WHEELING — The Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival celebrated both its Italian American of the Year and some accomplished area students during a dinner held Wednesday night at Undo’s West in St. Clairsville.

Longtime educator turned automotive executive Tom Fato, the 2023 Italian American of the Year, was honored along with students from across the Ohio Valley. This year, 11 scholarships were awarded to students from Belmont, Brooke, Hancock, Jefferson, Marshall and Ohio county.

Each student received a $1,000 award. Recipients included: Anthony Arnold, Madonna High School; Douglas Butts, Union Local High School; Camden Daley, Steubenville High School; Giana Falbo, The Linsly School; Gregory High, Brooke High School; Megan Huff, John Marshall High School; Megan Malin, St. Clairsville High School; Lydia Mascio, Weir High School, Ellie Reasbeck, Wheeling Park High School; Abigail Starkey, Indian Creek High School; and Paytyn Tucker, John Marshall High School.

Each student offered their gratitude to the festival board for the monetary support upon hearing their name announced. Some students spoke about their own Italian heritage.

“I am very proud of my Italian heritage, so this truly means a lot to me,” Falbo said during her speech.

Many students also shared how honored they felt to be chosen out of such a wide pool of applicants.

“There are so many students in the Upper Ohio Valley that are so worthy of this scholarship so just being chosen as one of the recipients means a lot,” Tucker said.

Tony Filberto, chairman of the festival, said he hopes the scholarships act as a way to educate students about their Italian heritage, while also pushing them to give back to their community.

“A lot of them have Italian heritage and they will be exposed to the hard work that the people who put this festival on do,” he said. “I hope that they give back in some way and appreciate the efforts that have come about.”

This year marks the Italian Festival’s 40th anniversary, This year’s festival is slated for July 28-30 at Wheeling’s Heritage Port.

Fato also took to the stage to congratulate the recipients and thank the board for their decision in naming him the 2023 Italian American of the Year.

Fato is a native of the Ohio Valley, originally from Steubenville.

“In this community, he was surrounded by family and friends that exercised a strong work ethic and had a strong sense of pride in all that they did. Furthermore, he learned to treat everyone with the respect that they deserved. His family dedicated their lives to not only taking care of each other but also serving and improving their community. These lessons learned have served as guiding principles for Tom’s life as he continues the work of his family and strives to improve our community for future generations to come,” according to festival information.

Fato graduated from West Liberty State College in 1969 as an accomplished two-sport athlete in baseball and football. He was later inducted into the West Liberty Athletic Hall of Fame. He served as an educator and coach for 34 years around the Ohio Valley. He started his career at Mingo High School and ended at Wheeling Park High School in 2003.

Upon his retirement, he immediately joined Straub Automotive, serving as vice president to his wife and president, Ginger Fato. During his tenure with Straub, he expanded the business from a single franchise to a dealership group with more than 200 employees.

In all areas of Fato’s career, he prioritized and benefitted the Ohio Valley and its residents.

He supported many local organizations including The Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, WVU Medicine Wheeling and Reynolds Memorial hospitals, The House of the Carpenter and Catholic Charities.