About 500 family, friends, fellow employees, city, county and state representatives gathered last Saturday night to honor County Administrative Officer Stell Manfredi. The event was held at Holy Spouses Hall located at St. Joachim's School. The theme for the evening was, "Together We Made A Difference."</p><p>Life-long friend, Madera County Supervisor Ron Dominici and Manfred's brother, Ron Manfred served as Masters of Ceremonies.</p><p>Large screens were set up at each end of the room showing scenes from the life of Stell Manfredi.</p><p>The welcome was given by Dominici. During the welcome, Dominici introduced a surprise guest who traveled from the Los Angeles area to attend Manfred's retirement celebration, Sister Kathleen Mary, a former teacher at St. Joachim's who taught both Manfredi and Dominici.</p><p>The invocation was given by Father Larry Toschi. Nadine Sagouspe led "God Bless America."</p><p>The program began during dinner with a video featuring county employees, supervisors, former supervisors and friends. Some shared a funny memory, others offered advice for a happy retirement, all acknowledged their gratitude to Mandredi who had become a mentor and a friend.</p><p>The video also featured several skits, musical selections and a funny hat.</p><p>A presentation was made by Assemblymen Mike Villines, Tom Berryhill and Senator Jeff Denham.</p><p>Another video featuring members of Manfredi's family was presented. In this video Manfredi's 94-year-old father, Stelio Manfredi, who was in attendance, shared his thoughts about his son. He told stories about Stell growing up and about his school days. "I'm pretty proud tonight," he stated.</p><p>Patty Manfredi followed the video. She spoke about her husband's life with the county and then about the next chapter in his life, retirement.</p><p>Ron Manfredi had the honor of introducing his brother, Stell. He told the crowd that Stell has worked with 21 supervisors, has served 38 years with Madera County and served the last 19 years at CAO. In fact, Stell was one of two of the longest serving CAO in California. Manfredi said his brother had patience and dealt with issues in a consistent manner.</p><p>"Stell is known and respected as a leader in Madera County and in the state," Manfredi stated.</p><p>Stell Manfredi was raised in Madera. He attended St. Joachim's Catholic Grammar School, graduated from Madera High School in 1963, attended Fresno City College and graduated from California State University, Fresno in 1968 with a degree in Business Administration and minored in economics. His Post Graduate Studies was in Public Administration.</p><p>Manfredi served with the United States Naval Reserve in DaNang, Vietnam from 1969 to 1970.</p><p>He began his career with Madera County in 1971 as an administrative analyst until 1974. From 1975 to 1979 he served as Administrative Analyst II. He was appointed to the position of Assistant County Administrative Officer from 1980 to 1990 and then he became the County Administrative Officer in 1991 until his retirement in September 2009.</p><p>As Stell Manfredi took the podium, the 500 plus crowd came to their feet in a standing ovation showing their respect and appreciation for Manfredi's commitment and devotion to Madera County.</p><p>Manfredi began by noting that his ethics, values and the basic knowledge of right and wrong he learned from Sister Kathleen Mary.</p><p>"This is not about me, but about a successful team," Manfredi stated.</p><p>He told about his beginnings with Madera County and shared memories of times along the way. He attended more than 1,900 Board of Supervisor meetings. Stell thanked his family, especially his wife, Patty, for understanding all the late nights and all the calls and late dinners.</p><p>Stell Manfredi was devoted to Madera County. He loved his job and it showed in all he did and the legacy he left behind.