Tom Salerno tells people where to go

 

Need directions?

 

Just visit Tom Salerno '72 of New Kensington.

Live too far away to go see him, or don't want the long distance phone call?

 

Then visit his web sites where Salerno outlines highway construction at

http://www.nb.net/~tsalacri/pgfhtrav.html, which show all of the major highways and exits for the Pittsburgh area; and http://www.nb.net/~tsalacri/phtproj.html, which describes all construction sites in most of western Pennsylvania.

 

"The pages offer a free direction service," he explains. "I have always been interested in anything travel oriented and I think these pages work out quite well."

 

So does the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" newspaper. It has featured the sites in the "Neighborhoods-East Section" and Steve Creddy named it one of his "Way Cool Web Sites" in an Aug. 4, 1996, edition. The pages have been recognized with a "Best of Pittsburgh Web" seal.

 

Salerno is not a computer science major. Instead, he was in the second graduating class of the College of Business Administration. Currently, Salerno sells school buses for Blue Bird, but he has held several jobs.

 

Following graduation he joined Mellon Bank for four years before leaving to pursue work as a salesman for a number of companies. One was Calivar, where he sold aerial work platforms in a district that stretched from Maine to North Carolina. Another was the Capital Resource Group for leasing and financing. For Calivar, he sold aerial work platforms in a district that stretched from Maine to North Carolina. In his current position with Blue Bird, he handles an area that stretches from Erie to New Castle and across the state.

 

"Clarion's business program got into the practical aspects of running your own business," he says. "It helped me develop an entrepreneurial attitude. I think this is the most practical attitude. I would like to see more of this aspect taught, rather than corporate business, because I think that is where business is headed."

 

It was while Salerno was working for Capital Resources Group that he became fascinated with computers and the internet. "I studied HTML, which allows you to create an internet page," he explains. "I was always fascinated with directions and hoped I would turn this interest into something at the commercial end."

 

The result are his two pages. From a practical aspect, Salerno felt he had the background to provide this information.

 

"Being on the road as much as I am, I see what is going on and I realize the need for directions," he says. "I wanted my efforts to be used as a reference page. Travel is one of the better venues on the internet for frequency of visits."

 

Salerno is married to the former Kathy Michalegko, who attended Clarion in 1972 and 1973. They have three children, Mitch, who was expected to receive a degree in chemistry from Wheaton in May; Kimberly, a junior at Geneva College; and Scott, who attends Trinity Christian High School.