Commissioner Giovanni Graceffa, the newly elected chairman of the board of fire commissioners of the Syosset Fire District, announced this week that Frank Vasile has been appointed to the board of fire commissioners. Commissioner Vasile was chosen by the Board to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Commissioner and previous Board Chairman Ronald Geraci, who has accepted a full-time position on the District's staff. The board also unanimously voted to have Commissioner Graceffa, who had previously served as vice chairman, to serve as the board's new chair.

"I look forward to working with Frank Vasile in his new role as fire commissioner", said Chairman Graceffa. "His combination of fire service, business, financial and community service experience make him an asset to this board, the dedicated men and women of our fire department and the citizens of the Syosset fire district that we were all elected to represent."

"I am both very excited and extremely humbled by this opportunity to combine my business and financial background with my experience as a volunteer firefighter serving this community as I take on this new challenge", said Commissioner Vasile. "One of my priorities for the balance of this year will be to further increase communications between the board and the district and the people we have all been chosen to serve - the citizens of this community and equally importantly, the men and women of the Syosset Fire Department who give so much of themselves to this community."

Frank Vasile grew up in the Woodhaven section of Queens, where he was very active in community groups including the local chamber of commerce and St. Thomas the Apostle church. He attended St. John's University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance. He went on to spend 15 years in positions of increasing responsibility in the banking industry, focusing his efforts in mortgage banking and related areas. In 2004, Vasile left the banking arena to become a founding principal in Precision Land Services, a Melville-based firm specializing in title insurance and transaction settlement services. His firm now provides services in 41 states and is about to open a new office in New Jersey.

He and his wife, the former Alicia Camacho of Muttontown, have three children and have lived in the Syosset Groves section of town since shortly after their wedding 15 years ago. Frank has served as a volunteer sports coach for his children over the years in addition to being a member of the Syosset Fire Department's Engine Company No. 5, headquartered on South Oyster Bay Road, for the last thirteen and a half years.

Frank was first introduced to the volunteer fire service shortly after he moved to Syosset by one of his new neighbors, Anton "Tony" Chalus, an ex-captain of Co. 5 and former Syosset Fire Commissioner himself. "When I first moved here from Queens, I was seeking an outlet to both continue my interest in community service and to meet new friends in town", said Commissioner Vasile. "Until Tony explained the whole system to me, I had no idea that the area's fire service was provided by volunteers. I had always had an interest in taking the firefighter's test when I lived in the city and I now had an opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do while establishing strong ties to my new community. I am very grateful to Commander Chalus for introducing me to the Syosset Fire Department and hope to make him proud as I enter this new position."

Commissioner Vasile will serve out the balance of Commissioner Geraci's five-year term, which expires at the end of this year. An election will be held this December for a new full five-year term.