Joseph Brandi

Joseph Brandi has been selected as the 2021 Italian-American honoree for the Greater Patchogue Foundation, Patchogue Italian Feast of Saint Liberata! Well done Joe!!

Joseph Brandi, PMHS Class of 1966 was a multi-sport athlete at PMHS who went on to become a highly accomplished high school teacher and coach, and a prolific community volunteer and leader in his lifelong hometown of Patchogue. Brandi not only captained and earned MVP honors on many of his PMHS teams in football, soccer, and basketball and baseball; he was also an extremely popular and excellent student and active leader. He continued his successful multi-sport career at Suffolk Community and Brockport State Colleges, then  began his teaching and Connetquot schools. 

 
Over a span of 33 years, he accomplished unprecedented successes for many of that district’s teams. His freshman boys’ soccer teams achieved a spectacular 20-year run of 13 undefeated seasons and six with only a single loss. 
 
In 1976 he started the first girls’ track and field team and went on to win 15 league or conference championships. In 1992 he took over a boy’s varsity soccer team that had won only a single championship since 1967 and in his first year led the team to the county playoffs. Within two years the team developed into one of the top squads in Suffolk, winning several league championships.
 
 During the many years that Brandi worked in the Connetquot schools he also served the Patchogue-Medford community, where his three children were all outstanding student-athletes. He coached in the PYAA baseball league, the North Patchogue soccer and basketball leagues, the girls’ summer varsity soccer league team, and ran basketball clinics for the Village of Patchogue. 
 
After retiring from the Connetquot schools in 2005 as one of their all-time winningest coaches, Joe was able to donate even more of his time and efforts to the Patchogue-Medford community. He designed and erected two  “Welcome to Patchogue” signs with all advertising money going to local charities. He built floats for local holiday parades and the river boat parade and, at the request of Mayor Paul Pontieri, took on several village responsibilities that he continues to fulfill to this day, as a code compliance officer and housing inspector. As the fundraising chairperson of the Knights of Columbus he has helped many charities such as the Stony Brook Children’s Cancer Hospital and local veterans’ homes, outreach programs, soup kitchens and food pantries.  At 68 years young, Joe Brandi still rides his bicycle around his neighborhood making sure the community is safe.