By Jason J. Marchi, Courier Correspondent
“I’ve
always had a goal in sight,” says North Haven resident Steve Mirabella
when speaking about his youth, his career, and his newest
aspiration of running in the 2009 New York City Marathon to raise
money for the Boomer Esiason Foundation to help find a cure for those suffering from cystic
fibrosis.
While growing up in East Haven,
Steve was driven to do well in school and, once at Notre Dame High
School in West Haven, he became an honors student. He accomplished an
even higher academic record at UConn while studying to become an
accountant when he was graduated magna *** laude. When it came time to
earn his master’s degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he earned
a 3.9 grade-point average.
Steve’s first foray into the
business world was as a staff accountant at a major accounting firm in
New Haven “and then I spent 19 years at Northeast Utilities [NU],” he
says, first in the audit department where he advanced into management.
He then capped off his service to NU as the director of human resources.
“I left NU in 1999 to join one of my
friends and neighbors in a local accounting practice,” Steve notes,
which he decided to leave when the opportunity presented itself nearly
eight years ago—via his father—to work for New York Times
bestselling author Nicholas Perricone, M.D., who turned a total body
and face rejuvenation wellness system into a company that now employs
some 70 people.
Today, Steve is chief administrative
officer at Perricone M.D. Cosmeceuticals and, during his personal time
when not committed to raising his
family (daughter Alyssa, 19, and
son Matthew, 14) with his wife of 25 years Maria Mirabella, he keeps in
shape by running—a fitness pursuit he took up just five or six years
ago when age 50 was fast
approaching.
Things remained status quo until
Steve’s neighbor, attorney Anthony DeChello, suggested that instead of
running alone on his home treadmill he think about running in 5K road
races.
After the first 5K road race, Steve
was hooked. Over the past two years he’s run in more than 25 road
races, three half-marathons, and he experienced the thrill of finishing
his first 26-mile marathon in Vermont this past May.
To challenge himself even further,
Steve decided he wanted to run in the 2009 New York City Marathon, but
found the qualification process somewhat daunting. He discovered he
could get a guaranteed starting position among some 40,000 runners,
however, if he represented a
qualified charity.
“It dawned on me I could raise money
for the [Norman] Boomer Esiason Foundation, which was founded by the
famed football quarterback whose young son has cystic fibrosis,” Steve
explains, since his own younger brother, Vincent, now in his mid-40s,
has been living with the disease since childhood.
“My original plan was to raise
$4,000,” Steve says, but when his letter to friends, neighbors, and
colleagues brought in $5,000 the foundation asked him to raise the bar.
“They wanted me to try for $10,000, but I felt more comfortable aiming for $7,500,” Steve notes.
As of Sept. 3, the official
charity
website tracking Steve’s fundraising progress showed he broke the
$6,000 level and he’s now ranked as the number two fundraiser for Team
Boomer.
“Running is my true respite,” Steve
explains of his commitment to running in races and marathons. “It’s my
time to unwind, leave the Blackberry in the car, and have no
interruptions. It’s beneficial for my health and I can raise money to
help others.”
To nominate a Person of the Week contact Jason Marchi at j.marchi@shorepublishing.com or 203-245-1877 x6166.
To sponsor Steve’s run to help find
a cure for cystic fibrosis, to track his fundraising progress, and to
see the results of the marathon, visit
www.firstgiving.com/stephenmirabella.