Fort Schuyler Magazine Spring 2021

LETTER FROM KEVIN DANKO ’95 President, Maritime College Alumni Association

Dear Fellow Alumni, I am excited for the opportunity to lead the Maritime College Alumni Association (MCAA) as we pull out of the pandemic-restricted world and look towards what the new normal has in store for us. This year has given us much to think about and challenged how we have done business in the past. While we all agree the missed opportunities for in-person connections were sorely missed, we learned that we can incorporate various electronic means to connect and draw us all together as we span the globe! I’d like to welcome a few new Shipmates to the MCAA board this year. Mike Paturas '13 will be stepping in as our new secretary. Ryan Modruson ’02 is joining us as board member and will be chairing the Membership Committee. Bridget Cooney ’15 joins us as a board member and has already engaged in several of our committees. Rick McClain ’14 also joins us as board member and will be chairing the Public Relations Committee. As a board, we are focused this year on increasing engagement with our membership and what better way to accomplish that than welcoming non-board members to join a committee. Our committees are not limited to board members and your voice matters. If you are interested in helping to shape MCAA activities, please reach out to us so we can find the committee for you. By now you are already aware that our annual dinner was ultimately rescheduled to January of 2022. We just did not see a viable option for paying tribute to our honorees within the pandemic guidelines. Our honorees agreed that pushing the event to 2022 was the best option and we are looking forward to making our 2022 dinner a huge success! I am pleased to announce that we have created a new Executive Director position in addition to our current Director position. This is an investment the board felt strongly about to drive the association’s strategic vision as we continue to grow in our relationship with the College and we strive to find new ways to engage with you, our members. Jeanne Murphy joined the MCAA as Executive Director on March 1. She is on campus full time in our Alumni Association office in the administrative wing of the Fort. You may reach Jeanne at (718) 319-8801 or via email: jmurphy@maritimecollegeAA.org I hope you are all looking forward to our Annual Golf Classic taking place on June 19 th at Old Westbury Golf & Country Club. This is always a great event and a way for us to supplement funds for the day-to-day operations of the association. We would love to see you in person and if that doesn’t work logistically, please give serious consideration to one of our many sponsorship opportunities. We remain hopeful that our communities are coming out of restrictions, which means that we are already planning for a fantastic Homecoming! There are plans to make this a “redo” for anniversary classes in 2020 who weren’t afforded the opportunity for a “traditional” celebration of important milestones. We are really expecting to flood the campus and celebrate together! Don’t forget our sesquicentennial is less than three years away. In closing, we are asking each of you to continue in your support of the association through your membership. Please encourage your classmates to become active members as well. We have some exciting new member benefits, so don’t miss out, join us now! Fraternally,

MARITIME COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers: Kevin Danko ’95 President Annmarie Bhola ’98

1st Vice President Leo Imperial ’01 2nd Vice President Kevin Comerford ’83 Treasurer Samuel Reilly ’95 Assistant Treasurer Michael Paturas ’13 Secretary Board of Directors: Bridget Cooney ’15 Victor Corso ’83 Carl Hausheer ’79 Phil Kantz ’65 Ted Mason ’57 Rick McClain ’14 Ryan Modruson ’02 Chris Nystrom ’92 Mike Trotta ’99

Kevin Danko, Class of 1995 President MCAA

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