Renie Cavallari (SHS Class of 1978)

Renie Cavallari is founder, CEO and Chief Instigator of Aspire, an award-winning brand strategy, cultural alignment & training company. Simply put, Aspire brings brands life.

A dynamo who continues to color outside the lines, Renie is a cutting-edge leadership expert, brand strategist and entrepreneur who is known for disrupting the status quo. Renie is recognized as a thought leader in the area of people technology, which focuses on changing human behavior to improve performance and quality of life. She is the author of the 4 books on the topic, all written to help organizations create all in business cultures.

Renie is a member of the prestigious International Speakers Association and was named an "Outstanding Woman in Business" by Phoenix Business Journal. Her company Aspire has won an International Stevie Award as a “Most Innovative Company” for 11 years in a row.

Steve Landers (SHS Class of 1995)

Steve is a third generation Springfield resident who lives in town with his wife, Laina and their four children, two of whom attend Scenic Hills. Steve graduated SHS in 1995, and attributes much of his success to his time at SHS, especially the time he spent in George Trout’s Industrial Materials program.

In the weeks following his high school graduation, Steve stopped into Thunderbird on Saxer Avenue for a cheesesteak, and the owner offered him a job washing dishes and cooking food. This day would change Steve’s life forever, and 9 years later he and his brother Joe purchased the business.

Steve’s passion for creativity and outside the box thinking led to some changes at Thunderbird which made it different, and extremely popular in town.

Before owning Thunderbird, Steve worked there, saving money, investing, buying real estate, and investing in the stock market. It was through this effort that he was in the position to get started in business, and he enjoys advising his young employees to do the same, and offers them help and guidance, explaining how it all works.

Steve continues to seek new opportunities, and is currently working on an exciting new project in town.

He enjoys supporting the community he grew up in, and that his children are growing up in.

Thomas J. McGarrigle, Sr. (SHS Class of 1977)

It’s hard to talk about Tom McGarrigle without first mentioning the moment that influenced his life more than any other; the loss of his father at the age of 12. As one of eight children raised by his widowed mother, he learned the value of hard work at a young age. While other teenagers played sports and focused on social obligations, Tom and his siblings spent their free time working various jobs to help support their family. Spending the ensuing years as a resident of Morton Borough, Tom went on to graduate Springfield High School and Delaware County Vocational Technical School in 1977.

At the age of 21, Tom was able to achieve a childhood dream of owning his own business when he opened an automotive repair shop in Sharon Hill Borough. He was able to use the education he received at both Springfield High School and Vo-Tech, as well as many life lessons he learned from his upbringing to establish a successful small business which moved to Collingdale Borough two years into its existence before finally moving to its current location in Springfield Township in 1988. Enjoying his 39th year in business, Tom has supported many local families
through employment at his shop, as well as given many Springfield High School students their first part-time jobs.

An extremely involved member of the Springfield community, Tom spent over ten years as a volunteer with the Springfield Youth Club, serving as the organization’s President for the last six. Tom went on to become a public servant when he was elected as a Springfield Township Commissioner in 2003. After enjoying four years working at the township level, he was elected as a Delaware County Councilman in 2007 and then re-elected to this position in 2011. After seven years as a Councilman, Tom was elected as a State Senator representing the 26th District of Pennsylvania from 2015 through 2018. During a time where our country’s political landscape has become more polarizing than ever, Tom was always a voice of reason, working with people across the aisle and acting in the best interest of his constituents rather than playing partisan politics.

Tom and his wife Michele chose to raise their family in Springfield, moving to the Township in 1985 with their three sons, Tom, Jr. Pat, and Dan graduating from Springfield High School in 2003, 2004, and 2007, respectively. Tom’s sons have also chosen to reside in Springfield and his granddaughter Madeline will graduate from Springfield High School in 2037.

Kevin McGlensey (SHS Class of 1978)

Kevin McGlensey is an accomplished Executive and Entrepreneur with over 35 years of international business experience.

After graduating Springfield High School, Kevin earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University. He spent eight years with Fisher Controls and then joined Triconex, a technology start-up company based in California. He helped to take the company public and then sell it to Invensys, a large British holding company. Over the ten years Kevin spent with the company, he became President of Triconex and ultimately served as the President of Invensys Process Automation Products, a billion-dollar group of companies. This work offered him the opportunity to live in California and Texas as well as overseas in Singapore and London.

Following Invensys, Kevin returned to working with small public companies and start-ups. He served as President of Troy Systems and ORYXE Energy before becoming CEO of Direct Drive Systems (DDS), a technology company that
produces specialty high speed permanent magnet motors. Kevin and his team grew the company before selling it to FMC Technologies, Inc. (FMCTI) in 2009. He integrated and led DDS for FMCTI, and also acquired Control Systems International to form and direct FMCTI’s Automation and Controls Division. In 2015 he retired from FMCTI, but remains active as Chairman of the Board for Hicor Technologies, a member of the Board of Regents for Brandman University, and Director on the Board of CBE Educational Services Company. Kevin enjoys giving back to the community and is currently on hiatus after seventeen years on the Board of Directors for Crittenton Services for Children and Families in California.

Kevin and Marlene, his wife of 35 years, have two adult daughters, Becky and Melissa, and currently split their time between Fullerton, California and Baja, Mexico.

Norma Piccone (Teacher, Sabold Elementary School)

Norma Piccone was a dedicated teacher for 35 years. One of the things she is most remembered for is introducing her first grade students to money management. At the beginning of the school year, she walked her students across the street to the bank and opened an account for each of them, making sure they all received a passbook. After their accounts grew, she instructed them to open a school store. They sold items such as pencils, erasers, and Cracker Jacks. This was not a money-making business, but a learning lesson for the children, who later used some of the profits to print a small book about it.

As a teacher, Norma felt that “a day without kids is a day without sunshine”. Many of her former students keep in touch with her. They keep her apprised of their successes, share pictures of their homes, and even take their children to visit her.

Norma enjoys her retired life in Florida with her husband and has never forgotten a student’s name. Norma is unable to attend today’s ceremony, but sends joy and happy memories—“My reward is the feedback and success of the students in my care. Thanks to all who are honored in this program. I am proud to be a small part”.

Kathleen Simpson (SHS Class of 1969)

Kathy was born in Springfield, PA where she attended Sabold, ETR and SHS. Her family owned and operated Marra’s Restaurant from 1954 until its closing in 1987. Kathy attended West Chester State College and received her BS in Elementary Education with a minor in Foreign Languages. She also received graduate credits from St. Joseph’s University, Penn State, the University of Pennsylvania and West Chester State University. Kathy has been married for 46 years and has 3 grown children, and 5 grandchildren.

Kathy taught first and second grade full time for 25 years, and now volunteers in her daughter’s Special Education K-1 classroom. As a teacher, she has been recognized for the following achievements:

• Mentoring teachers in the primary classrooms, assisting with classroom management ideas and time management.
• Her 2nd grade classroom is featured in the book : Informational Text in K-3 Classrooms: Helping Children Read and Write.
• She pioneered and conducted workshops within the Springfield School District for Literacy Stations, Co-Teaching, and Inclusion.
• She presented workshops for teachers and administrators on the Everyday Math iProgram in PA and NJ.
• She wrote curriculum and redesigned the first grade curriculum to align with Common Core Standards.
• She was team Leader for First and Second Grade at Sabold and the SLC.
• She helped develop the Elementary Homework Club for Sabold and the SLC to support those children who do not have help at home or who are ELL students.
• She presented Behavior Management Techniques and Strategy seminars for future teachers in SSD and Cabrini College.

Upon retiring from her teaching position in 2014, she became a Teacherpreneur. Kathy now owns and operates an online shop, “Sunshine and Lollipops” where she designs and creates resources for teachers internationally.