The Bernardoni’s and Riccobono’s, like many other Italian families in Galveston, immigrated to America from Palermo, Sicily and Bientina, Italy in the late 19^th century.  A few years later, they relocated to Galveston.  The two families lived and worked in Galveston, cumulatively, from 1900 until the 1980’s.  His great grandfather, Giovanni Carlo Bernardoni of Bientina, Italy, died in the Storm of 1900 trying to save another family.  John’s father, John Paul Bernardoni, and his father’s sister, Ursula Lucille Bernardoni, were BOI (born on Island). His grandfather worked at the Galveston Daily News from the time he was twelve years old until relocating to San Antonio in 1924.  His great uncle, Johnny Riccobono, was a beloved figure in Galveston.

Hailing from San Antonio, John is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas in the School of Communications – Radio, Television and Film.  He takes great pride at creating the organization that saved, restored and rejuvenated the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin.

As founder and project manager of the “Victims of the Galveston Flood” project to re-create Pompeo Coppini’s masterpiece, the endeavor carries great power and meaning for him and his love of Galveston.

Ralph Elder

Having invested 25 years of his life as an archivist for the Briscoe Center for American History, Ralph remains a force of nature for all things related to the University of Texas and so much more. His drive, work ethic and genius for wading through fifty feet of vertical files in the Coppini-Tauch Collection are testament to how much he wishes to see the Victims heroic brought to life once more. To say that he was invaluable to the research effort would be an understatement. We all delighted every time Ralph came up with some new treasure with yet another heightened level of dedication.

Peggy Maceo

Born in Galveston and a veteran sculptor for over 40 years, brings a depth of understanding to the art form that is second to none. Her dedication, friendship and inspired research efforts helped the project to keep moving forward with vigor and panache.

Shelly Henley Kelly

Shelly is an archivist who worked at the Rosenberg Library in Galveston from 1995-2001. She conducted research on the location of The Victims of the Galveston Flood in 1998 while working on the book Through a Night of Horrors: Voices from the 1900 Galveston Storm.  Her incredibly generous spirit, allowed the project to utilize the entirety of her research on the Victims heroic.  Her efforts were the bedrock upon which we built later efforts.