By Frederick J. Balboni, Jr.
I first met Eleanor (Ellie) J. Collar in 1974, when I was a freshman at Revere High School, beginning to find my place in the world. Ellie had already devoted more than two decades to Revere Public Schools. Yet she treated every student, especially those of us still finding our footing, with patience, warmth, and respect. What began as a brief interaction between a student and a trusted school employee grew into a friendship that lasted until her passing in 2026.
As I moved through high school, Eleanor became far more than a familiar face in the school offices. She was a steady presence and an anchor. Her encouragement, quiet confidence, and insistence on discipline and follow-through helped solidify the foundation I needed as a young Revere student with outsized ambitions. With her guidance and support, I was able to begin working professionally in broadcasting as a junior in high school — first at WBZ-TV, then, after graduation, at WCVB-TV, WEEI, KISS 108 FM, and later CBS News, among other notable broadcast, business, education, and music entities that shaped my career both before and after graduating from Emerson College in Boston. Eleanor followed every step with genuine interest and pride.
One memory from those formative years remains especially vivid. While still in high school, Ellie accompanied me, my then-best friend, Nicholas J. Giacobbe Jr., and her close friend, Rita Harrington, on a trip to Washington, D.C., for the 1977 inauguration of President Jimmy Carter. I remember sitting fewer than forty feet from the presidential swearing-in, aware that I was witnessing history firsthand. Later that evening, at an inaugural ball, I introduced Eleanor to Idi Amin Dada, the former dictator of Uganda, then living in exile. It was a surreal moment, and Eleanor met it with her trademark composure—gracious, thoughtful, and entirely unflappable.
Nick would go on to build a distinguished career, eventually becoming a senior official at the U.S. State Department before retiring several years ago. Eleanor followed his journey with pride, just as she followed mine and the lives of countless students whose paths she quietly helped shape.
Eleanor began her career with the Revere School Department in 1948 and retired in 2021, completing an extraordinary 73 years of full-time service! President Harry Truman once observed that “it is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Those words entered public consciousness during the very years Ellie began her career, and she lived that principle daily, working behind the scenes, focused not on recognition but on responsibility.
To Revere, Eleanor Collar was a devoted public servant whose tenure remains legendary. To me, she was a mentor, a pivotal foundation, and a lifelong friend. Revere was fortunate to have her for nearly half a century. I was lucky to have her for a lifetime.
Mr. Balboni is the International Trademark holder, producer, and manager of the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Group, The Platters, is a music creator in the National Academy of Arts and Sciences (NARAS), and a former producer for CBS News in New York.
