dent and CEO of Upper
Allegheny Health System,
the parent company of
Olean General and
Bradford Regional hospi-
tals. A son of the late
Austin Finan, a professor
of finance at St. Bonaven-
ture for 42 years, Finan
practically grew up on
campus. His career would
take him to the Buffalo
area, where he held execu-
tive positions in the health
care industry, but a chunk
of his heart stayed behind.
down here is that Bonnie
basketball is part of your
DNA," said Finan. So when
he returned to the region
six years ago, he was proud to accept a
seat on St. Bonaventure's Board of Trustees,
and thrilled to be a regular again at the
Reilly Center Arena.
that I remember going with my father to
the Olean Armory to watch the Bonnies."
was known as the University Center. The
year was 1966, a year after Rinker gradu-
ated from St. Bonaventure, and the seat
he settled into for that inaugural contest
in the new arena is the same one he sits
in today. "I've had the same season ticket
all this time," he said.
friends. He's also been a season ticket
holder for the women the past couple of
years. Rinker can't get enough of Bonnie
basketball. To fill the off-season void, the
longtime Bonaventure Athletic Fund con-
tributor even hosts a summer picnic for
players and coaches at his Cuba Lake cot-
tage.
men and the women's incredible
run through the Atlantic 10 and
Bonnies were again the talk of the town,
and for all the right reasons.
Bonaventure doing great this year,'" said
Rinker. "And they started going to games
again."
Greater Olean Area Chamber of
Commerce, bristles at the question.
else to do in Olean," said Yanetsko. It goes
much deeper than that, she said. It's per-
sonal.
you go to a Christmas gathering at the
house of somebody who knows the
Schmidts and, oh my gosh, there are two
or three players there," said Yanetsko. "So
we feel that the Bonnies are part of our
family. It's like watching one of your kids or
your brother playing."
remembers when she and her sister were in
high school and their mother would drop
them off for games. Now, Yanetsko and
her husband, Tom, accompany their kids to
games. Daughter McKenzie, who just com-
pleted her sophomore year at Olean High
the school's basketball team,
is a regular at men's and
women's games in the RC.
pening at a bigger school in a
bigger city: Some of the
Bonnies returned the favor.
and then, in turn, three or
four of them would go
watch the Olean girls team
play," said Yanetsko. "I
thought it was really neat
that they would do that. You
do feel like they're part of
your family."
when she started working at
Hickey Dining Hall in 1992
and the woman training her
offered some advice: "She
told me, Sharon, these stu-
dents are only here for four
years. Don't get attached."
"You can't help it," said Veno. "You
and I loved being there when they need-
ed something in the dining hall. I had a
few students who called me mom -- I
could almost cry."
should see the sports room in my house. I
have posters and pictures, and I couldn't
tell you how many albums I have, all full
of clippings from newspapers and photos
I've taken."
the diagnosis would keep her out of the
RC. "I knew something was wrong, but if
I went to the doctor and it was broken, I
wouldn't be able to go to games," she
said.
her home in North Olean, a three-mile trek.
When she did finally see a doctor, she
learned she had, in fact, broken a bone in
her foot.
for the Bonnies is as strong as ever. And
her husband, Carl, works at the friary on
campus, so she still has a connection.
2
O.S.F., at a special dinner the sisters and staff at the
Allegany Motherhouse hosted for members of the men's
and women's basketball teams.