William “Bill” Brazill (class of ‘78) and Jared Susco (class of ‘97) are the 2016 East Syracuse Minoa School District Wall of Distinction recipients. The two will be honored during the East Syracuse Minoa Education Foundation’s annual Dinner Dance on Saturday, March 5.
The Wall of Distinction was created to recognize distinguished alumni, staff and community members of the ESM School District who serve as role models for today’s students and demonstrate the importance of making a contribution to our society, our community or their field of work. Inductees are chosen biennially.
Brazill has served as deputy mayor for the village of Minoa since 2002 and as its fire commissioner since 2003. He is a current member of the Town of Manlius Critical Response Committee. In addition, he served a decade as Minoa’s acting village justice.
Brazill volunteered 12 years with the Minoa Kirkville Athletic Association (MKAA), later re-named ESM Youth Sports. His service included a four-year term as President and he was instrumental in not only the name change, but merging several sports into one unified organization. His community service also includes a term as president of the ESM Sports Booster Club and eight years on the board of managers for the East Area Family YMCA.
In 2002 Brazill received the General Douglas MacArthur Youth Award for exemplary service to the youth of New York State. In 2006 he received the George Rees Memorial Award for dedication to the youth of the ESM community.
Susco is the Chief Operating Officer for the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers in Camden, NJ. As second in command and chief of staff of the community-based healthcare system, he is responsible for program execution, strategic realization and organizational capacity.
While he was an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Susco taught in inner-city schools and tutored students.
After working in marketing for PepsiCo, he served with the Peace Corps in Paraguay as a rural economic development volunteer. Jared then studied in Israel and now knows five languages. He later earned an MBA from Emory University, where he received several awards, including being named top student in his concentration.
Susco’s accomplished career path includes serving as a brand manager for Campbell Soup Company and two positions at the University of Pennsylvania as director of operations and administration for the undergraduate division of Wharton School and assistant dean of finance for Penn Dental Medicine.
The March 5 dinner dance event is at Traditions at the Links in East Syracuse. In addition to a sit-down dinner and open bar, there will be raffle baskets and entertainment by the band Prime Time. Tickets are $75 per person or $700 for a table of 10.
All proceeds from the event benefit the ESM Education Foundation (esmef.org). The not-for-profit, volunteer-run Ed Foundation enhances and supports the educational experience for ESM students. To date, the Foundation has funded more than $100,000 in grants that are being used for a number of exciting and innovative programs for students that would not otherwise be funded by tax dollars or state or local funds.
Visit esmschools.org/ESMEFDance for more on each honoree and how to RSVP for tickets to the March 5 event.