for many years.  Joe volunteered his service as an Engineer to prepare plans for the installation of scoreboards at Jimmy McDonough Park, the lights at the High School Lacrosse field and helped at the Baldwin Road soccer field.  At the Andrettese Italian Cultural Society he served on the Board and helped promote his Italian roots; and for the Italian American Club of Mahopac, he helped lead many events and helped with many good causes.  At the Italian American Club of Mahopac, Joe is currently serving as Vice President and has been a member for almost 10 years.  Again, he has helped in many of the projects at the club and fundraising events, such as the Handicap project, Toilet Renovation, Relay for Life, Columbus Day Parade, United for the Troops, and Putnam Recreation Programs and Rehabilitation(PRPH).  He has helped organize events such as the Briscola Tournament, Feragosto, the Club’s picnic and many other events.

In engineering and in his personal life he has contributed to the well-being of others. He has made many friends along the way at school, TAMS, OLA, and in the community that he cherishes until this day. He values his great parents who came here from Italy and worked really hard for their sons to have a better life and become professional engineers. He dedicates this honor to them who made the ultimate sacrifice. He is grateful for having a wonderful wife and children who make him proud every day and thanks them for their love and support.

To end with a quote from his favorite movie, “The worst thing in life is wasted talent,” so please use your talent to make the world a better place.