In Memoriam: Anthony Zappala
In my mind’s eye I can still picture him walking in front of me with his blue Blessed Sac windbreaker and his hat with a feather in it. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is a song that comes to mind when I think of Mr. Zappala. During his tenure as the Director of Blessed Sacrament he always walked all of his guards out on the floor with his head held high. He was so proud of his organization. His girls (Mr. Z’s time was before we let men in the guard) were all SO very proud and honored to walk along side him in all his glory. He is missed terribly to this day. At the end of every single rehearsal; Mr. Z would make us all stand in a company front he’d yell out a “Guard HUT” and we’d all snap to attention. Mr. Z would then give us any updates for the next rehearsal or tell us who owed what for dues that month. He made us a team whether we liked it or not.
He rode on the bus for all of our road trips (no matter how long they were) and kept us “in line”. What most people don’t know is that when the staff said “No”; Mr Z usually said “Yes”. He let us get away with a lot because we worked hard and played equally as hard. He recognized that and gave us some leniency. Mr. Z. was like a kid himself most of the time. He would help us in any way he could if we needed something.
I remember visiting Zippy in the hospital very close to his passing. He was clearly in pain and exhausted and probably a little scared facing his own mortality; but you would never have known by his face when he saw us come in. He put on a huge smile and we walked over and held his hand. We didn’t know that was the last time we’d ever see him again. It was such a terrible day for all of us when he passed away. It was like our second father was gone. A huge part of Blessed Sacrament died with him.
His daughters Dolores and Ann Marie are left to keep his legacy alive.
– Katherine Gallagher
BLESSED SACRAMENT COLORGUARDS
DIRECTOR
Ed Devlin
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Dolores Zappala
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dolores Zappala, President
Ed Devlin
Ann Marie Zappala Valeri
Chris Raichle
Jack Shallow
Michael Hoffmann
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Ed Devlin
Kathy Kerrins
Peg Gallagher
Tammy Coulter
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Ed Devlin
Kathy Kerrins
Peg Gallagher
Tammy Coulter
SAC WORLD STAFF
Jay Murphy
Chris Raichle
Kathy Aruda
Conor Kovatch
Rory Duffey
Larissa Ursprung
Kimmy Marshall
Evan Turner
Fred Marier
Jessica Byrne
Mary O’Brien
Amy Foley
Talitha van de Wijngaard
SAC OPEN STAFF
Lennie Machado
Chris Raichle
Ann Marie Zappala Valeri
Mark McGuire
Bruno Zuccala
Julie McKinnon
Kristen Webber
Alicia Druid
Dylan Nauss
Jessica Lyons
Vanessa Savy
Ryan Bronner
SUPPORT STAFF
Kathy Higgins
Ellie Bogardus
Rick Woodall
Patty Fung
Leo Ryan
Liz Ryan
Danny Falcione
Ann Marie Sirois
Maureen Thistle
Michelle Graham