Wherever this CCAFO recipient has ventured in life, he's made a mark. Professionally, athletically and socially, Joe Arnone can be found at the top of the heap. A native of Western Pennsylvania, The United States Marine Corp and Korean War veteran found his way to the Nutmeg State and Central Connecticut State University. Always involved in athletics in school, he played on the Blue Devils football team during his undergraduate days on the New Britain campus. Graduating with a degree in mathematics and physics in 1959, Joe immediately began a long, distinguished career in coaching. He was an assistant at Farmington High from 1959 to 1962. From there he moved back to his alma mater as an assistant football and baseball coach as well as the school's SID. He became head coach at Bloomfield in 1966, staying until 1969. Later in his career he was the golf coach at Conard High School from 1981-1991 From there he began what would become one of the most distinguished careers in officiating ever to come out of the Nutmeg State. A high school and collegiate baseball umpire for 25 years, he worked football for the Central Board for 25 years. A member of the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials for 24 years, he rose to the ranks of Division I competition in the position of referee. A top rules man, he was the first president when the Connecticut Chapter of the EAIFO was formed in 1984, serving as its interpreter as well. Joe became one of the most sought-after officials in the northeast, and was assigned several out-of-conference games during his career in the south and Midwest. He retired in 1994, working the Division I-AA national championship game, a fitting end to a monumental career. But football was not the only place of distinction. CCSU has heaped several honors and responsibilities on Arnone. A recipient of the Harrison J Kaiser Service Aware, he also received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award, is a member of the Alumni Hall of Fame, is a former director of the Alumni Association and is currently the chairman of the school's Alumni Sports Committee. He retired from the school as an adjunct professor emeritus of physical science and physical education. Arnone holds a master's degree in administration from the University of Hartford, and a sixth-year of graduate studies in physics as a National Science Foundation Fellow. He is currently employed as an evaluator of officials for the NFL.