Michael Pitek

Jefferson-morgan High School

Class of 1966

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Michael Pitek - Class of 1966 - Jefferson-morgan High School

First Name	Michael
Last Name	Pitek
Graduation Year	Class of 1966
Gender	Male
Current Location	Buffalo, NY
Hometown	Jefferson
Relationship Status	Married
About Me	My life has taken a crazy path through many different routes, as you'll quickly learn. I had entered St. Paul Seminary in 1966 and graduated in 1970. I was assigned to the major seminary, St. Meinrad's in Indiana, and after a short two weeks there, decided that I no longer wanted to be a priest. I returned home and worked at the Youth Development Center. Having directed some shows while in the seminary, I had a great interest in the theatre and decided to pursue that as a career. I then went to graduate school at San Francisco State for a year pursuing theatre studies, with my interest in directing. While there I had learned about the theatre program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I applied and was accepted into their Ph.D. theatre program. I didn't go there immediately because I didn't receive any scholarships, so I went back to Jefferson and the YDC to work and earn money for grad school. In the fall of 1976 I began my studies at Madison, and switched from the Ph.D. program to an M.F.A. professional program in directing. I received my M.F.A. in 1976. While at Madison, I met my future wife, Catherine Reich, a M.F.A. student in Costume Design. We got married in July 1976, and moved to St. Louis, MO. Cathy was working at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis as assistant costume designer and I got hired as the house manager. I was quickly promoted and rose up the ranks from house manager to assistant general manager to associate producer and finally to managing director, leading this theatre and it's two million dollar operations. During this time I was also functioning as the artistic director of the Imaginary Theatre Company, the theatre's touring company. I left St. Louis in 1981and took a position at the Kenyan Festival Theater as it's Producing Director. While here I was able to work with such well known actors/actresses as Joanne Woodward, Jane Curtin, Treat Williams, Jonathan Winters, and yes, I got to meet Joanne's husband, Paul Newman! While there we produced a play, Candida, that had a limited run on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre. I left Kenyan and was named Managing Director of the Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, NY in 1982. After my first 60 days in Buffalo, I produced a new event for the city, Curtain Up!. This event, an example of event marketing, celebrated the opening night of not only one theatre, but that of the city's theatre district which include 12 different theatre. Curtain Up! was celebrated in three acts: a pre-show black tie dinner under a tent on Main Street followed by opening performances at the 12 theatres, culminating in an opening night party in the streets that ran until 2:00 am. That first Curtain Up! was so successful that the event has become a cultural right of passage each Fall and will be celebrating its 39th annual event in September 2020. After leaving the theatre in 1984, I founded my own event production company. During these past 36 years the company has evolved. I have had the wonderful opportunity to work on many exciting projects, met and worked with a number of fascinating people, including the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Lady Margaret Thatcher. In addition to producing events of all sizes, I have also planned and produced corporate meetings and ran motivation programs. I also have developed a number of training programs. I served as presentation coach for Fisher-Price for ten years. I also developed a number of programs in creativity and innovation and worked as an innovation coach for Colgate-Palmolive for 10 years. I was on Cornell University's adjunct faculty for their Management Development Program in New York City for ten years teaching "Thinking Outside the Box: Innovation and Creativity." I continued my education by becoming an executive coaching and have been certified by the College of Executive Coaching. I have received many certifications in a variety of psychological assessments and leadership development instruments including: Myers-Briggs Type Instrument, the KAI creativity styles indicator; the Herrmann Brain Dominance Indicator (HBDI); DISc; the WorkPlace Big Five; Emotional Intelligence; the VIA (Values in Action); The ExPI (measures Executive Presence in leaders); and the LTPI (measuring high performance teams). I have had the opportunity to work on four different continents doing what I do with individual leaders and corporate teams. Often I will be retained to work with dysfunctional teams and asked to coach leaders. Some of my most recent engagements included working with a large team of 167 for the US Embassy in Mozambique in 2016. In 2018 I worked for the US Embassy in Eswatini, formerly Swaziland. One of the most exciting things I've been able to do, and with my first-born son, Scott, is to travel to Croatia and Slovakia in search of my ancestors. We spent 3 weeks searching for family, and we found living relatives in villages where my great grandparents lived. This was a dream of a lifetime! My wife and I have been blessed with five wonderful children and we have six grandchildren all under the age of six, and we are enjoying them so much. I'm quasi retired and focusing on my painting and some coaching opportunities when they arise. It's amazing to look back over the years and see that I have been able to weave all of my interests togeth...(read more)
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