BURRILLVILLE – A longtime athletic director and truant officer for the Burrillville School District was recognized this month by the Rhode Island Interscholastic Athletic Administrators’ Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award
John Abbate received the award at the organization’s annual banquet, held at the Cranston Country Club on Thursday, April 9.
It is the latest of many honors for a well-known school employee who started work for the district more than three decades ago.
A Woonsocket native who was an All-Division and All-State football player at the city high school in the early 1970s, Abbate attended Western Connecticut State College and the University of Rhode Island. After college, he took a job with the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families at the training school in Cranston in 1978. There, he created and facilitated a nationally recognized youth awareness program for incarcerated youth called “Project Peer.”
He assumed the role of truancy officer in Burrillville in 1992, adding the title of athletic director to the mix after his retirement from the state in 2007. Bronco athletes would go on to receive athletic championships in nearly every sport under his tenure.
Abbate has also served as a high school football referee, officiating several R.I. Super Bowls during his career.
He was an active member of the Rhode Island Football Officials Association for more than 30 years, and served as their president from 2010 to 2012. He also served on the Board of Directors for two terms and has been a chairman of several of the association’s committees. Abbate has also been the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s state representative on the NFHS Football Rules Committee.
Abbate was inducted into the Providence Gridiron Club Hall of Fame in 2017, and is also in the Rhode Island Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He has received the Special Football Official Award, and the Providence Gridiron Club’s Lou Cimini Award for Outstanding Football Official two years in a row.
He received the Burrillville Police Department’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, the same year he received RIIL’s Distinguished Service Award.
Burrillville Supt. Michael Sollitto noted that while Abbate no longer serves as athletic director, he still works for the district as the attendance officer. This week, Sollitto congratulated his colleague on what he said was a “much deserved” award.
“During his tenure as Athletic Director, his professionalism, dedication, and commitment to school-based athletics was obvious,” said Sollitto. “He established and maintained strong relationships with school administration, coaches, and student athletes that led to a successful athletic program and positive experiences for our students and for the Burrillville community.”
Congratulations old friend! Well deserved!