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Peter Scotese, Chairman Emeritus,
FIT Board of Trustees
On May 4, at its Annual Scholarship
Dinner, UCE-FIT presented the
2004 Friend of Education Award to Peter G. Scotese,
Chairman Emeritus of FIT's Board of Trustees. Born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1920, Peter Scotese never knew his
father, who died that same year. His mother struggled to support
her four children, but finally enrolled Peter, then 8, in a school
for orphaned boys. There, he washed dishes, cleaned buildings and
waited tables. When he graduated, he was near the top of his class
and a member of the National Honor Society. Later, he worked in
real estate and insurance while studying accounting and business
at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania at night.
He did bookkeeping and worked part-time in a restaurant to help
support his mother and sister. Following service in World War II,
having been awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, he
began a career in textiles beginning in Indian Head Mills of New
York. Scotese joined Springs in 1969 as the first non-family
president in the company, which was organized in 1887. During his
12-year tenure, sales tripled, and earnings more than quadrupled,
earning him the title in 1983 of Textile Man of the Year. Mr. Scotese has been an outstanding supporter of FIT's workers since
he became a member of the college's Board of Trustees.
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