contact & committee members
Bocce Invitational Committee Members
Frank Valanzola
Invitational Founder
Frank has been in the Financial Services industry for over 15 years. As a Branch Manager for Morgan Stanley, a Vice President of Private Client Services at Bear Stearns and a Vice President, Financial Advsior of Global Wealth Management at Citi Smith Barney. Frank has contributed to charities and non-profit organizations as Vice President of The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame , committee member of Ridewise, a division of Somerset County Business Partnership, a founding committee member of Operation Shoebox New Jersey and recently appointed budget & finance committee member of Holy Family Academy-an all girls Catholic High School in Bayonne, New Jersey.
Frank J. Provenzano
Somerset County Sheriff
A lifelong resident of Somerset County who resides in the Borough of Raritan with his wife Lou Ann. Sheriff Provenzano joined Bridgewater Township Police Department in 1968 and retired in 2001 as Captain of the Administration Division. As a member of Bridgewater Police he has seen all aspects of police work from road patrol to working under-cover assignments in the detective bureau and the Commander of Emergency Service Division, which included, SCUBA, Heavy Rescue and Haz-Mat. He was an assistant coordinator for the Somerset County Emergency Response Team, hostage negotiations unit. He is a graduate of 2002 National Sheriffs’ Institute Executive Development Program, sponsored by the National Sheriffs’ Association and the National Institute of Corrections. Frank is also the President of the New Jersey Sheriff's Association.
Patrick DeChirico
CWO-USMC
Co-Treasurer
Pat served 45 years United States Marine Corp.(reserve/active). He served in Southeast /West Asia, Japan, Thailand and many other countries. He served as a Embark, Logistics, Intel and Counter-Terorist Officer.He is the Commandant of Det. 927 Marine Corps League he also serves as a District Vice Commandant MCL. He is also the President of Chapter 452 VietNam Veterans of America , a member VFW Post8390 and American Legion Post 159 . Pat resides with his wife Susan in Stockton, New Jersey. Pat is also the Director of Operations at Operation Shoebox New Jersey.
Mark Szczecina
Sergeant Somerset County Sheriff's Office
Co-Treasurer
Sergeant Mark Szczecina joined the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office in 1992. He is an instructor for Project Lifesaver,a group responsible for over 1,000 search & rescue missions for wandering victims of Alzheimer's Disease, Autism, Down Syndrome and related dementia type orders. He is also a member of the Honor Guard Team as well as a team leader for the Special Response Team, which was created in 1997 as a weapons/entry component for the Correctional Response Team. SRT is dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of Somerset County buildings, properties, residents, and employees. Sergeant Szczecina was awarded the Sheriff’s Office Exceptional Duty Award for his work during Hurricane Floyd in 1999, the World Trade Center attack in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. He also received the Meritorious Award in 2000 for capturing a fugitive wanted for attempted murder.