hastings high school alumni association, inc. hall of...

HASTINGS HIGH SCHOOL

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC.

HALL OF EXCELLENCE

INAUGURAL INDUCTION CEREMONY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2009

WELCOME

to the

INAUGURAL INDUCTION

of the

HASTINGS HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

HALL OF EXCELLENCE

CEREMONY & DINNERSATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2009

THE RIVERVIEWWARBURTON AVENUE

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK6:00PM – 11:00PM

PROGRAM

OPENING REMARKSINTRODUCTIONS

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCEINVOCATION

DINNERPRESENTATION OF 2009 INDUCTEES

CLOSING REMARKS

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HASTINGS HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS2008 – 2009

WILLIAM HANIFIN ‘55 – CHAIRMANTIMOTHY BARNES ‘56 – VICE CHAIRMAN

PAUL PERRETEN ‘51 – DIRECTOR, SEC/TREASROBERT GERSKY ‘53 – DIRECTOR, CLASS REPS

HALL OF EXCELLENCESUE (O’BRIEN) GERSKY ‘53 – DIRECTOR, HALL OF EXCELLENCE

AUGIE “GUS” ANDRONICA ‘51 – DIRECTOR, “BUZZZ”RICHARD BUB, DIRECTOR, HALL OF FAME

STEPHEN CUPPEK, JR. ‘69 – DIRECTOR, HALL OF FAMEJULIUS CHEMKA ‘44 – DIRECTOR

TESSA (USHER) CARLSON ‘70 – DIRECTOR, MEMBERSHIPNANCY (SKULTETTI) GAGLIARDI ‘75 – DIRECTOR, MEMBERSHIPPATRICIA (CHEMKA) SPERANZA ‘76 – DIRECTOR, SCHOLARSHIP

SHEILA (SPILLANE) FAULKNER ‘51 – DIRECTORELEANOR (MAIER) MacDOWELL ‘53 – DIRECTORSUE (LINDEMANN) STAROPOLI ‘50 – DIRECTOR

RON FEASTER – DIRECTOR

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HALL OF EXCELLENCEWith Gratitude...“A SCHOOL WITHOUT A PAST HAS NO HISTORY” IS THE MOTTO OF THE HASTINGS HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION. ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2008, A NEW “ERA” OF HISTORY BEGAN WHEN A TWO-FOLD OBJECTIVE WAS LAUNCHED INTO OPERATION BY TWO EXTREMELY DRIVEN AND DEDICATED INDIVIDUALS, BOB AND SUE GERSKY (’53).

PHASE I OF THIS INITIATIVE WAS TO BROADEN THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY OF THE HHS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BY FORMING A CLASS REPRESENTATIVES PROGRAM. THEIR IDEA WAS TO CREATE A LISTING OF TWO REPRESENTATIVES FOR EACH CLASS YEAR FROM THE 1950’S THROUGH THE YEAR 2000, WHO IN TURN WOULD CHANNEL INFORMATION AND EVENTS BACK TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CLASSES. AFTER MONTHS OF PREPARATION, COUNTLESS HOURS OF RESEARCH AND PERSONAL EXPENSE, SIXTY REPS WERE SIGNED ON AND THE CLASS REPRESENTATIVES PROGRAM WAS UP AND RUNNING.

PHASE II OF THIS NEW ERA WAS THE FORMATION OF THE “HHS HALL OF EXCELLENCE”; A PROGRAM THAT WOULD COMPLEMENT THE HIGH-PROFILE SUCCESS OF THE “HHS RONALD W. LINDEMANN ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME.” THE OBJECTIVE OF THE “NEW” HALL WAS TO CREATE A VEHICLE TO CELEBRATE THE GRADUATES OF HASTINGS HIGH WHO HAD DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES IN THE ARTS & SCIENCES, GOVERNMENT, FINANCE, RELIGION, NATIONAL DEFENSE AND THE LAW. BOB AND SUE PRESENTED GUIDELINES FOR THE NOMINATION AND SELECTION OF POTENTIAL INDUCTEES AND THE CLASS REPRESENTATIVES WERE ASKED TO SUBMIT NAMES OF QUALIFYING CANDIDATES FOR INDUCTION.

AS A RESULT OF THEIR STANCH COMMITMENT AND DEVOTION, INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO MOST, WE ARE INDUCTING THE FIRST FIVE RECIPIENTS IN TO THE HALL OF EXCELLENCE THIS EVENING. BOB AND SUE, THE HHS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXTENDS THEIR SINCERE GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION FOR YOUR STEADFAST EFFORTS ON THIS VERY AMBITIOUS UNDERTAKING. YOUR VISION, NOW REALITY, WILL FOREVER BE YOUR LEGACY AND ETCHED IN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE HASTINGS HIGH SSCHOOL STUDENT BODY, THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE ENTIRE HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON SCHOOL DISTRICT.

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INAUGURAL INDUCTION OF THE HALL OF EXCELLENCEOCTOBER 17, 2009


HALL OF EXCELLENCE

SELECTION COMMITTEE2009

THE SELECTION COMMITTEE WAS ASSEMBLED LAST YEAR USING THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

• ONE (1) ALUMNUS FROM THE CLASS REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE DECADE OF THE 1940’s

• TWO (2) ALUMNI FROM EACH DECADE OF CLASS REPRESENTATIVES 1950’s and 1960’s TOTAL OF FOUR (4)

• FOUR (4) MEMBERS FROM THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF

DIRECTORS.

IN THE EVENT OF A TIE VOTE, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL CAST THE DECIDING VOTE.

VOTING MEMBERS: DECADE OF THE ‘40’S: JULIUS CHEMKA ‘44DECADE OF THE ‘50’S: JULIE (SCOTT) MASER ‘51 WAYNE LANDRY ‘57DECADE OF THE ‘60’S: WILLIAM COOK ‘65 JODY (GAYLIN) HEYWARD ‘69BOARD OF DIRECTORS: ELEANOR (MAIER) MacDOWELL ‘53 WAYNE LANDRY ‘57 ROBERT GERSKY ‘53 PATRICIA (CHEMKA) SPERANZA ‘76 TIMOTHY BARNES ‘56

When the Class Representatives for the Decades of the 1970’s and 1980’s are in place, the Committee will select four new CR members, two from each of these decades. When the Class Representative Program for the Decades of the 1990’s and 2000’s is completed, they will be added to the Selection Committee in similar fashion.

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HALL OF EXCELLENCE

INAUGURAL INDUCTION CEREMONYand

INDUCTEE PRESENTATIONS

OCTOBER 17, 2009

ON BEHALF OF THE HASTINGS HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND THE HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE COMMEND YOU ON YOUR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AND YOUR REMARKABLE CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

YOU HAVE SET THE STANDARD FOR EXCELLENCE AND THE CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF HHS STUDENTS WILL LENGTHEN THEIR STRIDE TO WALK IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS, GAIN INSIGHT FROM YOUR LIVES AND ACTIONS, AND BY EXAMPLE, BE MOTIVATED TO STRIVE FOR DISTINCTION IN THE PURSUIT OF THEIR OWN DREAMS AND UNDERTAKINGS.

EACH OF YOUR PERSONAL NARRATIVES ILLUSTRATES A FINE INTELLIGENCE COMBINED WITH DEDICATION, HUMOR AND GRACE, WHICH IN APPLICATION HAS INCREASED THE FINE REPUTAION OF OUR BELOVED SCHOOL, OUR VILLAGE AND OUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION. YOU HAVE REFLECTED LIGHT UPON US ALL. AS THE YEARS PASS AND THE HALL OF EXCELLENCE EXPANDS IN ITS NUMBERS, MAY YOU TAKE GREAT PLEASURE IN KNOWING THAT YOU WERE CHOSEN TO BE THE FIRST TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FOR YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

INDUCTEE PRESENTER

DON GREGG ‘46 MIKE SCOTT ‘48

EDMUND “NED” PHELPS ‘51 PAUL PERRETEN ‘51

ADMIRAL RON JESBERG ‘53 ROBERT GERSKY ‘53

MITZI (MALLINA) WERTHEIM ‘55 MYRNA GULISH ‘55

ROBERT MERTON ‘62 SAMANTHA MERTON

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Former U.S. Ambassador Don Gregg grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson. He graduated from Hastings High School in the Class of 1945, which makes him the senior member of our Hall of Excellence inductees. After high school, Don entered the U.S. Army serving from 1945 to 1947. Williams College came next, and a degree in Philosophy (cum laude) in 1951. He entered the Central Intelligence Agency immediately upon graduation from

Williams College and for the next twenty-fi ve years handled assignments in Japan, Burma, Vietnam and Korea. In 1975 Don was decorated by the Korean government.

In the years that followed, Don Gregg served on the National Security Council staff (1979) where he was in charge of intelligence activities and subsequently, Asian policy affairs. He became National Security Advisor to then Vice President George Bush, and traveled to sixty-fi ve countries…his areas of support being foreign policy, defense and intelligence. Upon retirement from the CIA, Don was awarded the Agency’s highest decoration, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.

From 1980 to 1989 Don lectured at Georgetown University at the graduate level on “Force and Diplomacy”. Then in 1989 Don was asked to serve as Ambassador to Korea, which he did with great distinction until 1993. After a forty-three year career Don retired, receiving the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Service, a decoration from the Prime Minister of Korea and an honorary Ph.D. from Sogang University. You might think that was enough, but Don went on (in 1993) to become President and Chairman of The Korea Society (in New York City), where you can fi nd him at his post today, still going strong in his eighth decade. Don told us recently that two or three times a year, on his way to or from New York, he swings through Hastings and drives past his old home on Villard Avenue. “Hastings is still on my mind,” he told us, “ and I’ve got the highest respect for Hastings High School and the education I received there.”

DONALD P. GREGG – CLASS OF 1945FORMER AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA

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EDMUND “NED” PHELPS – CLASS OF 1951NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS - 2006

Edmund Phelps, born in 1933 in Evanston, grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson. He earned his B.A. from Amherst (1955) and his Ph.D. from Yale (1959). He is McVickar Professor of Political Economy at Columbia University, Director of Columbia’s Center on Capitalism and Society, and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics. His career began at the RAND Corporation. From 1960-1966 he held appointments at Yale and its Cowles Foundation, then professorship at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1971 he joined Columbia University.

Phelps’s work can be seen as a program to put “people as we know them” back into economic models -- accounting for the incompleteness of their information and studying the effects of their expectations on the market. He applies this perspective in studying unemployment and inclusion, economic growth, business swings and dynamism.

In 2001 a Festschrift conference was held in his honor. Phelps is a Fellow of the National Academy of Science and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association. In 2008 he was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, awarded the Premio Pico della Mirandola and the Kiel Global Economy Prize. The same year the UBA Law School established the Catedra Phelps. He holds many honorary doctorates and professorships.

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RONALD H. JESBERG – CLASS OF 1953REAR ADMIRAL USN (Retired)

Ron Jesberg was born in Jersey City, NJ in November 1935. His parents were German immigrants who told him they had 25 cents in their pockets the day he was born. They lived at fi rst in a small apartment…but by 1939 were able to move into a new house on Nepperhan Ave. in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. He happily attended Hastings public schools from K-12 and then entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a civil engineering student (and ROTC midshipman) for two years before getting an appointment to the US Naval Academy. Upon graduation from the Academy in 1959, Ron reported for fl ight training at Pensacola, FL and was designated a Naval Aviator in Oct. 1960. His fi rst assignment was HU-4, where he fl ew helicopters off non-aviation ships in the Arctic, and Antarctic, and also the tip of Africa where his detachment served as back-up for a John Glenn space fl ight. Following this

tour, Ron reported to the US Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA where he received a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Subsesequent assignments with HS-3, a helicopter anti-submarine squadron, took him to the Mediterranean, Caribbean and South America. HS-3 was based in Norfolk, VA where his family lived during much of Ron’s military career. Staff duty at Commander, Naval Air Force US Atlantic Fleet followed.

In 1971 he graduated from Armed Forces Staff College and was sent to Viet Nam as Offi cer-in-Charge of a detachment of helicopter gunships, where he fl ew 428 combat missions and was early-selected for Command. During an assignment in the U.S. he was sent back to Viet Nam to assist in mine clearing operations at Haiphong Harbor, a requirement for release of American POW’s. Ron was the Commanding Offi cer of HS-7 and HSL-30. As a Navy Captain, Ron commanded two Amphibious Assault Ships- the US Guam (LPH-9) and the USS Nassau (LHA-4). As a Rear Admiral he was Commander US Naval Forces Central Command, responsible for Naval Operations in the Persian Gulf, and then took over as Commander Helicopter Wings Atlantic, with responsibility for four helicopter Wings, composed of twenty-four squadron’s of aircraft stretching from bases in Pensacola and Jacksonville FL to Norfolk, VA and Patuxent River MD.

Rear Admiral Ronald Jesberg retired from the US Navy on September 1, 1990. In 1996 he was inducted into the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviator Association--the Golden Eagles--an honor conferred upon only two hundred of America’s ground-breaking Naval Aviators. Included among his medals are the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Combat V, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Ron has four successful children and four grandchildren. He says he rarely has a bad day and has lived a great life!

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MITZI (MALLINA) WERTHEIM – CLASS OF 1955SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR

Mitzi(Mallina) Wertheim was active in everything during her high school years…and no one could accuse her of being shy or reticent! A social anthropology graduate from the University of Michigan, her fi rst job out of college was a clerical position in the offi ce of the Dean of the Harvard Law School. She learned early on that if her job had been done before...she probably wasn’t very well-suited for it. Mitzi was the 20th person to join the Peace Corps staff (before the program was announced). One of her early tasks was to build a talent bank of potential over-seas Peace Corps representatives who could create and run the program in the countries to which they would be sent. After 2 years as a Peace Corps staff wife in Brazil, she returned to DC and became the fi rst staff member for the largest private foundation in Washington- the Cafritz Foundation.

When candidate Jimmy Carter ran for President, Mitzi offered to build a Talent Bank of Women who could be considered for Cabinet and sub-Cabinet jobs. There were no women’s networks at the time. In 3 months she had 4,000 names and 2,000 resumes. Mitzi joined the Carter transition team and helped staff the National Security Cluster, including Secretaries or Directors for State, Defense, CIA, National Security Advisor and the UN. Moving to the Defense Department, Mitzi was appointed Deputy Under Secretary for the Navy, their fi rst female political appointee. Her challenging assignments, which no one else wanted, included taking cars from Admirals…selling the Presidents barge SEQUOIA…and reducing the Navy Secretariat staff from 1,000 to 750. Mitzi then joined IBM’s Federal Systems Division-on the day that IBM’s fi rst PC was announced. She managed a classifi ed program at IBM and later became Marketing Manager for President Reagan’s STAR WARS program and learned a great deal about super computers and battle fi eld management. Mitzi created the MIT Seminar XXI, “Foreign Policy and the National Interest”. After 4 years of CNO intelligence briefs, she wanted to ‘open the aperture’ for many bright offi cers. The program is now in its 24th year with many top military jobs fi lled by MIT Fellows from its attendees. After a 4 year stint as Vice President of Enterprise Solutions at SRA, a high tech consulting fi rm, she joined the defense think tank, Center for Naval Analysis. She established The Energy Consensus(Jan.’05), a monthly inter-disciplinary salon providing safe space for people in DOD. Working in the Offi ce of Force Transformation, Mitzi received funding to start The Energy Conversation, with 150-200 participants from government and industry, coming together every month to LISTEN LEARN CONNECT SHARE and COLLABORATE on energy and environmental subjects. The EC has moved to the Cebrowski Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School. She is now the Professor of Practice for Sustainability, Enterprises and Social Networks. Even though well-connected with the Who’s Who in D.C., many of her HS friends remember another story. When classmate Jeanne Clark was dying of cancer, Mitzi promised to care for her children, Athena and Anthony. She kept that promise for more than 20 years, seeing them through HS and College and remaining their friend and surrogate mother to this day. As you can see, the Hall of Excellence selectors considered more than medals and titles this year.

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DR. ROBERT C. MERTON – CLASS OF 1962NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS — 1997

Robert C. Merton has been a professor at the Harvard Business School since 1988, and is currently the John and Natty McArthur University Professor, one of 22 University Professors at Harvard. He served on the fi nance faculty of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management from 1970 until 1988. Dr. Merton received the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1997 for a new method to determine the value of derivatives. He is past President of the American Finance Association, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Merton received the Michael I. Pupin Medal for Service to the Nation from Columbia University and the Robert A. Muh Award in the Humanities, Arts and the Social Sciences from MIT. In 2005, his former colleagues and students

established The Robert C. Merton (1970) Professorship in Financial Economics at MIT.

Dr Merton’s research focuses on developing fi nance theory in the fi elds of capital markets and fi nancial institutions. His book, Continuous-Time Finance, was fi rst published by Basil Blackwell, Inc. in 1990, with a revised edition issued in 1992. He is co-author of Cases in Financial Engineering; Applied Studies of Financial Innovation; The Global Financial System; A Functional Perspective; Finance; and Financial Economics.

Dr. Merton has also been recognized for translating fi nance science into practice. He received the inaugural Financial Engineer of the Year Award from the International Association of Financial Engineers, which also elected him a Senior Fellow. Derivatives Strategy magazine named him to its Derivatives Hall of Fame as did Risk magazine to its Risk Hall of Fame. He also received Risk’s Life Achievement Award for contributions to the fi eld of risk management. A Distinguished Fellow of the Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance (‘Q Groups) and a Fellow of the Financial Management Association, Dr. Merton received the Nicholas Molodovsky Award from the CFA Institute. He has served as a senior advisor to Salomon Inc. and to J.P. Morgan & Company. He co-founded Long -Term Capital Management. Dr. Merton is the developer of SmartNest, a pension management system that addresses defi ciencies associated with traditional defi ned-benefi t and defi ned-contribution plans. He is currently a director of Dimensional Fund Advisors funds, MF Risk, Inc. and Vical, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Merton serves as Chairman of the Board, Daedalus Software, Inc., a Cambridge based bio-informatics Company with transplant and research bio-bank software applications.

Dr. Merton is the son of Suzanne Merton and the sociologist Robert K. Merton, who founded the sociology of science and who invented the focus group and the concept of the “self-fulfi lling prophecy”. His sister, Vanessa (HHS ’66) and his daughter, Samantha, are Hastings residents, whose children are attending or graduated from HHS. After graduating from Hastings High School, Dr. Merton went on to receive a B.S. in Engineering Mathematics from Columbia University , a M.S. in Applied Mathematics from California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds honorary degrees from University of Chicago, Claremont Graduate University, Hautes Etudes Commerciales, University of Lausanne, University Paris-Dauphine, National Sun Yat-sen University, Athens University of Economics and Business, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, and Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal. Further information can be found at www.people.hbs.edu/merton/

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THE HASTINGS HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IS THE EASIEST WAY TO REMAIN CONNECTED WITH YOUR HIGH SCHOOL ALMA MATER. YOUR ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES ($20) AND GENEROUS DONATIONS ENABLE US TO CONTINUE THE TRADITION OF RECOGNIZING THE ATHLETIC SUCCESSES OF HHS GRADS AND HONORING THE TEACHERS AND COACHES WHO INSPIRED US THROUGH THE RONALD W. LINDEMANN ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME. AND NOW, AS THE CEREMONY TONIGHT INITIATES THE LAUNCH OF THE HHS HALL OF EXCELLENCE, YOU CAN ALSO RECOGNIZE THE ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF HHS GRADUATES.

WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR WEBSITE AND THERE IS AN ABSOLUTE WEALTH OF INFORMATION THAT WILL NOW BE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. IT’S AN INCREDIBLY EASY WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE ASSOCIATION, LEARN ABOUT UPCOMING HHS HALL OF FAME AND HALL OF EXCELLENCE EVENTS AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT IS A QUICK CONDUIT TO CONNECT YOU WITH YOUR FELLOW CLASSMATES. LOG ON TO: http://hohalumni.org

FOR THIS ORGANIZATION - YOUR ORGANIZATION - TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND FLOURISH WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY A MEMBER, PLEASE JOIN US. THE YEARLY DUES ARE SMALL BUT GO A VERY LONG WAY. ALL MONIES THAT THE ASSOCIATION RECEIVES RETURNS IN THE FORM OF FOUR ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIPS TO DESERVING SENIORS. IN 2010, WE WILL BE AWARDING TWO ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS, THE EDMUND PHELPS ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP AND THE ANNE MCLOUGHLIN ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP.

THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR CELEBRATION TONIGHT AND FOR HELPING US TO KEEP GOING STRONG IN TO THE FUTURE.

Bob & Sue Gersky and The Board of Directors

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