Annual Fund Appeal Rolls Out
790 Alumni Donors Sought
for $250,000 Goal
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As we roll toward the end of 2021, perhaps you are one of many people whose thoughts turn to charitable giving, specifically, planning their giving to their favorite charitable organizations. We’ll be blunt. It is our fervent hope that Hudson Catholic has earned its way into your heart as one of your top three charitable causes, and that you would remember us accordingly, with a gift that you would consider of a generous nature.
We want to be in your 'Top Three’
This month, you may open your mailbox to find an envelope from us containing our Fund for Hudson Catholic materials and a letter of appeal from President-Principal Terry Matthews. Please look that over and consider what it is about Hudson Catholic today, or your experience while here, that gives you a good feeling about the legacy that we have all helped to build over the first 57 years. Then, act on it! Not later, now! While you are feeling it! Then go online or grab your checkbook, and put down a number with some zeroes behind it!
More specifically, we ask that if you donated to The Fund last year, please do so again this year, and consider increasing your gift by 50%. If you did not donate to The Fund last year, but have in past years, we ask you to return to the fold.
If you have never donated to The Fund, start now! There is no time better than NOW to make your first gift to Hudson Catholic and help us reach our goals of 790 Alumni Donors and $250,000. Start your tradition of giving today and BE THE DIFFERENCE -- help transform the student experience and pave the way for students to learn, grow, and become the leaders of tomorrow. Let your 'First Gift' leave a lasting impression.
Any amount you give is not nearly as important as choosing to participate. Your impact can be enormous. $100 each from 1,000 new donors would move The Fund by $100,000!
We commit to reporting back to you periodically on our collective progress toward our goals. Together, we will share in the success (or shortfall) of the campaign. But goals, no matter how much of a stretch, are important for an institution to put out there, because when something makes each of us streeeeeeeeetch, great things are possible! Be The Hawk! Be the Difference!
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Please be 1 of our ‘790 HAWKS’! |
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Today is Giving Tuesday!
What better way to follow up an article announcing our Annual Appeal than with the just-in-time announcement of the national Giving Tuesday.
We decided not to compete for donations against the rest of the non-profit world on this day, however, would still happily welcome your donations.
We have decided, alternatively (or additionally) to plan and conduct our own Giving Day at a point later in the school year, so as to have no competition for your attention (and assets!) at such time.
Here is a sneak peak of our plans. April 7th. The Feast Day celebrating the our patron saint of education, the reason for our LaSallian Christian Brothers legacy, in essence, our founder, St. John Baptist de LaSalle. That is surely a day we can all get behind, celebrate, and give thanks and of ourselves, for the gift in our lives that was and is Hudson Catholic.
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April 7th. Circle the date. Save the date.
Hudson Catholic Giving Day
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Anonymous Family Foundation Gifts $154,500 for Scholarship
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In August, we were quietly approached by a family foundation that was looking for ‘the right fit’ to match their philanthropic investment with a committed, proven, and stable Catholic secondary institution. Hudson Catholic fits that bill, and we have the good fortune to have won the support of this philanthropic organization.
Their gift of $154,500 will certainly aid numerous students and their families to foot the $11,300 annual tuition obligation at Hudson Catholic.
A gift such as this can only be credited to the collective efforts of all involved in supporting Hudson Catholic to make it the stable and successful institution that it is, and positioning Hudson Catholic to receive the notice and acclaim that it does, for when friendly philanthropists look for a winning institution that will make proper and effective use of their significant gifts.
Keep it up, Hawk Community!
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The Coach Bob Hurley Gym at Hudson Catholic?
What Might Have Been
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A recently unearthed article cut out from the Jersey Journal sports section circa 1971, yellowed from the years, revealed a very significant situation which, relatively benign at the time, altered the history of Hudson Catholic basketball and more, for decades.
Cas Rakowski was a highly followed and influential local sports columnist and his column Cas’ Corner was widely read among Hudson County high school sports circles.
In the pictured column, Cas wrote: “Informed sources tell us that St. Anthony’s assistant basketball coach Bob Hurley will be offered the [Hudson Catholic Varsity Basketball] post and has been highly recommended by [Bill] Heffernan,” who was hired to succeed Tom Gaynor and resigned before coaching a single game due to a professional opportunity. “Hudson Catholic Athletic Director Brother Patrick King is expected to name a new coach in the near future.”
We asked Mike O’Koren ‘76 if that decision or the alternative had or would have had any particular influence on his decision to enter Hudson Catholic, to which Mike responded, “I chose to go to Hudson Catholic because my brother Ron (’73) was already there.” Back in the day, that sibling connection drove more decisions than did any coach. And let’s not forget, both Rocky and Bob Hurley were just JV coaches at St, Mary’s and St. Anthony’s, respectively, when Brother Pat faced his hiring decision.
Cas’ article leads us to believe that Hurley had the inside track at the time. Without knowing it, Brother Pat, who served as AD for two years in between Erik Erickson and Jim Gannon, faced the most consequential decision in HC athletics history. We recently asked him to recollect, and he explained that talks with Hurley only reached a stage of expressions of interest from both parties, but went no further, chiefly because Bob’s younger brother Tim was enrolled in the Class of ’74 and a member of the basketball program. Brother Pat’s sharp memory is backed up in Hurley’s book Chasing Perfect. Hurley withdrew from consideration for family reasons, particularly upon the advice of his mother, she saying that “other opportunities will come along.” Boy, did they! Coach Hurley got the Friars’ head job the following year, Rocky went on to run some pretty great teams, had our gym named after him, and became one of the earliest entrants to the school’s Hall of Fame. And the rest is history!
Post script: O’Koren said: “Hudson did very well hiring Rocky. We had some really great teams.”
Side Tidbit: Upon hiring Rocky, Brother Pat asked Head Football and Baseball Coach Bill Gargiulo if he might take Rocky on as an Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach. Gargiulo was so upset with that inquiry, that he quit as Varsity Baseball Coach, and THAT is how Rocky came into being both the Baseball and Basketball Varsity Coach!
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Hudson Catholic to become the
‘School of Rock’
this Spring
Plan to come out and support this production at
'the school for performing arts’
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“You’re In the Band…”
Auditions for the school musical will take place on
December 3, 2021
2:30pm- 6:00pm
Email Mrs. Barbi for more audition information
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Scrum Chum. Royall Jones ’16, former Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Year, is a professional rugby player! He made his professional debut on October 9th on FS2 and FoxSports.com in the all-new Professional Rugby Sevens League. Saturday games are carried live on FoxSports.com 10am-4pm and FS2 4-6pm. Royall is very athletic, therefore, as a Back, is more apt to score than scrum. Happy Haka, Mr. Jones!
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Can’t Spell Motivation without Motion. Steve Dnistrian ’82 recently posted an article on Linkedin entitled “10 Triathlons in 12 Weeks: Lessons for me and maybe you, too,” accompanied by the following introduction: “There is so much that we can take hold of in our lives, yet too many of us turn away from the call toward something more purposeful. As I've learned by way of a rather unplanned, life-changing journey into health and fitness, if you want to grow and change, all you need to do is try.” In the following excerpts, Steve offers some maxims to live by, whether you are 17 or 70.
You have absolutely no idea what you’re capable of… until you try. Don’t be afraid to get in the water. Just try.
Surround yourself with positive people and get rid of the toxic types. Surround yourself with like-minded, life-giving, authentic people.
Your health needs your attention. If you’re lucky enough to be healthy, and smart enough to recognize that you might need to make some changes, what are you waiting for?
You can shape and live an incredible, ever-changing life. Start moving toward more fulfilling work.
Crosswinds are essential for growth. Lean in and enjoy. Enjoy the good and learn from the bad.
The bottom line: There is so much that we can take hold of in our lives, yet too many of us turn away from the call toward something more purposeful. Don’t shy away from whatever it is that you’re being called to do.
Steve runs his own consulting business focused on strategy and communication (visit: www.STEVEbrandcomm.com). He is also pursuing a professional certification in executive coaching at the University of Miami.
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Teacher Feature. The HC-UC railroad runs frequently. Rob Astudillo ’06, formerly our Assistant Principal, took the role of Supervisor, Audio/Visual Broadcast Technology Production in the Union City Schools this year and, in the process of doing so, joined an education system that includes Ken Such ’80, an IT Administrator for the UC Board of Education; teacher Manny Hernandez ’05; and, vaunted Chemistry teacher from the early years of the Hawks Nest, nationally-acclaimed Mrs. Nadia Makar, who is also mother of Hawk Alumni Ralph ‘78 and Roger, ‘80.
Upon leaving Hudson Catholic, Mrs. Makar joined the Union City Board of Education in 1979 where she directed the US Department of Education grant for Gifted & Talented Students in the state of New Jersey. She has received numerous awards, citations, and recognition -- from the U.S. Congress and Senate, the 1989 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching (still the only teacher from Hudson County to receive this award) for which she was honored by President George W. Bush at the White House; the award for Best Science Teacher in North America, and the American Chemical Society’s Best Chemistry Teacher Award. She presently is the STEM Supervisor at Union City’s Joe Marti STEM Academy and serves on the Board of Regents of Saint Peter’s University.
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Legacy Hawks
A Continuing Series
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The late Mike Pearson '73, whose twins Daniel and Mike were Class of ’08. |
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From the 1985 Hawk Yearbook, the origins of Hawk Legacy. Harry ’69 and Sean ’88 Morris, upon Sean’s entry to the nest. |
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AN ALMA MATER STORY
"Sons and Daughters of the Black and Gold"
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It is played at graduation every year, then tucked away again until the next year. Most graduates could not recite a couple of the lines. Quite a few probably do not recall that we have such a song. But Tony Porta ‘06 and classmate Chris Flores, perhaps more than any other Hawks, know the song well, and cherish it. They occasionally trot it out among family gatherings and belt it out karaoke style, as a display of their love for and fidelity to Hudson Catholic. When asked if they would accept an invitation to lead the singing of the Alma Mater at a Student Assembly, they emphatically responded “YES!”
So, as a public service, here it is, Hawks! Now commit the words to memory -- there will be a pop quiz on Monday morning!
"Sons and daughters of the black and gold
All together glorious and bold
We pledge to live a life that’s brave and true
As we gather for our Alma Mater
Through knowledge, faith and integrity
We shine our light for the world to see
For the love of God and with our Sign of Faith
In our hearts we carry Hudson Catholic"
(Music is the Ancient Irish Air-The Moreen /
sung to the melody of ‘Minstrel Boy’)
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No Hawk Left Behind
Email Contact Tallies, by Class
The most recent eight classes are the easiest to reach because we have their current email addresses, but among the ‘older’ grads, 1970 is particularly impressive with 98 email addresses, and 1989 with 88. No other class up to 2010 is in striking distance of these totals.
In fact, the bottom five classes in the Email Address standings, therefore, whose members are the hardest to reach and stay in touch with, are 2013 with just 17; 2011 with 19; 2007 with 20; 1995 with 21; and, 2010 with 24.
So let’s go, peeps, we’ve all got some work to do -- try getting us more email addresses of classmates.
We ask all Hawks to Stay Connected by updating your contact information at hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected.
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FYI
hudsoncatholic.org/BTL to:
Find past issues of Building The Legacy
hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected to:
Update email address, mobile phone number, or mailing address
Share employer name, job title, professional field
Personal updates: degrees, marriage, births, job change/promotion, awards
Advancement@hudsoncatholic.org to:
Provide prospect contact information for Marist or St. Anthony Legacy Scholarship at Hudson Catholic
Advertise your business card here for $25 per issue
Plan a visit back to the Hawks Nest
Obtain or donate a yearbook through The Yearbook Exchange
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"Service to others is the rent we pay for our room in the hereafter” - Muhammed Ali - April 26, 1985 |
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The Office of Advancement ~ Gary, Jill & Jenine
201-332-5970 x118
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Special thanks to our sponsors: |
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