BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      The 48th Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame Banquet will be held Sun., May 3 with 12 new members set to be enshrined during ceremonies at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center, 7440 South Ave.
      Boom Boom Mancini, former world lightweight champion of the world and current International Boxing Hall of Fame honoree will serve as guest speaker.
      This year’s Contribution to Sports Honoree is Boardman resident Greg Gulas, a Campbell native and 1972 graduate of Memorial High School.
      Born on Dec. 2, 1954, Gulas played baseball for the late Mike Kish, earning three letters for the Red Devils from 1970-72.
      He attended Youngstown State University, earning his bachelor of arts degree (speech and drama) degree in 1977.
      While at YSU he played baseball for legendary coach Dom Rosselli (1973-76), serving as a student supervisor in the Intramural Department while writing for the school newspaper The Jambar and its Spanish news counterpart, The Polyglot. He also worked in the sports information office under former Sports Information Director Greg Sbaraglia.
      Gulas earned his MA in English (sports administration) from Ohio University (1979) and while there, served his internship in the public relations department of the Cleveland Browns.
      When his internship was completed, Gulas gravitated to his first love, radio, where he served as executive producer of The Pete Franklin Sportsline at WWWE-AM/1100 Radio in Cleveland in the late 1970’s, making many valuable contacts along the way and connections that he uses today some five decades later.
      Gulas also served as the producer of both the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavalier radiocasts for legendary play-by-play man, Joe Tait.
      On February 29, 2012, he retired with nearly 35 years of service at his alma mater, YSU, a journey that began as its sports information director, took him over to the Division of Student Affairs and continues today as a T-COMM instructor in its Speech & Communications Department.
      His love affair with the YSU began in the middle 1960’s when he watched Dom Rosselli’s Penguins play basketball at the old South High School Fieldhouse, continuing that association when they moved to both Struthers and later Austintown Fitch high schools.
      Upon receiving his MA in 1979, he returned to YSU as its sports information director, a post that he held for nearly 17½ years from 1980 to 1997. He was credited with developing an archive for its 22 male and female intercollegiate sports, was a member of the planning committee for its Athletics Hall of Fame while later chairing the selection committee; a post that he held for nearly 10 years.
      His love for the post was reflected in his work as he inherited a two-drawer file cabinet and supply chest and through his diligent research and tub-thumping over the years, turned the sports information archives into one that was readily available with answers to many historical questions when requested.
      Working his entire tenure in athletics without a full-time assistant, he was a one-man operation for his first 12 years. Youngstown State has never had such an energetic, knowledgeable sports information director as Gulas.
      He was responsible for all publicity, updated statistics, programs and press guides for all men’s and women’s sports and is credited for all of the research that led to the updating of all record books for its men’s and women’s sports, as well as the developing of their all-time rosters. The latter project has made it easy for both the athletics administration and school’s alumni office to better identify and track former athletes, their successes, moves and subsequent employment that have taken place since their graduation.
      His tenure as SID still ranks as the longest of all SID’s at the school and in 2005, was honored with selection to the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
      His very first basketball publication was judged “Best in the Nation” for both content and cover in the Small College Division by CoSIDA (the College Sports Information Directors of America) while his football publication two years later was Best in the Division in both categories as well.
      When Rosselli stepped down as the school’s head baseball coach after the 1985 season, he served as its head diamond mentor during the 1986 and 1987 campaigns on an interim basis.
      On July 1, 1997, he accepted the Coordinator of Student Activities position (in the Student Affairs Division) and completed nearly 16 years in that division, rising to assistant director prior to his retirement.
      He was the school’s Homecoming Advisor (1998-2011); oversaw the Greek System (he was Advisor to its Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils, and Greek Campus Life organizations as well as several other registered student organizations including, but not limited to Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity (his brotherhood).
      Gulas oversaw its many leadership programs; has served on and chaired a myriad of selection committees while leading the charge to bring national concerts like 98 Degrees, Three Doors Down, Joe Cocker and the Violent Femmes, among others to the Beeghly Center stage.
      Gulas has helped spearhead no less than 15 North Side area weekend clean-ups over the years with volunteers recruited taking no less than 250 truckloads of debris and four truckloads of mulch (from cutting down trees and branches) from the area.
      He is a five-time winner of the Libra Award (the year’s Most Outstanding Advisor), has earned “Mentor of the Year” laurels twice while also receiving the Gillespie-Painter and Charles McBriarty Awards as well.
      Because of his undying devotion to YSU’s Greek system, the YSU Greek Campus Life organization (of which he has served as Advisor since his arrival in the Student Affairs Division) has named their Annual “Advisor of the Year” award in his honor.
      From 2009-10, Gulas served as the APAS (Association of Professional & Administrative Staff) Grievance Chair and has helped coordinate and conduct four (basketball, volleyball, baseball/softball and football) referee clinics at the TCI (Trumbull County Prison Facility) site for members (and non-members as well) of his Long Distance Learning Communications class.
      He also was responsible for coordinating George ‘Shotgun’ Shuba’s appearance at the site as well – a visit so well-received that he was asked to return with the late area Major League Baseball star twice again in the future.
      For nearly 35 years he has served as a sports reporter for The Vindicator; writes weekly sports and special interest columns for The Boardman News; was instrumental along with lifelong friend, Ken Brayer, in helping start the Campbell Memorial Athletics Hall of Fame (his alma mater, of which he and Brayer were inducted in 2008); serves as Chair of the Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame Selection Committee (a post that he has held since 1989) while writing all biographical information on all inductees for both the Curbstone Coaches and Trumbull County Sports Halls of Fame.
      Gulas is ALWAYS there to champion the cause for local athletes, making sure current/former student-athletes (scholastic, collegiate or professional) and administrators are recognized when recognition is due.
      In addition to his aforementioned accomplishments, he has found the time to author and co-author two books; My Memories as a Brooklyn Dodger, about former Dodgers World Series hero George ‘Shotgun’ Shuba and Kelly ‘The Ghost’ Pavlik (with fellow YSU alumni, David Morgan); a book about Youngstown’s middleweight “Champion of the World.”
      Upon his retirement from YSU, Gulas served as athletic director at Lowellville High School (2013-14).
      He is also a three-time recipient of the YSU “Distinguished Service Award,” earning that honor in 1999, 2005 and again in 2010.
      He is married to the former Michele Bush and they are the proud parents of two daughters; Meghan Ann, a 2003 BHS graduate and Heather Lynn, a 2006 Spartan alum.
      Tickets for the Curbstone event are $60 each and $480 for a reserved table.
      Further information can be obtained by calling Mike Murray, ticket chairman at (330)-565-7820, or by visiting the organization’s website at www.curbstonecoaches.org
      The 2015 Curbstone Hall of Fame class includes Phil Adams (softball), Larry Davis (tennis, coach), Pat Gaia (special award), Tim Graham (bowling), John Linden (all-around award), Bill Narduzzi (posthumous/football), Pat Narduzzi (football), Bob Patton (basketball, coach), Earnie Shavers (boxing), Sherri Skelton (bowling) and Kenny Smith (baseball).