Joseph P. Hand, '54 was born in 1936 and raised in the Lawncrest section of Philadelphia.  The values instilled during 12 years of Catholic education at St. William's Elementary School and Northeast Catholic High School have followed and served him for a lifetime.

Unbeknown to Hand, early choices he made were the start of a lifetime of service to others. Hand’s service to the community began with his acceptance into Philadelphia Police Department in 1959. During his tenure in the police department, Hand received many commendations for his heroic efforts. He is credited with saving multiple lives during a subway fire; he was promoted to Detective in the department’s prestigious Intelligence Unit; he was gifted with a key to the City of New Orleans for his assistance in apprehending a sniper; and he was continuously entrusted with the well being of Presidents, Governors, Mayors and other VIP’s as they passed through the City of Philadelphia. Despite an illustrious career with the Philadelphia Police Department, a serious heart attack in 1975 cut short any thoughts of continuing in this field.

Fortunately for Hand, he had begun paving another path in 1964 when he became a charter member of the Cloverlay Corporation. Cloverlay helped make a young Olympic boxer named Joe Frazier the heavyweight champion of the world. This membership developed into the creation of his own business, Joe Hand Promotions, Inc., in 1971. As his company evolved into one of the premier sports promotion companies in the nation, Hand continued to give back to the community.

Hand continued to feel compelled to do more. Thus the idea of the Joe Hand Boxing Gym began in 1983. It took one dilapidated building, twelve years and thousands upon thousands of Hand’s personal dollars to see the gym open and functioning in 1995. Initially his goal was to build the finest boxing gym and community program in the city. After developing the best amateur boxing program in the United States, Hand began to do even more.

Hand saw the gym as a stepping-stone for many kids. He created a place for kids to learn about competition and accomplishment within themselves. And it worked! The Joe Hand Boxing Gym was a fast success, turning a desolate area of the city into a vibrant hub of activity. Hand realized the prestige of having the gym win four National Golden Gloves Championships within five years, as well as the pride in seeing team members represent the United States at the past two summer Olympic games.

It was during this time that Hand discovered the kids needed something more than just a place to train. They needed encouragement with their school studies and access to technologies that weren’t being afforded them. So Hand solicited some help from area unions and corporate friends, cleared space in the gym, and in April of 2000 the Joe Hand Boxing Gym evolved into the Joe Hand Boxing Gym and Computer Center. Hand dreamed of seeing children from all over the city entering his gym to not only hone their athletic abilities but also their scholastics skills. He fulfilled his dream and takes great pleasure in seeing children come to the gym with a gym bag on one shoulder and a school bag on the other. Hand offered a less fortunate neighborhood access to a 19-station computer center. It is not unusual to see children using the computers with their boxing hand wraps still in place.

Recognition of Hand’s work began in 1992 when he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. 1996 saw Hand recognized by the World Boxing Association as the Closed-Circuit TV Promoter of the Year. In 1999 he was named the Veteran Boxers Association Man of the Year. 2000 saw Hand inducted into the Pennsylvania Golden Gloves Hall of Fame. That was followed in 2001 by his induction into the Middle Atlantic Boxing Associations Hall of Fame. 2002 was a banner year for Hand when he proudly accepted the prestigious Philadelphia Sports Congress’ Community Service Award as well as being honored by the Philadelphia 76ers as a Hometown Hero. Honors like these, as well as his current Induction into NECHS Hall of Fame for Community Service fuel Hand’s desire to do even more.

Joseph P. Hand, ’54 takes great pride in NECHS’ acknowledgement of his continued efforts in community service. This induction, by his peers, reminds him of a job well done but it also reminds him that his work is not finished and….THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

When Joe was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 10th round in 1980, he felt positive that his future would involve sports. What Joe didn’t know at the time is that boxing, not basketball, would be the central sport in his life.

In May of 1980 Joe joined his father in a part-time position in the family business, Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. This was Joe’s first step into a career that can only be defined as entrepreneurial. Twenty seven year later, Joe finds himself having everyday dealings with such industry headliners such as DirecTV, Showtime, Home Box Office (HBO), National Football League, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Kingvision, Top Rank, Inc. and Comcast. As President of Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. since 1987, Joe has guided his family business to become the largest independent distributor of closed-circuit TV and pay-per view programming in the world. His deft understanding of all means of telecommunication technology has been the cornerstone of his success.

During the 1980s, Joe branched out and founded Cable Sports Network, a company that provided fresh sports programming to growing cable systems desperate for new programs. Joe had the foresight to predict a need and quickly filled the void.

Joe also has a distinguished philanthropic side to his business success. His father founded Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. in the early 70’s mainly to exhibit closed-circuit boxing telecasts. Joe realized that the sport of boxing is directly responsible for the company’s success. With this in mind in 1995 the Joe Hand Boxing Gym and Computer Lab opened in center city Philadelphia. It was a place where children could find refuge from the inner city streets. Free of charge, children can come into the gym for boxing instruction and/or to use the computer lab. Within weeks of opening its doors, the gym saw children from all over the city arrive at their doors with a gym bag on one shoulder and a school bag on the other. Once again…a void seen and a void filled! The Hand’s will tell you its one of their most fulfilling achievements. The gym was recognized for his charitable works in 2002 when it received the Philadelphia Sports Congress’s prestigious Community Service Award.

After being named by Philadelphia Magazine’s one of “84 People to Watch in 1984”, Joe has had numerous appointments, namely by his Alma Mater, King’s College Advisory Board; Northampton Township’s Cable Advisory Board; Pennsylvania’s State Athletic Commission Chief Deputy in Charge of National Affairs; the National Football League’s Sunday Ticket Advisory Board and as a Board Member of Glen Mills School.

As President of the company, Joe oversees every aspect of the business in their Feasterville, PA headquarters. He continually motivates his employees, satisfies his customers, and maintains the respect of the industries top executives.

Margaret Hand Cicalese, Vice President

Having grown up as the daughter of the country’s premier closed-circuit boxing promoter, Margaret began running closed-circuit locations by the time she was in the 8th grade. Her involvement in the family business began in 1971 by helping out in their home office by stuffing envelopes and licking stamps. As the company prospered and grew so did Margaret’s involvement in the business. Upon graduating from King’s College in 1983, Margaret joined forces with her father and brother with a full time position in the business. Since that time the business has changed quite dramatically.

Today Margaret manages the daily endeavors of Joe Hand Promotions in the corporate offices in Feasterville, PA. Although the work that she does is mainly “behind the scenes,” Margaret prides herself in being the driving force behind her father and brother as well as the entire staff of Joe Hand Promotions. She is actively involved in every aspect of the business from grant writing for their non-profit organization to repairing office equipment. Her most important skill is being able to anticipate the needs of the office and providing the tools necessary to continue on their course of success!