Catching up with Peter Spinella
Peter Spinella is a multi-talented Huntington alumnus with a unique ability to restore, and rebuild, custom cars. Quick-witted, engaging and well-spoken, he was one of the more popular students, maintaining an extensive network of friends in high school, including many relationships that continue to this day.
A member of Huntington High School’s Class of 1998, Mr. Spinella attended Hofstra University where he majored in marketing and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1992. He was pegged for success by his teachers along the way and has met every expectation.
During high school Mr. Spinella was part of a tight knit group of friends. He kept his grades up and like many students, participated in the Blue Devil athletic program. “In high school, I played lacrosse as a freshman, and was moved to varsity as a sophomore,” he said. “I played through my junior year until I was injured, that ended my lacrosse career.”
Despite periodic hounding from members of the wrestling coaching staff, Mr. Spinella never joined his friends on the Blue Devil varsity team. He did show up at most meets and later attended college with Gregg DePasquale, a county runner-up for the Huntington wrestling program. The two remain close today.
With his athletic career behind him, Mr. Spinella turned his attention toward another pursuit. “In my senior year of high school I began restoring an award winning muscle car, a 1966 Chevelle Super Sport,” he said about a passion that lives on today.
While attending Hofstra, Mr. Spinella worked full-time as a commodities broker, specializing in electronic components. “I was in this field for five years, becoming highly successful in this international trade,” he said. “Some of my clients were Nokia, IBM, GM, and Motorola. This opportunity gave me a sound stage for my career in account sales.”
While at Hofstra, he also began dating a former Huntington classmate, Rosemarie Arecco. The pair married in September 2007 after six years of dating. “We went on a fantastic honeymoon to Italy and Sicily, and purchased a home in Fort Salonga this past summer,” he said.
Mr. Spinella continued his work as a commodities broker into 2004 when he changed direction and joined Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, beginning a career as a sales representative for the worldwide company.
“Currently, I am continuing my career with Pfizer, and continuing my personal career as a custom car builder,” he said. To date, he has built three award winning custom cars: A 1966 Chevelle Super Sport, 1965 Corvette Convertible and a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. “My latest project is a 1963 Corvette Resto-Mod, expected to be finished in spring 2008,” he said.
His marriage to his former classmate, Rosemarie is off to a great start and Mr. Spinella speaks about her with pride. After her high school graduation, she, too, went on to attend Hofstra and since then has embraced her own passion, demonstrating a real gift at mark-up artistry.
“She attended the Gloria Francis School of Beauty, and was trained as a professional make up artist and esthetician,” Mr. Spinella said about his wife. “After receiving her New York esthetician license, she worked as a private make up artist for many local Long Island and New York City clients, as well as doing make up for wedding parties and special events.”
Today, Mrs. Spinella is manager of R.J. West, a high-end spa and make up studio in Huntington Village. “She specializes in exotic European facials, make-up consultation and education, and is one of the most well know make up artists on Long Island,” Mr. Spinella said.
Through the years graduates of Huntington High School have gone out into the world and demonstrated talents and abilities in virtually every area of human endeavor. Peter and Rosemarie Spinella can be counted among this group as proud members.
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