John Manura ‘69

Q) Why did you join?
A) AZ had a great reputation for scholarship and leadership and it was a “dry” fraternity. I was impressed by the professional and good moral character of the brotherhood the first time I visited AZ.

Q) Tell us about your favorite memory of the fraternity
A) I met my wife, Margaret, at an AZ social. We will be married 35 years this August. I had a great time preparing and decorating for the formals and the social activities that AZ offered.

Q) What kind of influence has the fraternity had on your life since graduation?
A) My life has taken quite a change from what I had originally planned. I had always wanted to be a research chemist. After grad school at Rutgers University, I took a job at the NJ State Police Crime Lab in charge of research and development and the instrumentation laboratory. It was a great job doing exactly what I liked – research on problem forensic cases in all areas including drug analysis, toxicology, arson investigation, physical evidence identification and explosives. I was even able to publish about a dozen technical publications during my term there. Along the way I started to repair the mass spectrometers and other scientific instruments in the lab and started to do some work for a few other organizations on the side. Within a few years I had started a side business, which became full time about three years later. I had never planned on getting into business; it just turned out that way. The professional environment that I was exposed to at AZ and the social skills I learned during that time have been very beneficial in my growth in the business environment. The professional environment at AZ, the coat and tie dinners and the formal chapter meetings have prepared be for the business environment. Unfortunately I now spend most of my time doing human resources, accounting and marketing functions and spend little time in the lab doing research.

Q) With whom do you still stay in contact? Who would you most like to find?
A) I met Marshal Carothers and his wife a few years ago when I was doing a trade show in New Orleans. I hope to hear from some more of you to get reacquainted.

Q) Tell us about your family: Have you married? Do you have children?
A) Margaret and I will be married 35 years this coming August. We have two children. My daughter Michele graduated from Messiah College in business education and now has an internet business selling Christian costumes and table cloths. My son David received a BS in Chemistry and Computer Science and then an MS in Computer Science from Lehigh University. He has how joined my company and is running the IT department as well as writing software for the equipment we design and build. He also helps at trade shows and is starting to learn the ropes of running the business.

Q) What other activities or organizations were you involved with during your college days?
A) I was also involved in the Penn State Outing Club and the Photography Club.

Q) Tell us about a memorable time with your roommates.
A) What I remember most are the late night “bull” sessions with Jim Stout and other members of our pledge class.

Q) What do you do for a living?
A) I started a business called “Scientific Instrument Services” (www.sisweb.com) to service and repair scientific instruments as well as sell accessories for these systems. We now have 27 people in the company and have just celebrated our 25th Anniversary in business. I do a little of everything relating to business including selling, marketing, accounting and personnel. I have done a lot of technical writing on the research that we have done in our applications lab.

Q) What affiliations do you currently have and/or public service do you participate in?
A) I recently became the president of the Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Ringoes, NJ. My personal goal in this new position is to grow our congregation. I will be using some of the ideas I learned during pledging at AZ as well as the business skills I have pickup up over the years to achieve this goal.

Q) What hobbies do you enjoy?
A) I have managed to get back into woodworking after a long absence. Most of time has been devoted to the family business the past 25 years and I did not have time for any hobbies. When we moved into a new home about 2 years ago, I rebuild my workshop and have taken the time off for a few new projects. I just finished an entertainment center for the family room and a desk and bookcases for my new den.

Q) What are your goals for the next few years?
A) My main goal over the next few years is slow down my activities in my business, turning over more and more functions to my co-workers and hopefully my son. This will give me more time to devote to church activities and my renewed hobby of woodworking.