[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15620]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    IN RECOGNITION OF KENNETH BIANCHI, 2017 LACKAWANNA COLUMBUS DAY 
                  ASSOCIATION ITALIAN MAN OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MATT CARTWRIGHT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 4, 2017

  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Kenneth Bianchi, 
who will be recognized as the Italian Man of the Year by the Lackawanna 
Columbus Day Association as they celebrate the 525th anniversary of 
Columbus' discovery of America.
  Born and raised in West Scranton to Deno and Frances Ranakoski 
Bianchi, Ken received his Bachelor's Degree in Education from Mansfield 
University and continued postgraduate studies at Penn State University. 
While at Mansfield, Ken played varsity basketball and spent one year as 
team captain.
  In 1967, Ken began his teaching career in the Line Mountain School 
District in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. He returned to 
Scranton a year later to teach history and physical education at 
Cathedral High School, where he served as Athletic Director. Ken went 
on to teach for the Scranton School District, where he remained until 
his retirement in 2004.
  Ken was head boys basketball coach at Scranton Technical High School 
from 1976 to 1991. In 1997, he became the head coach for boys 
basketball at Abington Heights High School. During his coaching career, 
Ken has lead his teams to victory 747 times, and they made the ELITE 8 
in the state three times, with last year's squad ending up one of the 
Final Four teams in Pennsylvania. Ken's teams have won 22 straight 
District II playoff games and have won the District II Championship the 
past six years.
  In 1985, Ken received a citation from the Pennsylvania House of 
Representatives when his Scranton Tech team won the Lackawanna League 
Southern Division Championship for the first time in twenty years. In 
2005, the Scranton Times-Tribune recognized Ken as one of Northeastern 
Pennsylvania's top twenty-five coaches of all time. In 2006, he was 
inducted into the Northeast Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame. 
The Times-Tribune also honored Ken by naming him Coach of the Year in 
2011 and 2016. He also received The Joseph M. Butler Memorial Award in 
2016 in recognition of his contribution to Scholastic athletics.
  It is an honor to recognize Ken for his outstanding career as an 
educator and coach. I am grateful for all the work he's done to shape 
young minds throughout his lifetime.

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