Daniel J. Wawrzyniak
Vice President of Plans and Operations
Daniel Wawrzyniak comes to Wil-
liamson with demonstrated skill in
managing, supervising, and leading,
gained while serving 20 years in the U.S.
Marine Corps.
During his service, he “greatly en-
joyed making Marines” at the Marine
Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, Ca-
lif., as a series, company, and battalion
commander. He said, “I gave them their
Marine foundation at Boot Camp and
now I will be making ‘Williamson men’
in my new position here.”
He was the operation officer respon-
sible for deploying and employing the
Marine Air Command and Control
System (MACCS) to Kuwait and Iraq
for the I Marine Expeditionary Force’s
“March to Baghdad” in support of Op-
eration Iraqi Freedom. It was the largest
MACCS deployment in Marine history.
He served as the project officer for
the Marine Corps’ Air Defense Weap-
ons Systems, including the Stinger
missile and the revolutionary Comple-
mentary Low Altitude Weapons System
(CLAWS), at the Marine Corps Systems
Command. He was the first CLAWS
program manager and secured its first
Program Objectives Memorandum
funding.
He was also executive officer for the
Marine Air Control Group 18 in Oki-
nawa, Japan, where he directed staff ac-
tivities.
When Wawrzyniak retired as a lieu-
tenant colonel after 20 years of service,
he went to Lockheed Martin in Moore-
stown, N.J., as a business developer and
program manager.
When he married Melinda “Mindy,”
she gave up her teaching career so he
could pursue his military career. He re-
turned the favor by retiring from Lock-
heed Martin so she could pursue her
dormant teaching career and became a
“house husband.” She is now head of the
Center School, an elementary school
for children who learn differently, in
Abington, Pa.
When his friend, Trustee John Law-
ton, gave him a tour of Williamson, he
liked what he saw very much. He says ,
“The Lord led me to Williamson. I’m
very impressed with the people here
and the school’s mission. I like the sense
of service and that all of us are working
toward a common purpose. I couldn’t
be more thankful for the opportunity to
serve here and hope I can do things that
make at least a small difference in the
lives of our students.”
Wawrzyniak earned a bachelor’s de-
gree in electrical engineering at Vil-
lanova University on a Naval ROTC
scholarship and a master of science
degree in electrical engineering at the
Naval Postgraduate School.
He and Mindy live in Horsham and
have two children, Madeleine, who is a
cadet second class at the U.S. Air Force
Academy in her senior year, and Bren-
dan, a sophomore in the Marine Option
of the NROTC at Villanova University.
Wawrzyniak’s father also attended Vil-
lanova University on an NROTC schol-
arship and served in the Marines.
Wawrzyniak grew up in Marlton, N.J.,
and attended Cherokee High School.
5
Daniel Wawrzyniak
He serves on the American Legion
Post #10 in Ft. Washington as vice com-
mander and president of Legion Riders,
a group that rides Harley motorcycles to
raise money for charity. He also is a vol-
unteer at the Delaware Valley’s Veterans
Home, enjoys model railroading, and
works on his “Honey Do” list. Earlier he
was a woodworker and furniture maker
and his son’s Little League coach.
Irene Parastatidis
Program Coordinator, Office of Institutional Advancement
Irene Parastatidis, joined the Office
of Institutional Advancement in Sep-
tember as a program coordinator after
serving since January as a grants and
research intern, assisting in grants writ-
ing. Over the summer, she filled in for
Sheretta Burnett, the data management
specialist, who was on maternity leave.
Her duties include providing admin-
istrative, technical, and professional
support for the Advancement Office’s
day-to-day operations, the vice presi-
dent, and the gift officers.
Parastatidis grew up in Broomall
and attended Marple Newtown High
School. She graduated from Neumann
University with a bachelor of arts de-
gree in psychology with a minor in
criminal justice in May.
At Neumann, she played on the wom-
en’s rugby team, was on the Club Sports
Advisory Committee, and was a mem-
ber of two honor societies.
While a high school junior, she
worked at TJ Max in Broomall and in
college worked at Marshalls in Spring-
field. For the last six years she has been
a fruit sales associate at Edible Arrange-
ments in Media.
Parastatidis says at first it was a little
difficult getting used to an office setting,
but she has adjusted to it and enjoys her
work at Williamson very much.
She has been a semi professional
dancer in the Macedonian Greek Dance
Group since she was 5-years old, per-
forming at festivals, weddings, and
baptisms. She teaches Sunday school
to sixth graders at St. Luke Greek Or-
thodox Church in Broomall and for two
years has volunteered as a counselor at
Camp Good Shepherd. Irene Parastatidis
experience in the machining field that I
have a lot to offer the young men.
“I have gone full circle and am back af-
ter leaving 30 years ago. My dad always
said he’d see me back at Williamson one
day. My wife believes very strongly in
Williamson and she is fully supporting
me in this great opportunity.”
Ney’s wife, Ann, is his childhood
sweetheart. They live in Tremont with
their miniature dachshund “Bowser.”
A Free Mason, he belongs to Swatara
Lodge No. 267 F & AM in Tremont.
In his free time, he enjoys long walks
with his wife, spending time with his
wife, dog, and family, and learning ev-
erything he can about the machine tool
technology trade. Harold “Butch” Ney 8W7
Harold ‘Butch’ Ney ’87
Machine Tool Technology Instructor
Harold “Butch” Ney 8W7 comes to
Williamson as the machine tool tech-
nology instructor with 30 years experi-
ence in his trade.
Ney grew up in Tremont, Pa., and
graduated from Pine Grove Area High
School, where he pursued academic
courses and played basketball. He en-
tered Williamson in 1984 and studied
machine tool technology.
After graduating, he became a tool
maker at Zemco Tool and Die in Tower
City, Pa., and then spent ten years as a
tool maker at the Hershey Co., in Her-
shey, Pa.
After taking some electrical courses
at a vocational-technical school, he
worked awhile in the electrical field and
then went back to being a toolmaker at
East Penn Manufacturing Co., in Lyon
Station, Pa., where one of his responsi-
bilities was training workers in the use
of wire EDM machines. He then was a
mold maker at Brentwood Industries in
Reading, Pa.
When he learned of the instructor po-
sition in Williamson’s Machine Shop he
jumped at the opportunity. Ney said, “I
always thought it would be nice to be an
instructor at Williamson. I studied ma-
chining as a student at Williamson un-
der Carmen Martella [Williamson’s late
director of machine tool technology]
and we kept in touch over the years. I’m
enjoying being back at Williamson as
an instructor and I know with all of my