Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors is proud to introduce you to The Cellucci Family: John, Melissa, Jack and Samantha. The Celluccis work hard, play hard and feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful community.
John is originally from Camden, NJ, where he spent his early years. “I love sharing with people that I’m a rowhome kid from Camden, because it gives me immediate street credit,” he said. John grew up in Camden with his parents, his brother Tom and his sister, Monica. He attended St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral Elementary School. During that time, his family moved to Cherry Hill, NJ, where John graduated from Camden Catholic High School. John was active in several athletic intramural sports teams and, as expected as part of the Cellucci family culture, held a part-time job at a local haberdashery store that sold men’s fine clothing.
After high school, John decided to attend Drexel University to pursue a degree in Marketing. He credits Drexel’s unmatched co-op program for his success and strong career start after graduation. Since then, John has also completed the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business Executive Continuing Education Courses and recently, a West Point Academy Leadership Course.
John has enjoyed a long and successful career in the Commercial Insurance, Consulting and Brokerage business, specializing in Employee Benefits. He works for the second-largest Insurance and Brokerage firm globally. “I love the work I do because I am continuously learning about different types of businesses and their unique business cultures,” John explained. “Healthcare is offered to attract and retain employees, and it is often the highest cost for a company after payroll, so I am closely intertwined with executive decision making.” As far as his future in the industry? John says he still has a “lot of gas in the tank!”
Melissa grew up in Coatesville, and when it came time to choose where she wanted to go to college, she committed to Penn State University in Happy Valley. She earned her degree in Business, specializing in Insurance, then became a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist through the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP).
“My career focuses on early-stage growth companies in digital health,” she explained. “I enjoy it because it’s fast paced and there is so much opportunity for continued growth. A recent career highlight is that my company, Omada Health, recently issued an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on Nasdaq.” Melissa added that she recently began advisory work for a precision medicine company focused on rare forms of cancer and other rare diseases.
Though Melissa and John were busy becoming experts on employee benefits, they soon discovered that the best benefit they would receive was meeting each other while working in the indus- try. “Melissa and I were each working with large, self-insured clients at the time,” John explained. “I was successful in securing large hospital clients in and around New York City, so I moved to Greenwich, CT, for a wonderful opportunity.” John said that after two years of working with Melissa and within eight months of taking the new position in New York City, he asked her on a date to a wedding in NYC.
Melissa agreed to be John’s guest, and that date became the beginning of their love story. John and Melissa dated for about one year before getting engaged in Philadelphia. “John proposed to me just over 25 years ago on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art,” she said. “We celebrated immediately after with a romantic dinner at Le Bec Fin.” The wedding plans began, and the happy couple tied the knot on an unseasonably warm November day at St. Thomas of Villanova Church. They spent an incredible honeymoon that spanned over three weeks and included traveling westto historic Monterey, California, playing golf at Pebble Beach, before traveling to two beautiful Hawaiian Islands and ending their trip skiing at Lake Tahoe. If you’re wondering how John and Melissa managed to pack for sun, sand, skiing and golf, they said UPS was the answer. “We had to do a lot of planning and shipping clothes to our hotels ahead of time,” John laughed.
When it came time to choose where they wanted to live, John and Melissa agreed that they wanted to be centrally located to Melissa’s family in Coatesville and John’s family in Cherry Hill. “John had previously lived in Newtown Square and spoke highly of it,” Melissa said. “Although we were both open to exploring some other areas, I kept coming back to what I call the ‘supermarket test,’ in which you measure an area by how friendly everyone is in the local grocery store.” At the time, Acme in Newtown Square and Genuardi’s (now Giant) in Edgmont were Melissa’s two measuring sticks, and both stores consistently beat out every other location they considered. They began their search, found a home in the Echo Valley section of Newtown Square, and have enjoyed raising their two children there.
Melissa and John’s oldest is Jack, who just completed his freshman year studying Political Science, International Business and Economics at Vassar College. He went to Culbertson Elementary School, Paxon Hollow Middle School and graduated from high school at The Episcopal Academy. “Jack is a very well-rounded young man and feels as though his experience in both public and private schools contributed to that,” John remarked. “He is on
the ski and diving teams and plays squash at Vassar, is a caddy and an avid tennis player at Aronimink Golf Club and is also accomplished in the performing arts.”
From an early age, Jack has been a member of the prestigious Philadelphia Boys Choir, travelling to four continents and seven countries. He has also performed with the Philadelphia Opera Company. Among his other accolades, Jack is fluent in Spanish, recently became a Certified Wilderness Guide and volunteers with Villanova parish’s stewardship program at St. Francis Inn, providing for those in need in Kensington.
Samantha is Jack’s younger sister by two years and a senior at The Episcopal Academy (EA). Samantha also attended Culbertson Elementary and Paxon Hollow Middle School. “Sam is funny and has a strong personality that will serve her well in the future,” Melissa said. “I remember one time when she was just four years old, I tried to get her to share with her brother, and she refused. I tried to threaten her by saying that if she didn’t, I’d take away her bunny, which was her favorite stuffed animal. Sam responded by marching up to her room, grabbing her bunny and bringing it to me by the ear with a ‘here you go,’ dropping it at my feet!”
Samantha is on EA’s crew, tennis, volleyball and squash teams and is involved with Scholium, EA’s monthly newspaper. During the summer, Samantha enjoys working as a lifeguard at Waynesborough Country Club and volunteering with the stewardship program at St. Francis Inn.
Juggling two full-time working parents and two very active kids and their beloved 11-year-old Cavachon pup named Darby, you would think there wouldn’t be much time for community involvement, but the Celluccis make sure they pause to enjoy life and to thank God for their many blessings. John has been a parishioner of St. Thomas of Villanova parish for over 38 years. “I moved here as a bachelor, and though I always enjoyed my faith, I found the average Catholic parish was mostly family-focused, whereas Villanova was an Augustinian and Stewardship Community with over 50 organizations for members to participate in. Habitat for Humanity and Special Olympics were two organizations I decided to join.” John added that in addition to being married at Villanova, Jack and Samantha received their sacraments there and their family regularly attends Sunday Mass.
The Celluccis are also long-time members of Aronimink Golf Club. “We spend a lot of time at Aronimink and have each earned Gold Leaf Designation, which is the privilege to have our names painted with gold paint on a prestigious wooden plaque for a season as an event champion,” John explained. “Melissa is named for trap shooting, I have been named for golf, Jack for swim team and tennis and Samantha for swim team and tennis as well.”
When John, Melissa and the kids want to get away, they love to hit the slopes to take annual ski trips to Vail and Aspen, Breckenridge, Park City and Deer Valley. They also enjoy taking spring break trips to explore new places near and far. Their most recent trip was to The Cloister Sea Island resort on the Georgia coast, which offered five miles of private beach, fishing, three golf courses, kayaking, horseback riding and sailing.
But for as far as they like to go, the Celluccis equally love spending time in their own backyard. Melissa and John appreciate Newtown Square for its proximity within a few minutes to The Episcopal Academy, Aronimink Golf Club and Villanova Parish. “The kids loved being able to walk to school because the Newtown Meadow Preserve sits between our neighborhood and EA,” John remarked. They also enjoy shopping at all of Newtown Square’s local businesses, whose owners have become friends. Melissa and John added that as hectic as life can be sometimes with all the responsibilities and activities, they love to relax at their home surrounded by acres of trees, a creek and a backyard pond. “As busy as we are, we enjoy quiet nights in our neighborhood, walking around, talking to neighbors and appreciating the lush trees, peaceful streams and beautiful landscaping. We are blessed.”
Do you know a Newtown Square family, individual or nonprofit group who should become known by our community? Make your nominations for upcoming feature articles by emailing your ideas to Sheila Turner-Hilliard at STurnerHilliard@BestVersionMedia.com.