The Frezzo family of Washoe Valley honored their son and brother Mike, who passed away from esophageal cancer in 2014, by presenting a naming gift to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada to establish the Mike Frezzo Tech Center for Clubs members ages 5 to 12.
Katie Leao, chief professional officer for the Club, said the Club’s tech lab hadn’t been updated for more than 8 years. The gift includes new furniture and 30 new Chromebook laptops, similar to those used by the Carson City School District.
“We were so excited when Dennis and Lori Frezzo came into the Club to share his son Mike’s passion for technology with our kids,” Leao said. “With the new computers, the kids can do homework and run the academic programs they need for school, in addition to working with our tech programs.”
Leao said the Clubs’ tech programs include physics and math games aimed at introducing kids to foster interest and typing and graphic design programs, and they’re currently offering a robotics class in the lab.
“This is a wonderful partnership,” Leao said. “We are looking forward to welcoming Dennis’ other children to teach a couple of our tech programs over the next year.”
Dennis Frezzo said Mike, the youngest of his four sons, traveled around the world managing audio/visual support for Facebook. Prior to that, he held positions with the City of San Jose and Cisco Systems, and owned his own multimedia and video production service.
“We heard about the Boys & Girls Club from friends, and once we spoke with Katie and understood what their needs were, we were happy to be able to fund a substantial portion of the Tech Center,” Frezzo said. “Mike loved children, and my family and I are proud of this incredible tribute to Mike and his life’s work.”
