Hall of Fame

Robert Biviano was born in August of 1943 in Buffalo, but lived most of his life in Ontario, NY.

Bob graduated from the University of Rochester and taught English at Wayne Central High School for 30 years. He was one of the most popular teachers in the school because he could get the best from his students by showing that he cared about each of them and used humor to keep the class moving. His ability to find a humorous side to any situation could calm tensions at school and on the golf course.

He had two great loves outside of the classroom; he coached the golf team for most of those years and directed three plays followed by the first school musical at Wayne. He continued to produce and direct musicals for 27 years. He even directed summer musicals at SUNY Oswego. His love of theater and golf permeated his life.

He was married to a fellow teacher, Doreen, who was a music teacher at Wayne Central and they had two daughters, Leslie and Alison. Doreen was able to work with Bob helping with music at both the rehearsals and performances of the musicals. And, of course, she was always his favorite golfing partner.

He joined the NYSGA as a volunteer in the late 1980’s and held many offices over the following years including president in 2006 and 2007. He was an expert rules official who was always excited to help players understand the rules. He felt that if he could help one person understand the rules better than that would eventually be passed on to others. In both his career and his work in golf, working with young people was always his favorite endeavor. He always said his favorite tournaments were the junior boys and girls tournaments. Those were his best opportunities to teach the rules to young players.

His expertise in the rules of golf gave him the opportunity to work on USGA tournaments. He was offered the opportunity but had to refuse because his father was ill at the time and family was always the highest priority for him. Eventually Bob became seriously ill with Parkinson’s disease and had to curtail his tournament work. However, even on his worst days he was ready and willing to help officials on difficult rules situations. Bob finally succumbed to his illness on April 13, 2016 and NYSGA lost one of its finest officials.