Keeping you up to date on all things Hudson Catholic, past and present

The ’22 - ’23 Annual Report of Giving

Has Been Published and Mailed to Donors;

To Be Available in the New Year at

hudsoncatholic.org/annual-report

The Alphabet Soup of

Tax-Advantaged Charitable Giving

IRAs, RMDs, and QCDs

And What They Can Do for You and for Hudson Catholic

(This is not Tax or Legal advice; consult your Financial Planner)

If you are age 73 or older, as in being a member of the Class of ’68, and you hold a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA or 401k, IRS rules mandate that this is the year you must begin to take an annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). The RMD is calculated by dividing the prior year-end account balance with the current year life expectancy factor found in the IRS Uniform Life Expectancy Table.

This will be the case each successive year for the classes of ’69, through ’77, who were born prior to 1960. Born in 1960 or later means that the RMD moves to age 75.

Since 2021, RMD rules are the same for IRAs inherited from a spouse but, for an IRA inherited from a non-spouse, there is a ten-year time limit in which to take RMDs and exhaust the account.

Should you hold multiple IRAs, only one RMD is mandated, albeit based on the collective balances, whereas for multiple 401K accounts, an RMD must be taken for each account. Roth IRAs are not subject to the RMD because they hold after-tax monies.

If you are considering making a charitable gift to satisfy your RMD and avoid a taxable event -- Hudson Catholic would be a great choice! -- consider that making such a gift from an account holding pre-tax money is the way to go via a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). If you are age 70.5 or over, meaning you are in one of the classes of ’68, ‘69, ‘70, or ’71, you are able to make a QCD directly from your IRA (but not from a 401k) to a charitable organization of your choice -- again, Hudson Catholic a great choice! -- in an amount up to $100,000. Making a QCD at your RMD-eligible age can simultaneously satisfy your RMD obligation, with the proviso that the QCD be the first money to be taken out of the IRA for the year. 

If you are steadily converting pre-tax IRA funds to an after-tax Roth IRA to smooth out your tax liability over a number of years, consider replacing such a transfer with a QCD to avoid tax liability altogether. This lowering of the Adjusted Gross Income line on your tax return could also have positive implications for Medicare Part B surcharges and the surtax on net investment income.

At Fidelity, Vanguard, and Charles Schwab, donors can request QCDs either online or by phone and, as long as the QCDs are made directly from your IRA custodian to the charitable organization, the donor can avoid unwanted tax consequences. Just be sure to track QCDs and report them on your 1040 tax form.

Message From The Prez

I hope that everyone enjoyed a Merry Christmas. I sent a text to a friend of mine wishing her the same, and I had typed ‘Merry Xmas’, simply for the sake of expediency. She responded by asking, “Why do people continue to take Christ out of Christmas?” At first, I was a bit defensive. I mean, I didn’t intentionally take Christ out.  But, the more I reflected on it, the more I realized how right she was. I DID purposely take the word out because it made it easier to text. How could I have taken the ‘Christ’ out of Christmas because it was faster to text? What a terrible excuse! The entire reason that God gave his only Son to us was so that we could all be saved. And it certainly wasn’t the ‘easy’ way for Jesus. From the moment of His birth, to the moment of His death, Jesus never had it easy. Yet He lived a life of love, and compassion, and of service to others, even when He knew his fate. And He never took the ‘easy’ way out. As we continue to celebrate the Christmas season and move towards the New Year, may we never take Christ out of Christmas, nor out of our lives.  

Thank you for continuing to be there for Hudson Catholic and our students. I truly hope that you realize that your help is transformative. You are quite literally changing the course of lives. In these last few days of December, I hope you can keep Hudson Catholic in your hearts and minds. If you are able, please know that you can make this a happy and prosperous New Year for the school and our young people (and get a tax credit!!) by making sure you submit your charitable donations before midnight on December 31st. In order to take advantage of any 2023 charitable donation tax incentive, you must make your donation to Hudson Catholic Regional High School before this IRS deadline.

Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!

Heroes of Hudson

The leadership of Jersey City’s Police and Fire Departments is in great hands, as two Hawks have risen to the top leadership roles -- Chief Robert Kearns ’84 and Chief Stephan Drennan ’77, respectively.

Bobby and Steve each are encouraging our police, fire and EMT alumni (and there are many!) and non-alumni alike -- active and retired, regardless of which community or branch of service -- to attend and participate in Hudson Catholic’s tribute the civil service professions on January 11^th at Hudson Catholic at 5pm.

JCPD Chief Robert Kearns '84

JCFD Chief Stephan Drennan '77

Proceeds of ticket sales will be earmarked toward repairing the ceiling in the Rocky Pope Gymnasium and retrofitting the room with air conditioning to enable its utility year-round.

Saturday, January 6th, 12pm

Hudson Catholic vs. Seton Hall Prep

Annual High School Hoopfest

at Roselle Catholic High School

Roselle, NJ

Note to HC YouTube Watchers

To watch Hawk basketball or other athletic events live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flEFN-idekw

To watch completed games after the fact:

https://www.youtube.com/@hudsoncatholicregionalhigh6733/featured  

SOON TO BE CONSOLIDATED INTO ONE LINK

Thursday, January 11th, 5pm

5pm Reception at Hudson Catholic

7pm Game Time

Hudson Catholic vs. Roselle Catholic

https://www.hudsoncatholic.org/heroes

Remembering Our Heroes of Hudson

Marc DiNardo '89

At age 37, Marc DiNardo '89 of the JCPD Emergency Service Unit, a ten year veteran of the Jersey City Police Force, lost his life in the line of duty, succumbing five days after being wounded on July 16, 2009 during an apprehension. In May 2011, his former elementary school, P.S. #23, was renamed Marc Anthony DiNardo School.

Saturday, April 27

Signature small plates from

Alumni Chefs, Local Restaurants

in the Hudson Catholic Auditorium

Proceeds to benefit HC academics & tuition assistance

Further Details TBA

Contact gferrari@hudsoncatholic.org for

Sponsorship Details

Friday, May 17th

Induction Event

at Hudson Catholic

Honoring the Greatest Athletes in Hudson Catholic History

Nomination forms may be completed and submitted at

https://hudsoncatholic.org/woh

through December 31st

Reunion Reminders

1974 / 1999 / 2014

(and any other classes)

Start planning now!

Contact Jill Cypher at jcypher@hudsoncatholic.org

to express interest in having / helping with your class reunion

Class leaders, contact advancement@hudsoncatholic.org

to be put in touch with the '73 Reunion Committee

for their experience in hosting their event at the school.

Prayers Requested

For a return to good health for Mr. Jim Gannon, former faculty member and athletic director in the early years of the school, following serious surgery this past week.

Hawk Happenings

From STEM to Music

From Faculty member Maria Maderal: “Congratulations to TENZIN CHOEYING for winning 1st Place in the" Making Music with Code Competition" held at the Babbio Center's Hanlon Lab, Stevens Institute of Technology! The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) hosted the coding workshop and the competition was open to all ACES Schools and AHSA program participants. Tenzin did an extremely wonderful job representing the STEM Club, Coding Club, Math Club, Environmental Club and, of course, Hudson Catholic Regional High School!”

Words, Prose, Published

In early October, students in American Literature class were given an assignment to write a mini saga of no more than 100 words on the theme of being hunted. Based on imagination, creativity and the use of language, 23 Sophs had their work selected for publication by the Young Writers USA Association. The students' works will be published in a book entitled Hunted - Chronicles of Pursuit, and they are now in the running to receive the Young Writers' Award of Excellence -- winners to be announced next semester. 

Alumni Spotlight

Leadership, Service, Achievements

Elijah Gertrude '23 met up with fellow Hawk basketball alum Jahvon Quinerly '18 on a Division I NCAA hardcourt this past week when the UVA Cavaliers visited the Memphis Tigers. Wish our Hawks the best for the remainder of the season!



Smart Hire. Einstein Albert '08  has started a new role as Human Resources Specialist at East Hartford Public Schools.

In Another World. Alvin Duque ’04. Hoping to pursue a pilot career, Alvin graduated Vaughn College ’09, simultaneously taking flight lessons in Farmingdale, Long Island. But his interests shifted. In 2019, he returned to school to pursue a second bachelor's degree, at De La Salle College of St Benilde in Manila, Philippines. Earning a B.S, degree in Interactive Entertainment and Multimedia Computing, he studied game development and learned to code, design, animate, and create 2D and 3D art for video games. In this field as a game artist, he collaborates with other creative disciplines to publish playable video games, putting to use his skills to paint and design imaginary worlds brimming with life. He expects to enter the field professionally upon completion of an internship program as a 2D game artist.

Making Movies. PJ Leonard ’80 has announced the scheduled premier of his feature film Mississippi Scholar at the River Spirits Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma in May 2024. Maybe he'll bring it to Hudosn?



If you have a newsworthy item or something from the present or past to share with the Hawk community, drop a note to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org

Soccer Follow-up 

The recent reunion of the '82 team that played their senior season in the fall of '81 reminded us of the fine moment that then-Sophomore Phil Chianetta '84 later enjoyed in the fall of '83 as a senior in this great photo that graced the front cover of The Commentator. It captured what we call "The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat."

Will the ace shutterbug of this photo please step forward to identify yourself (to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org) and take a bow?

Focus on '78

Memories

Hawk Yearbook Dedication: Mr. Jim Gannon

Class President: Ray Murphy (no, not Brother Ray!)

Principal: Brother Emmitt O’Neill

Brother Albert Lautenslager died in November of that year. He was the longest serving Christian Brother among the original six ‘founders’ of the school in 1964-65.

In Football, the ‘78 class started as freshmen under Joe Pompeo ‘70 and Dan Deardorf; was the first class to play under Head Coach Ed Agresta (and position coaches Jerry Caputo and Kevin Lynch ’69); and would develop into the only back-to-back County Championship football team at Hudson. The team included All County players Tony Terranova, Mark Cahill, and Terence Schaefer, a member of the HC Football Wall of Fame. That class never lost to Prep in its four-year history. Joe DiCristo was another athletic standout -- offense/defense in Football, and Wrestling.

We are looking to 'Stay Connected' with '78 Hawks James Bercaw, James Brett, Andrew Bugliaro, Phil Buonomo, Mike Cannata, Wilfredo Cheng, John Corigan, Mark Curtis, Thomas D’Agostino, Steven Mitchell, James Moore, Sam Neglia, George O’Nieal, Patrick Pompeo, David Pawlikowski, James Riordan, and Larry Santeramo. Send them to hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected or send their email addresses to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org

Hawk Get-Togethers

For an encore to the recent class 50-year reunion, we get The Hawk Hatchet Squad! Once again proving that '73 is the zaniest of the bunch, these denizens with a lot of time on their hands gathered at Stumpy's Hatchet House in Eatontown, NJ, just an axe's throw away from the Christian Brothers' DENA headquarters. Whew, thatwasclose! Nobody aksed me, but those who got the axe were Ted Natoli, Lou Manzo, Carl Gargiulo, Rich Naviello, Jim Sweeney, Mark Fallon, and Tom Mullarney.

Sports Trivia

From the Morales Sports Bureau: Jim Spanarkel ’75 of Hawk Basketball glory was also a primo athlete on the baseball diamond. Not only did he also play baseball at Duke University, for Hall of Fame big leaguer Enos Slaughter, but as a Hawk, he holds the distinction of being named 1st team All County for 3 straight years -- each year at a different position (1B-Pitcher-SS)!

Blast From the Past

The Time when.........

Anyone having details on what happened here, and when, drop a line to advancment@hudsoncatholic.org.

Korrections Korner

In last issue's tribute to the late JCPD Officers Robert Nguyen ’93 and Shawn Carson, we erred on the location of their tragic accident. It was not the Wittpenn Bridge in Kearny, but the Lincoln Highway Bridge, part of Rts. 1&9 that connects Jersey City to Kearny, which was named in tribute to the fallen officers in 2007. We regret that error.

Turn Your Brothers and Sisters In!

(We Need Their Email Addresses)

We lose touch with some of our graduates who move around, go off to college, start careers, get married, etc. Help us find them again and make it harder for us to lose touch. Many on this list have siblings who are Hawk alumni, so turn them in at advancement@hudsoncatholic.org or send them to hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected to update their contact info.

FYI

Note:

If any link in this issue is not clickable,

please copy and paste the 'link' into your browser's address window

advancement@hudsoncatholic.org to:

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

Convey an obituary notice

Purchase Hawk gear online at:

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/newjersey/jerseycity/hudson-catholic-high-school

For Hawk Chatter on Social Media:

Facebook: Hudson Catholic Regional High School Friends, a private group with 1,300 members and climbing.

Linkedin: Hudson Catholic Regional High School page, with 400+ followers at https://www.linkedin.com/school/27080137/admin/feed/posts/

If you receive our email at your workplace, we may not be getting through to you if our email is being intercepted by your spam filter. Only you can correct that by placing us on your safe list, which would allow communications from our Constant Contact email platform to reach you.

“The loss of a loved one is a reminder of the fragility of life itself and the importance of living each moment with meaning and mission.” -- Anonymous

Requiescant in Pace

Vita Mutatur Non Tollitur

(Life is changed, not ended)

Ronald Esposito '72, brother of Dennis '69

Elizabeth Garcia, mother of Brian Garcia '79

Kim-Michelle Garner, daughter of Michael Garner ‘68

____________________________________________

Will be remembered in our annual

Alumni Mass of Remembrance

on November 3rd, 2024