Tony grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana.
He comes from a home of two hardworking parents.
Tony was encouraged to pursue excellence in
athletics and academics by his parents who were
the first in their families to receive both
Undergraduate and Advanced degrees.
Tony was one of the rare dual sport athletes
in college which made for no off-season. He
was a 4 year starter in football and a 2 year
starter in baseball. He was a Pac-10 Champion
in both sports. He was 1st Team All Pac-10 and
a Consensus All American in football. He was
also on the cover of Sports Illustrated. View... |
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Tony
holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Media
Arts from the University of Arizona (1994),
which he finished in only four years. He began
pursuit of his first masters degree while still
playing ball in college and completed it while
playing in the NFL, a Masters of Arts in Literacy
and Education from the University of Arizona
(1997). After a prolific college career, Tony
went un-drafted. He fought his way onto the
Tampa Bay Buccaneer roster in the NFL after
being cut the last week of training camp. His
career lasted four years in Tampa. |
| He played several years under
the well-respected and Super Bowl Championship
coach Tony Dungy. After the NFL, like many other
professional athletes, he did not make enough
money to retire. He had to decide what to do
next. He began a new business, and through that
experience, he felt he needed more business
knowledge to reach the same heights in the business
world as he did in athletics. While working
full-time, he pursued and acquired a Masters
of Business Administration from the W.P. Carey
School of Business at Arizona State University
(2005) at the age of 32. |
| While owning his first business,
Tony had a novel idea on developing a stackable
cup that dispenses with an attached lid. After
receiving customer interest in a multi-billion
dollar industry, Tony wrote a business plan
while getting his MBA. He won grant money from
Arizona State University, and then raised private
funds to start his company. Tony is Chairman
and CEO of Halo Cups, Inc., a distributor of
the patented and award-wining SwoopCup™.
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Tony and Allison have two
children.
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In addition, Tony has served on
the University of Arizona National Alumni Board
of Directors and is past Vice President of the
University of Arizona Maricopa County Black
Alumni Association. He was also inducted into
the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame
in 2000 and has his name in the Ring of Honor
on the facade of the Arizona Football Stadium.
In December 2007, Tony was diagnosed with Stage
4 Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma. Tony underwent
chemotherapy in the spring of 2008 to eliminate
the cancer from his body. In May 2008, Tony
had a PET Scan that showed no cancer. As a cancer
survivor, he knows tomorrow is not promised
and now dedicates his life to the service of
others. |
Tony
has been married to his wife, Allison, a former
school teacher, for almost 7 years. Despite
all of his athletic accomplishments, he and
his wife are most proud of their two beautiful
daughters. They reside in Anthem, Arizona.
Tony and his family are members of Christ Church
of the Valley in
Peoria, AZ. |
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| Michele
Celentano Photographic Artist Copyright ©
2008 |
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INTELLIGENT,
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP
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