Joseph Fiorita, graduate of Danbury High School, founder of Fiorita, Kornhaas, and Company, which continues on Deer Hill Avenue in Danbury.

Deno Macricostas had help building his start-up into a $2 billion company, and he hasn’t forgotten one person who was there at the beginning.

That’s why the Macricostas family started a scholarship to honor Joe Fiorita, the CPA who offered guidance in the early years of Photronics, a Brookfield-based technology company that is now an international leader in electronic manufacturing.

“I was just an immigrant boy,” said Macricostas, who was born in Greece. “Photronics was a four-year-old company, about $2 million. I knew nothing about projections and spreadsheets. Joe helped me get a loan from Danbury banks. He was my mentor in those years.”

Their families became friendly and Fiorita was the first member of Photronics’ board of directors. At the time, Macricostas still owned a pizza restaurant where he made and sold pies to raise money to start Photronics.

“I didn’t pay him anything initially,” Macricostas said. “I had another friend on the board who worked for Perkin-Elmer as a chief engineer. So those two guys, we would have meetings and after we got through the meeting, we used to go down to my pizza place. We’d have pizza and a Heineken. That was the pay. We go way back.”

Deno’s son, George, who is now the Photronics CEO, referred to Fiorita as Uncle Joe. Fiorita also joined the board of George’s start-up company, Raging Wire.

“We were just starting out,” George remembered. “We had no revenue, just an idea. And we were burning through money. Joe gave us advice on how to create the corporation and how to structure it. He was very creative, generous with his time, and always helping people.”

Deno Macricostas founder of Photronics and creator of The Joseph Fiorita Milestones to Success Scholarship at a book signing event.

Fiorita died in 2021 at age 77. He had founded Fiorita, Kornhaas, and Company, which continues on Deer Hill Avenue in Danbury. The Joseph Fiorita Milestones to Success Scholarship will issue one to two grants each year to Danbury High School students who enroll as freshman at WCSU in a major that is part of the Ancell School of Business.

Fiorita was a graduate of Danbury High School, where he played football and served as class treasurer. He maintained his roots in the city along with many relationships.

“I called him Mister Danbury,” Deno said. “He knew everybody. His friends were all from Danbury. And when we used to go to lunch, everybody went by our table. They used to talk to him because he knew everybody. I don’t care if we were at a steakhouse or a diner. Everybody knew Joe Fiorita.”

The scholarship also fits with the Macricostas family beliefs in other ways.

“Education opened my horizons,” Deno said. “I saw opportunities, opportunities all over the place. And Joe was with me every time. And everything he did, he gave his heart. It was even more important than friendship. I knew I could depend on him. He wouldn’t let you down.”

The Joe Fiorita Milestones to Success Scholarship is held at the WCSU Foundation, Inc. To support the scholarship, contact Lynne LeBarron at Lebarronl@wcsu.edu or (203) 837-8188.

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