McGeary’s Pub in Albany will host a celebration of life from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 3, for the late Michael Corso, a state official, disability activist, storyteller, Ferrari fan and restaurant aficionado who was blind and died in October at age 61.
Admission on Saturday is free. There will be entertainment by the Lustre Kings (outdoors if the weather cooperates), opportunities for attendees to share remembrances of Corso and a-la-carte food and drink. Donations are being encouraged to a scholarship fund Corso established at the University at Albany. The annual Michael Corso ’83 Award is given to as many as a half-dozen academically accomplished students with disabilities to help fund educational expenses or pay for equipment or adaptive technology. Corso earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UAlbany and was president of the student association before going on to a distinguished career with the state Public Service Commission, retiring as its chief consumer advocate. Tom Thompson, a 35-year friend of Corso’s and co-organizer of the celebration of life, said the scholarship fund has almost doubled in value — to more than $100,000 — since Corso’s death.
Last year, a Times Union story about Corso participating in a storytelling event at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall mentioned his lifelong love of cars, particularly Ferraris, which he felt connected to from his Italian heritage but had never experienced in person. The story caught the attention of Saratoga Springs restaurateur David Zecchini, another car enthusiast who has driven racetracks many times. Zecchini called his friend Val Ranguelov, owner of Bul Auto Sales & Service in Colonie, which carries new and used exotic cars. Ranguelov arranged for Corso to meet his first Ferrari.
McGeary’s is located at Clinton Avenue and North Pearl Street.
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