CITIZEN OF THE YEAR: Joseph J. Booan, Jr./Leader At CCS, Leader Today

 1-1-10 

Joseph J. Booan, Jr., assumed leadership positions early.
He was quarterback for the CCS Redskins, (and ran track and threw discus.)  And he was junior and senior class president.
He believes the nurturing he received at CCS – from Mrs. Kerr, English, Mr. Good, science, guidance counselor Bob Hage and Coach Ted Kantorowski, among others – led him to choose a career in education.
(The eldest, he must have provided an example for his siblings:  Theresa Schmidt is an assistant principal and Alisa Garner and Jimmy are teachers, all in Virginia.)
Joe was born in Springfield, Mass., and spent his early years in Middletown, N.Y., but fondly remembers his summers and holidays in Cooperstown, visiting his grandparents on Irish Hill.
His dad, Joe Sr., and mother, Carol, soon moved the family north, where he was a social worker for the state Division of Youth, then at Broome Developmental in Oneonta; she worked at Thanksgiving Home, then for years at the Hall of Fame.
He received his B.A. from Springfield College, a master’s in psychology from SUNY Albany, and another master’s in educational leadership from Lynchburg College in Virginia, where he first taught (and met his future wife, Lisa, also a school psychologist; they have two children, Katie, 15, and Carmen, 12.)
Joe’s great-grandfather, recently arrived from Italy, helped build the D&H, and settled his family in Cooperstown.
Joe’s grandfather, Carmen was a telegraph operator and, when that line of work tapped out, worked for years at Church & Scott, then at Pioneer and Main. 
When Joe Sr. brought the family back, Carmen provided him with a lot from the family parcel on High Street.
So when his grandmother died, Joe Jr., dearth to allow the properties to leave the family, moved his family to town and has been rehabbing the original Irish Hill home.
He joined ONC BOCES, first as supervisor of special ed, soon promoted to the Otsego Area Occupational Center in Milford, and recently promoted to one of two directors under BOCES Superintendent of School Nick Savin.
He led the ticket in a four-way race for two village board seats last March.