Maintenance Committee: Ray Russomanno

If you are up early and see a little blue Fiat driving around Niguel Shores, you know who Ray Russomanno is. Ray starts his mornings here at 3:45 a.m. making sure the offices, clubhouse, grounds and beach bluff are ready for another day of work and enjoyment.Ray began at Niguel Shores part time in March 2014, and was promoted to full time in August 2015. He was selected as Employee of the Year in 2014, despite being part-time and not even having worked a full year. He loves the friendly residents and the people he works with in the office and maintenance staff, and he especially likes working all the special events and parties our community holds. Among the maintenance staff, Ray is best known for telling tall tales and his great sense of humor.
Ray was born and raised in Marlboro, New Jersey, the son of Italian parents. When they decided to move to California right before Ray’s senior year of high school, Ray opted to stay in New Jersey to graduate before joining them here in 1989. He then attended Saddleback College. After college Ray moved with his wife and three stepchildren to Flint, Michigan until he was tired of the cold, and decided to return to Southern California.
Prior to starting at Niguel Shores, Ray was a server at Luciana’s Ristorante, where he was well known by Niguel Shores residents for providing great service and a quick wit. He remains friendly with the many residents he met while serving them at the restaurant.
Ray is very athletic. He played baseball at Saddleback and now works out at 24 Hour Fitness every day and runs many of the local beach stairs, especially 1000 Steps in Laguna Beach.
He lives in San Clemente and is happy taking care of his parents with his brother, who all live nearby. Celebrating their recent 50th wedding anniversary, his parents are heading to Italy for two months. Ray confirmed he is a New York Giants, New York Yankees and New York Knicks fan. Proud of his Italian roots, he is also a fan of The Sopranos TV series about New Jersey mob families. He noted that his father’s baseball coach appeared on the show and that his family name Russomanno was a character’s name. He liked hearing his name so much he would replay the show just to hear it again and again. This may have been one of Ray’s notorious tall tales but it was a good one. I enjoyed chatting with another of our hard-working Maintenance Department who keep Niguel Shores an extremely well-maintained community.
—Geoff Dunlevie