JAT, 1973

Raimondi was awarded an NEA-sponsored artist-in-the-schools program appointment in Quincy, Massachusetts, where he built his first private commission for Jim and Tracy Spates, life-long friends and mentors. Working with the Quincy students, Raimondi built the 30-foot-tall sculpture in Massachusetts before having the piece trucked to the Spates farm in Penn Yan, New York, Traveling there to oversee the installation, Raimondi was joined by many of his high school students for the dedication and celebration.