College Acceptances Rolling In
The Citadel wants Grant Pilars
(and a cross-generational connection is made)
It’s Stevens Tech for Naomi Fernandez
Naomi Fernandez of the Fernandez triplets featured in Building The Legacy v39 Aug26 won early admittance to Stevens Institute of Technology. A Dual Enrollment senior, Naomi has already earned 66 college level credits, and she aspires to be an aeronautical engineer. That will please Rick Roscitt ’69 to no end, as Rick is the sitting Vice President of Stevens’ Board of Trustees. Bill Venezia ’70, Director of Instruction in the Hudson Catholic Administration, describes Naomi as “one of Hudson Catholic's best and brightest."
During their time in South Carolina, former Faculty member Jim Gannon and wife Peggy have each worked at The Citadel, he as an Adjunct Professor and she as an Administrative Assistant to Math & Science. They recently reached out to offer some insights to Grant Pilars about the school, courtesy of a phone dialogue brokered by President Terry Matthews. Should Grant follow through on choosing his desired major, Exercise Science, he stands a good chance to wind up in a course taught by, who else? Mr. G!
Following their conversation, Mr. Gannon offered these remarks: “I realized that even after so many years away form the school, the quality of the students is still the same. The school has produced so many outstanding individuals over the past fifty plus years, and it was gratifying to see that this continues.”
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Grant Pilars with Assistant Principal Sarah Degnan-Barbi |
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Naomi Fernandez, out in front of sister, Samantha and brother, Zachary |
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Last Minute Gift Ideas
To Hudson Catholic, by Year End, that is!
And HC Gives Back to You - with Tax Deductions!
Give: Donations to Hudson Catholic in the next 4 days.
And Receive: a reduction in your tax liability for the year.
One of the best ways to do this is actually on a non-cash basis, by donating appreciated stock. Contact the Chief Advancement Officer Gary Ferrari to make those arrangements, Just In Time! gferrari@hudsoncatholic.org / 201-888-6276. Such gifts, along with cash donations (to hudsocnatholic.org/1964), of course, can find ample use for things on our Students’ and Teachers’ Wish List:
Science Lab Materials
Fine Arts Supplies
New Athletic Equipment
Professional Development
Student Retreats
Drama Club Production
Financial Aid
Media Arts Equipment
Transportation for Athletic Teams
Scholarships, innovative academic programs, student life activities, campus ministry and more play a key role in our students’ journey to success. Your support makes it possible. Your generosity is critical to that journey.
There are several benefits to giving at the end of the year. The CARES Act, which enabled up to $300 in charitable giving last year even if taking the Standard Deduction, expires on December 31st. And, the suspension of the adjusted gross income limitation for individuals’ charitable contributions has been extended for another year, meaning cash contributions are fully deductible up to 100% of AGI.
We hope you will celebrate this season of giving with a gift to 1964: The Fund for Hudson Catholic today. Your gift by December 31st will ensure our students can start the New Year strong.
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Give to the Annual Fund at www.hudsoncatholic.org/1964 |
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Alumni Officers Scholarship Launched |
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Along with the Administration, Faculty, Board of Consultors, Hall of Fame, and Wall of Honor, the elected Alumni Officers form an integral component of Leadership in the Hudson Catholic community. Each of these groups is looked upon as a beacon for our school.
Over the nearly 40 years of the Alumni Association’s existence, many have served the interests of our ~7,500 alumni, first as students, then as alumni. We are ever grateful for the Association’s service to alma mater over those many years.
Now, as Hudson Catholic establishes scholarship awards in honor of, and to be funded by the membership of each of these leadership groups, we announce today the creation of The Alumni Officers Award.
This scholarship will be awarded each time we accumulate $1,000 in the fund. The idea is for Alumni Officers, present AND past, to band together in solidarity to fund this scholarship on an ongoing basis.
Those who once served as Alumni Association Officers know who they are. You can contact Jenine D’Addetta of the Office of Advancement at jdaddetta@hudsoncatholic.org to discuss how you may provide a gift to the fund online or by Venmo. Otherwise, a check made payable to the school and sent to the Office of Advancement at 790 Bergen will do nicely.
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New Sights & Sounds for
The Hawks Nest Gym and Stage
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Thanks to the Alumni Association for donating, and Larry Basinski ’70 for leading the charge, to install a wonderful new look for the Hawks Nest stage, with volunteer assistance from some of our long-time guardian angels of Theatrical Stagehands Union Local One IATSE, in this case Dave and Jeff, and from Frank Martineau ’75. Their labor saved us over $4,000 installing the new main curtain, valance and proscenium. (You can bet 'proscenium' will be on the pop quiz this week.) They will look great come the Hawk Drama Club’s spring production of School of Rock.
And as we head into winter sports and events season, many activities will be live streamed and recorded in our gym using the Hudl Focus camera that relays audio and video to the HCTV YouTube live stream.
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We received a call from Coach Hurley following the issuance of our ‘what if’ article. He may have burnished a lifelong reputation as being tough as nails, but a more gracious man you cannot find.
He was very deferential to Coach Rocky, so much so that we had to tell him that the article, as this one, is written with a fair amount of tongue-in-cheek, with no disrespect meant to a man who put us on the basketball map and was one of the early entrants to the Hudson Catholic Hall of Fame.
Coach Hurley was still a young man at the time, recalling that his mother made ALL of the family decisions. He acknowledged that in the family there had been talk that his taking our reigns might make it awkward for his brother Tim Hurley ’74 who was on Varsity basketball. When pressed that “we could blame it all on Timmy,” he said, emphatically, “I wouldn’t go that far.”
The Coach recounted that he soon took the Varsity job at St. Anthony’s following Rocky's acceptance of the HC job and that Rocky got the better of him in those years, starting out 2-0 -- once in the ’72-’73 HCIAA season, then in the legendary 1975 Hudson County Championship game at the Armory. Very impressively, the Coach could still name the starting fives from each HC team that beat him. He added that all Hawk alumni should be proud of that, and that it was a bad break for the talented ’72-’73 North Jersey Championship Team to draw CBA in the State Title Game at Brookdale, making it essentially a CBA home game.
We concluded the conversation on the topic of baseball. He wants the JV Baseball Hawks of ’71, particularly Peter Morales, Mike Finley, Steve Ulrich, and Frank Constantinople to know that their snapping of St. Anthony’s 42-game winning streak had absolutely no impact on his decision not to pursue the varsity basketball job with Hudson Catholic. He recalled that our coach of that team, Flavio Rubano (’69 Hawk Athlete of the Year), defeated his mentor, The ‘Faa’, who he had played for at St. Aeden’s, so a little bit of a sub-plot there, perhaps. This man’s memory is incredible!
It was indeed a pleasure to speak with a man whose legend is larger than life - a Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
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Black and Gold and Crimson (Tide). Jahvon Quinerly ’18. Starting Guard for the University of Alabama. He had 26 points in a 104-88 win vs South Dakota St. And on December 5th in a national showcase game, then #16 Alabama travelled to #3 Gonzaga and took them down, 91-82, with Jahvon contributing 17 points on some clutch 3-point shooting. Keep on eye on him come March Madness time.
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Event-ful. Tatiana Lopez ’16, former Hawk basketball, softball and track standout, is a free-lance sports photographer, presently attending Barry University, pursuing a degree in Marketing, following 9 years of experience in field marketing / public promotions, and presently working with the Marketing Team at Dangia Productions.
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Of Legacy & Service. Shawn Morris ’88, first Legacy Hawk (Dad Harry ’69). Fast forward from the ’84 Yearbook, after graduating Stockton College, Shawn went to work at the 99th RSC, Fort Devens, Massachusetts, earning the rank of Staff Sgt. The 99th RSC provides base operations support to Army Reserve Soldiers, Civilians, Families, Units, Facilities and Equipment.
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Forever Friends. Joe Pagetta ’90, a professional writer based in Nashville, and Director of the Tennessee State Museum, recently did some personal writing in memory of his late classmate and best bud, Dennis Wilkins. For a very moving read, copy and paste this link:
https://chapter16.org/just-the-way-we-were/?fbclid=IwAR1DLpj-WyYGhEa2c-N24Zc8C6te9NEbjm-U6lNIKGD-ZboDo1RkgDvrefc
It will take you to a site called Chapter 16 (a community of Tennessee writers) and an article entitled Just The Way We Were: Remembering a Friend 30 Years Later.
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On a recent trip back to The Hawks Nest, one graduate was led to observe and remark about “The Clock’ to fellow Hawks on social media: “The clock is still there……It is not working, but who cares, right? It strikes a chord with so many of us…as do the staircases and hallways, the quiet of the Courtyard, and those familiar brick walls outside.”
Sometimes, a simple observation, simply described, can crystallize a point in time and bring back a great many pleasant memories for a lot of people. This one was worthy of sharing. We’d be happy to share other such memories of simple times spent together on a ‘campus’ that most did not want to leave at the end of the school day. Send those memories to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org
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Hawk Religious on the Mend
From Tom Bender ’69, Br. Luke Maher, HC Principal 1968-1972, is convalescing at De La Salle Hall on the campus of CBA in Lincroft. He is unable to leave the premises at this time, but can receive visitors, 2-3 at a time. Guests will be met at the front entrance hall and are expected to wear masks and display proof of immunization status. Call ahead.
Henry Dabrowski ’72 wanted to let all know that his close friend and classmate, Father Tom Wisniewski ‘72, is recovering in Hackensack Hospital with a fractured hip and pelvis from a severe accident.
Please include Brother Luke and Father Tom in your thoughts and prayers.
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Don’t Just Advertise,
Invest in Hudson Catholic!
As we turn the page into a new year, we make our periodic reminder and outreach for our Hawk business owners and professional practices to consider becoming a Building The Legacy sponsor by advertising your business card on a bi-weekly basis for “a mere” $25 per issue.
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Gear Up
The number of inquiries received about purchasing Hawk apparel may be pent up demand, or could be evidence of renewed pride in Hudson Catholic. Whatever the reason, if you cannot get to the school to make your selections first-hand at the Hawk Store, here is how to do it online, originally presented in v44 Building The Legacy. To purchase Hawkwear online, go to:
https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/newjersey/jerseycity/hudson-catholic-high-school.
Readers Respond
Researching sleuth, Peter Morales ’74, rummaged the Jersey Journal archives and unearthed a March 25, 1983 page 4 column named ‘In Hudson” (third of ten items, titled “Catholic Students Vie Sunday”). It announced the Hawks’ second round opponent in the Rutgers Bowl as the St. Mary’s Hall-Doane Academy Burlington Spartans, being broadcast by New Jersey Network on the following Sunday at 4:30pm and again on Tuesday at 6pm on UHF Channel 50. That is impressive work, Peter!
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Korrections Korner
The article on the Rutgers Bowl inadvertently omitted Richard Moller ‘84 as the team alternate. Presumably, Richard went through all the preparation work with the team but did not make it on to the broadcasts for the actual competition.
Update Alley
Per Jim Sweeney '73, the Facebook site to connect for the ’73 PokerClub has been changed to HAWKKONNECT '73, where several different activities will be offered during the course of 2022. Info can be found in HawkTalk 73, also on Facebook. Poker will be for novices as well as sharks
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Save a Stamp
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
FYI
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
hudsoncatholic.org/BTL to:
Find past issues of Building The Legacy
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In the Gospel of Matthew 13:31-35 Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus compares our faith to a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds that grows large to provide a home where the birds of the sky flourish.
With a vision dedicated to serving those who believe in the mission of Catholic education, our seed has been blessed by God, welcoming and providing a home where our Hawks can flourish.
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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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