Each year the Association names one or two outstanding Alumnus as the recipient of an Outstanding Alumnus Award to be presented at the Annual Banquet.

The Recipient(s) of the award shall be honored by the Association at the banquet held as a part of the Annual Membership Meeting, and shall have their photograph mounted and displayed in Bellaire High School along with past recipients of the Award.

Nominations may be made by any member if the Association by writing in letter form the name of the person to be nominated, the field of endeavor in which they have excelled, and an outline or resume of their achievements, activities and other accomplishments which brings honor to themselves and Bellaire High School. All written nominations must be submitted to a member of the Board of Trustees, or postmarked, not later than the second day of January of the year in which the award is to be given. 

The Bellaire High School Alumni Association Outstanding Alumnus for 2014 was F.William Banig, Class of 1971.  Mr. Banig was recognized for his work in the field of governmental affairs. 

Bill was born and raised in Bellaire in the heart of the Ohio River Valley. He began his education at Rose Hill Elementary in Miss DiNardo’s kindergarten class where he made many lifelong friends. He continued to Central for grades 7 & 8 and was in the last class to attend Central School. Bill is a member of the BHS Class of 1971 where he played football and ran track for 4 years.  He served as President of the Beta Hi-Y and Secretary of the Alpha Hi-Y, was a member of the Pep Club and took part in the Senior Class Play and Class tournaments.

Bill attended Kent State University where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration (Industrial Relations) in 1975. After graduating from Kent State, Bill returned to Bellaire where he was employed as an underground coal miner for the North American Coal Company Quarto #4, Bill worked as a roof bolter and a long wall helper. He is a member of the UMWA Local Union 1785.

In 1978, Bill went to work for the International Union of the United Mine Workers of America in Washington, D.C. In his 36 years as a member of the UMWA’s staff, Bill has held a number of different staff positions in the UMWA’s legislative and political departments.  Additionally, during his tenure he has served the UMWA as the Administrator of the President’s office and as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary-treasurer. In 1999, Bill was named the Director of Governmental Affairs.  In this capacity, Bill oversees the UMWA’s legislative and political agenda on the International, Federal, and State levels.

Bill is a registered lobbyist with the United States Congress and is a registered NGO (Non-governmental Organization) with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Control.  As as NGO, Bill has participated on the UNFCCC since Berlin COP1 in 1995 to December 2013 COP 19 meeting in Warsaw, Poland.  His work as an NGO has taken him to every continent except Antarctica.

In Washington, Bill has led the UMWA’s legislative efforts on issues ranging from the environment, health care; mine safety to labor rights.  Bill is also a member of the Executive Board of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department.  Of all the issues in Washington, D.C. and around the world, he is most proud of his involvement in passing legislation in Congress protecting the health care of over 100,000 retired coal miners and their families, some who live in Bellaire and the Ohio Valley.

Bill is Vice President of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades department, a board member for the Unions for Jobs and Environmental Progress (UJEP) and NGO United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Bill married his high school sweetheart, Carla Williams, the President of the the Class of 1972, on August 31, 1974. The couple resides in Gaithersburg, MD and has two children, Adam Banig and Aubrey Banig Ciatto. Granddaughters Laia and Scarlet Ciatto complete the family. Bill and Carla attend Epworth United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg. His hobbies include working out (spin classes), commuting in D.C. traffic and travel, including 36 years of frequent trips top Bellaire.

Through it all, Bill has always remained loyal to his Bellaire roots of hard work and loyalty instilled to him by his parents as a young man. Bill is the son of the late Richard A. Sr. ’42 and Doris Harper Banig ’42. He is the youngest of the Banig clan—Brother Richard Jr. graduated in ’65, Ron in ’66 and sister Christy Marinacci in ’68. His in-laws are the late Victor Williams ’48 and Donna Wright Williams ’50.

A motto that he has always followed during his career is from an old labor song, “To know where you are going, you have to know where you came from.” Bill came from Bellaire.

PAST RECIPIENTS

2014 F. William Banig '71, Government

2013 Robert I. Wallace '55, Education, Humanitarian

2012 Thomas Poe ‘68, Banking & Civic

2011 Dr. Charles T. Mehlman ’80, Medicine

2010 Kathy Hyett ‘71, Public Relations

2009 Martin F. Goetze ‘54, Health Care and Executive Management

2008 L. Dean Giacometti, ‘38, Education

2007 James B. Piatt '83 , Higher Education

2006 Donald A. Ostasiewski '58, Higher Education

2005 Daniel Frizzi, Jr. '70, Civic

2004 Gary Hill, Education

2003 Nancy Crooks Karvellis '66, Business 

2002 Walter M. Calinger '57, Education

2001 Dr. James E. Austin '51, Dentistry

2000 Terry Allen Wallace '65, Administration

1999 Jules J. Duga, Ph.D. '49, Technology and Society

1998 Emil George Riedel, Jr. '50, National Security 

1997 Dr. Rose Z. Starr '60, Teacher/Social Worker

1996 Judge John J. Malik, Jr. '46, Law 

1995 Joseph A. Pitts, Sr., D.O. '49, Medicine

1994 Donald M. Knox '50, Education

1993 Alan E. Riedel '48, Law/Business 

1992 Thomas E. Rataiczak '64, Education

1991 Robert L. Hill '49, Law/Public Service

1990 Daniel Howard Simpson '57, Govt./Public Service, U.S.Ambassador

1989 Dr. Samuel Evans '57, Intl. and Public Insurance, Adjusting, Consulting

1988 Nelson Lancione '36, Law

1987 Metta Miller '69, Advertising/Business

1986 Charles Tod Goodwin '31, Athletics/Military Service

1985 Kelley Archer '40, Civic Achievement/Law

1984 Dr. Peter Lancione '28, Medicine

1983 Benjamin J. Belt '11, Education

1982 Don Ault '47 and Joe Ault '53, Athletics

1981 Mary Fitch '31, Civic Achievement;  Lou Mahacek '31,Commercial Art

1980 John Nosker '29, Banking 

1979 Hilda Humes Burrows '22, Public Service/Education

1978 William R. Yost '44, Major General, U.S. Air Force

1977 A. G. Lancione '24, Ohio State Representative

1976 J. E. Giffin '16 and Lela Daugherty Giffin '14, Banking/Americanism

1975 Albert V. Noice '17, Banking/Education

1974 James DeBlasis '49, Artistic Director, Cincinnati Opera

1973 Frank W. Ault '39, Captain, U.S. Navy

1972 Velma Workman '14, Education

1971 Joe Mack '16, Public Service

1970 David Myers Creamer '23, Medicine

1969 Michael Basrak ‘31, Coaching/Education

1968  George Tyler ‘23, Law; Eleanor Tyler ‘29, Education

1967 Oliver E. Miles ‘25, Business

1966  Dr. W. J. Shepard ‘09, Medicine

1965 Robert Frank Aldridge, Business

1964 Dr. J. F. Wilkinson ‘10, Medicine

1963 Dr. George W. Watt ‘27, Chemistry

1962 Nick Skorich ‘39, Professional Football Coach

1961 Alfred Garrett ‘24, Education

1960 Navy Lt. Raymond H. Dick ‘38, Atomic Powered Submarines

1959 Rabbi Feinberg ‘16, Author

1958 Lane W. Lancaster ‘10, Political Science

1957 James H. McGregor, Education

1956 Walter Russell ‘10, Bio-Chemistry Research

1955 Mabel Cratty 1884, National Secretary, YWCA

1954  Bessie Hoge 1884, Missionary

1953 Erven Somerville ‘26, Major, U.S. Army