Stanner Alumni Reunion & Hall of Fame Induction – Four Weeks Away!
- When: Saturday, November 1, 2014
- Where: Archbishop Molloy High School
- Reunion Years: Class years ending in 4 and 9 (excluding 2014)
- Hall of Fame Honorees: RADM Robert Duncan ’68, Sr. Elizabeth Bickar, Dr. John Scileppi ’63, and Police Officer John Williamson ’86 (posthumously)
- REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED
The Stanner Alumni Reunion for class years ending in 4 and 9 is just four weeks away, and now is the perfect time to reserve your spot. By now you should have received your postcard invitation in the mail (pictured) with details about the event. If you haven’t received your invite please contact us at (718) 441-9210 to update your current mailing address. The reunion, hosted here at Molloy, will include the classes of: 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009.
We are very excited about this year’s reunion. It will feature the Class of 1964, which is Molloy’s largest graduating class ever, as well as two coed classes reuniting on the same night for the first time: the Classes of 2004 and 2009. Last year’s reunion hosted over 650 alumni and guests, which set a new Molloy record. We are hoping that the 4’s and 9’s will not be outdone this year!
Also taking place on this night will be our Stanner Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Molloy will honor four distinguished members of its community (pictured above): Dr. John Scileppi, Ph.D., ’63, Sr. Elizabeth Bickar (Sisters of Charity), and Police Officer John Williamson ’86 (posthumously), and Rear Admiral Robert Duncan, USCG, ’68. These honorees have all exemplified the character and conduct reflected in Molloy’s motto: “Not for school, but for life,” and Molloy is privileged to have them join its many other Hall of Fame Stanners.
Other Upcoming Events
Alumni Oktoberfest – Next Week!
When: Thursday, October 9th, 2014 | 6:30pm- Where: Archbishop Molloy High School
- Who: Alumni, parents, past parents, & friends (Ages 21+)
- Cost: $50 per person
- REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED
Only a few days remain to register online for our second annual Oktoberfest event. Alumni, parents, past parents, and friends ages 21 and up are invited to come out and enjoy German style food and craft beer (donated by alumni at Trinity Restaurant & Bar), music, and good company as the Stanner Alumni Center kicks off its 2014-15 event calendar. The first 25 guests to sign up receive a free cigar, and everyone who registers will receive one free raffle ticket good for a prize drawing later in the evening.
Volunteer at Molloy’s Open House on Oct. 19th!
In 2013, over two dozen alumni and parents volunteered their time and energy at Molloy’s Fall Open House. Their participation throughout the day supplemented the efforts of Molloy’s administration, faculty and staff to provide an outstanding and memorable experience for all guests – in particular prospective students and their parents. This year, we are excited to invite alumni and parents to volunteer once again at Molloy’s Open House on Sunday, October 19th. Our volunteers will be asked to work in a variety of capacities including as greeters, tour guides, hall roamers, or representatives of the Stanner Alumni Center. In each instance volunteers should be prepared to direct guests around the school as well as answer general questions. All volunteers will be prepped with some basic statistics and information on the locations of different presentations around the school.
Your involvement at Open House shows future students and their families that Molloy is a vibrant community that features many great ambassadors who are eager to represent their school. We are sincerely thankful to all those who will consider this request. For more information on volunteering at this year’s Open House, please contact Admissions Director Leslie Poole Petit at (718) 441-2100×155 or email lpoolepetit@molloyhs.org. You may also contact Admissions Coordinator Keith Hahn ’02 at khahn@molloyhs.org.
Molloy’s LinkedIn Group Approaching 1,500 Members
In 2011, Molloy began in earnest to expand its presence in social media. Since that time, @StannerAlumni has gained over 600 new Twitter followers, while Molloy’s Facebook page jumped from 2,700 followers as of April 2013 to over 3,500 today. This growth is certainly exciting, but we are particularly excited about LinkedIn. Molloy’s LinkedIn group, which at one time had just over 400 members, has added over 1,000 new members since our professional networking initiatives first began. LinkedIn has given our alumni a central place to discuss their trades or seek out professional opportunities within the Stanner community. “Mastering social media is a key to brand development,” said President Richard Karsten ’81. “That doesn’t just include businesses, but each professional’s own personal brand as well. Having a presence in social media is expected in today’s digital age. Aligning with Molloy on LinkedIn in particular will hopefully provide a boost for many of our alumni along the way.” We encourage our Stanners to continue utilizing LinkedIn to learn and grow in their careers, and hope that several of our Beehive readers will help push us over the 1,500 milestone!
Around the School
Molloy Helps with Lourdes Healing
The mandate of Pope Francis to the youth of this world is to go out and make noise: don’t just talk about the poor, the sick and the disenfranchised; go and do something about it. Since 2005, the St. Marcellin Champagnat Society at Molloy has done just that; 350 Molloy students have been involved in helping the poor and disenfranchised.
Last summer, we stayed home and worked in Rockaway to help people recover from Superstorm Sandy. This summer, 25 members of SMCS flew to Lourdes, France, to help the sick. With daily Mass and the rosary, we made an attempt to bring the reality of what the student learn in school into the real world that we live in. Here are some thoughts from the students who volunteered in Lourdes, all of whom are alumni from the Class of 2014.
Sebastian Geraci, parishioner at St. Robert Bellarmine, Bayside
“I am so glad that I was able to travel to Lourdes this summer. The work all the volunteers took part in was incredible. What stood out to me was my work in the baths. I saw men who were jovial, excited, and eager to take a bath. When they approached the first step, I watched as their expressions changed from smiles to tears. Afterwards they could do nothing but gently smile, with tears in their eyes, and say, ‘thank you.’ No matter what language a person spoke, you knew the message they were conveying to you. It was so touching to not only see the difference you made in each person’s life, but to feel what they felt in their hearts. Volunteering in Lourdes was such a rewarding experience. I hope I have a chance to relive the week I spent there in the future.”Rebecca Wagner, parishioner at Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village
“No matter what happens in my life from this point on I will never forget my two week experience in Lourdes. Love, compassion, friendship and unity are only a small amount of the things I have learned along this journey with some of the best people I have ever met. It’s so hard to explain in so little words the new spirit instilled in me and the sense of courage I have in myself and all I’m capable of doing. The phrase ‘I am Marist’ has new meaning for me. Whether it’s working in the baths at Lourdes, walking the rosary procession, or hiking through the French countryside in the footsteps of Champagnat, I am ever grateful for all that I have been blessed to do and experience.”Samantha Grech, parishioner at Most Precious Blood, Astoria
“Lourdes isn’t just a sacred place. It is the people rooted in their faith and the stories of pilgrims. It is invigorating to see people of such faith, and quite moving to be part of their once in a lifetime experience. I hope I can successfully bring back the spirit of hope to my family and friends here in New York.”
Julia Antignani, parishioner of Our Lady of Grace, Howard Beach
“Going to Lourdes was one of the best experiences I’ve had. I met so many amazing people, and the looks of joy on the faces of the sick I helped will stay with me forever. The hermitage connected me with St. Marcellin Champagnat more than I ever could have imagined and I’m grateful for that. We truly do walk in the footsteps of St. Champagnat.”
So how did we make noise? When the blue shirts of SMCS descend on a place, people stop us and ask “Who are you and where do you come from?” You make noise when you want someone to take notice. The women in charge of the baths where we volunteered constantly stopped us to express their gratitude for the help we gave. The men unloading the trains and putting people on stretchers and in wheelchairs hour after hour saw the importance of the work of our volunteers.
This Easter, we are planning another trip to the Dominican Republic to work with poor and disadvantaged children. By going to a foreign country our students realize that the needs of the world are bigger than Molloy. There is a worldwide movement among the Marist schools to be Marist. The reality is that all graduates from Molloy / St. Ann’s Academy walk in the footsteps of Champagnat and are Marists. I look forward to the service trip to DR where together we will share and experience the Marist Mission. (Photos courtesy of Ms. Sabina Kobinski ’04)
As We Prepare for Molloy’s Veteran’s Day Event…
As referenced earlier in The Beehive, Molloy will honor Stanners serving in the Armed Forces, particularly those killed in action, on November 7th during a special Veteran’s Day Memorial Event. In preparation for the event, we have been in contact with a number of alumni across generations who have connections to the military. One alumnus, Thomas J. Walsh ’34, contacted us to share his brother’s story.
Raymond M. Walsh ’35 followed in his older brother’s footsteps as a graduate of St. Ann’s Academy. After graduating, Ray was a candidate to be drafted in the prewar draft, but volunteered of his own volition. He was eventually accepted for flight training. He flew with the 90th Air Force Thunderbolt on over 75 missions, including one in which he was among the first to shoot down a German Buzz Bomb. He was highly acclaimed for his bravery on this mission, and as a result was featured in a news program
sponsored by Coca Cola. His brother Tom, who was stationed in Pensacola as a navy pilot, was excited to listen to the broadcast. Ray was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which is described as “a military decoration awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States Armed Forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918.” In later years, Ray earned 18 air medals and was discharged early from combat flying. He returned to the US to fly for the airline that would later become Pan American. Ray was eventually recalled to serve during the Korean War as a command pilot in C97. Sadly, Ray lost his life in the Atlantic on a flight from The Azores to Westover Airforce Base. He was survived by a wife, two children, and a third on the way.
Pictured in Long Island City in 1946 from left to right are Ray Walsh, Tom Walsh, and third brother John Walsh. Tom was a navy fight pilot and flight instructor in Pensacola, which preceded a long career as a member of the NYPD. He also flew for NYPD’s aviation bureau, but left to fly for Pan American as his brother Ray once did. In retirement, Tom would oversee his own charter flying service. John attended St. Ann’s Academy just like his brothers, but he left prior to graduation for studies at the Marist Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. We extend sincere thanks to Tom Walsh for sharing his family’s “Stanner Stories.”
Class Updates
Victor Starsky ’09 is excited to be a part of this season’s concert calendar at the Colden Auditorium at Queens College. Victor will perform the leading tenor role (The Celebrant) during The Leonard Bernstein Mass under the direction of Maestro Maurice Peress. Mass, presented by the Aaron Copeland School of Music, features a large pit orchestra, two choruses, a boy’s choir, a Broadway-sized cast (with ballet company), a marching band and a rock band. Victor is honored to be among the top performers in this wide range of impressive talent. Performances are scheduled for Saturday, November 1st at 8:00pm and Sunday, November 2nd at 3:00pm. Tickets range from $15 to $25. A bit more on the show: “Leonard Bernstein’s Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers is the composer/conductor’s most ambitious and most controversial work. Commissioned to create a stage production to inaugurate the opera house at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Bernstein turned to the Roman Catholic mass as a structure to investigate issues of faith and doubt, and of the political and social upheavals of the era of the late ’60s and early ’70s.” For more information, or to purchase tickets in support of Victor, visit http://kupferbergcenter.org/.
John Fanuka ’85 is currently the Director of Fixed Income Operations at the Royal Bank of Canada and living in Northport, Long Island. John is happily married to wife Dina and together they are the proud parents of two daughters; 15 year old Samantha and 13 year old Gianna. “I’m proud of both my daughters, who excel at school and are growing into two warm, generous and altruistic young adults,” said John. Recently, oldest daughter Samantha received her second degree black belt in Jiu Jitsu (pictured). John wishes all faculty and staff at Molloy a successful school year.
The following was submitted by George Byrne ’70: “Dear fellow Stanners – it’s been a long time since I walked the halls on Manton Street. I am now retired and trying to enjoy my days with the music that was popular back in ‘those days’ and the decade immediately after. Although I mostly reside in Venice, Florida, I also spend a good part of the summer at my vacation home in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. While I’m up north I play in a rock band that tries to ‘keep the music alive.’ The band recently played at Stroudfest 2014, and interestingly enough my long-time friend and fellow Stanner John Putre ’73 came by to see the show. I hadn’t seen John and his wife in almost 30 years, but they saw the band on Facebook and decided to make the trip to see us. What a treat. Stanners for life!”
Earlier this month, Anthony DiRusso ’80 bumped into two Stanners while on a trip to Ireland. Anthony met Tom Duffy and Brian Duffy, Classes of 1983 and 1985 respectively, at the All Ireland Hurling Finals in Dublin.
We are saddened to share the passing of Robert Coppola Jr., father of current student Savannah Coppola ’15, on September 23rd. We ask that you please keep Mr. Coppola, Savannah, and their family your prayers during this difficult time.
We received a notice that Thomas Cunningham ’64 passed away in August 2013. Please keep Thomas in your prayers this week.
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