I am proud to announce Billoni Associates Publishing has published its second book–All In–the memoirs of Buffalo businessman, Ron Zoeller. It is full of unique personal experiences that span his life, including how he was able to help keep our beloved Bills in Buffalo, and how he brought the Cleveland Browns Dawg Pound to Buffalo in 1999 for the last Bills’ home playoff game. The book goes into detail about:
- How he led the Western New York region in saving the Buffalo Bills.
- His behind-the-scene dealings with former Buffalo Bills owner and founder, the late Ralph C. Wilson, Jr.; his former Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Littmann and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
- Top Bills’ games in the Super Bowl era, led by the “Incredible Comeback” against Houston.
- Bills’ QB Doug Flutie, Ron’s 1,000,000th box of Flutie Flakes, and how his dogs Flutie and Flake and the American flag became the centerpiece of a Wegmans Patriotic Pets promotion.
- How his unknown company entered the bid process and won the rights to name the Class AAA Buffalo Bisons downtown ballpark, North AmeriCare Park.
- How he grew a company from start-up to $50 million in revenue and created hundreds of jobs here.
- Attending school in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s in the Maryvale School system in Cheektowaga and at Kent State University, where the Ohio National Guard killed 4 students and wounded 9, one of whom was Ron’s fraternity brother.
- Ron’s community and charitable activities, and how they led to a relationship with National Hockey League Hall of Fame hockey coach Scotty Bowman and wife Suella.
*How and why he traded corporate suites in Memorial Auditorium with former Buffalo Sabres Captain and NHL Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine.
*How he and a partner purchased the Stage One nightclub from Harvey & Corky Productions and how he hated to face Harvey Weinstein weekly with receipts until he owned his own liquor license.
Taking him nearly two years to write, Ron’s attention-captivating narrative contains more than 120 photos and images and some amazing quotes he found from business, political and sports leaders. The entire project was completed locally as we used Billoni Associates team members John Davis to design the cover and inside pages; Scott Thomas, Gaby DeRose and Fay Zoeller to edit the manuscript; Nick Taboni to scan each image for the designer and Tony Cirelli and Judy Clear of the RMF Print Management Group in Lancaster for printing All In.
All In can be purchased via Ron’s website, www.azeros1.com. You may also purchase it at these local retailers: The Buffalo History Museum, 1 Museum Ct., Buffalo; Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo; The Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park, 1 Naval Park Cove, Buffalo; Ilio DiPaolo’s Restaurant, 3785 South Park Ave., Blasdell and Talking Leaves Books, 951 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo.
In 2000, I authored and published my first book, Robert E. Rich: Memoirs of an Innovator. It was the life story of the late founder of Rich Products Corp.
Lead image: Ron Zoeller at his book launch event at Mr. Bill’s Restaurant in Cheektowaga on Dec. 11