ILMA Compoundings February 2017 - 40

PORTRAIT
Mike Damiani
ILMA Board of Directors Member
"I once had a baseball coach tell me when I was a
young player that 'baseball isn't just a game, it's a
metaphor for life; we dress alike, we follow the rules,
we run in circles, there are winners and losers, and
suddenly it's over.' I remember thinking to myself -
Man, that's pretty profound, but I just want us to win
the game today."
THE JOY OF THE GAME
"I've always had a love for athletics and competing. I've competed
in everything from auto racing to weightlifting. I firmly believe that
I wouldn't be the person I am today without the experience of competing in youth athletics, especially football and baseball. When
my son, Michael, turned five and was able to sign up for the local
football team, I couldn't wait to help out as an assistant coach.
I've been coaching football ever since, including this past year
when I coached Michael's new middle school football team. I think
football teaches you about every aspect of life; it's an individual
game, a team game, a thinking game, a physical game, etc., and
at the end, you look up at the scoreboard to see if you won or lost.
It teaches kids lessons they'll need in life to succeed. It taught me
those lessons! I plan to continue coaching football and enjoying
the time I spend between the lines. It's where, for a couple of hours,
I get to forget my real-world problems and the only thing that matters to me is the enjoyment and athletic improvement of the kids I
work with, even if it is just for a few days a week."

HANDS OFF!
Mike Damiani (left) coached his son, Michael's (right) 12U Sanibel Island (Florida)
All-Star baseball team this past June. Damiani also coaches his daughter, Makayla's,
Little League baseball team.

FIRST JOB
"My first "real" job was at Radco Ind. Inc. and started when my
father asked me if I would like to work part-time during the
summer of '84. By now, Radco had grown into its third location
- Lafox, Illinois. On my first day, I reported to the shift foreman,
who promptly issued me a broom and a paintbrush. My job was
to keep the plant floor swept and the pipes dust-free. I was not
allowed to walk through the front door but was instructed by my
father to enter through the plant employees' entrance around
the side of the building. It was the beginning of my education in
the chemical industry, starting from the floor up!"

"It's standard fare around the Radco Industries Inc. offices to keep
Mike away from any electronic devices: copiers, printers, computers,
anything with an on/off switch. Anything electronic I get near seems
to jam, break down or malfunction in some way. I've never even
been able to wear a watch for an extended period of time. You see,
I was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, where I spent my childhood
with my parents in a small, New England-style home. My father
was the local high school chemistry teacher, and my mother was
finishing up graduate school, so our friendly next door neighbors,
Betty and Barney Hill, would occasionally watch me when my
parents' schedules overlapped. You might recognize the Hills as the
famous couple who claimed they were abducted by aliens in 1961
while returning late one night to their New Hampshire home. Their
story was made popular in a book and the subsequent movie. I've
always wondered if my "bad luck" with electronics was due to some
galactic energy field I picked up from my time spent with the Hills."

HOW I MET LISA
"My wife, Lisa, and I were set up on a date through a couple of friends who were dating. Lisa is a vocalist, and I play bass guitar (There's been
some talk of getting an ILMA member rock band together to play at the meetings - I'm in!), so on the first night we met, it's no surprise that
we started talking about music right away. At one point, I mentioned the well-known musical fact that in most bands with female lead singers (aka Heart, Blondie, The Pretenders), the lead singer ends up with the bass player. That didn't go over so well, and I didn't get a proper
goodbye that night, much less a goodnight kiss. It took two weeks of me constantly calling her before she agreed to go out with me again.
Luckily, though, she finally 'said yes.' In fact, I just took Lisa to her first Bruce Springsteen show. She was impressed! I love the Boss!"

FEBRUARY 2017

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ILMA Compoundings February 2017

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