Dear Editor:
I truly appreciate the article written by Barnett Schulman on my behalf. It was regarding the Emerson High School Alumni Hall of Fame and how much we have raised and contributed toward helping needed and deserving students go to college.
Our dinner has been the most successful in the Tri-State area, there is no question about that. We have helped other schools in the area get started with their Alumni Association. As the article stated, with our hard work, caring, and dedication is the reason for our success.
Our committee is generous, wonderful, and thoughtful and we meet quite often. However, as the president of the Hall of Fame, it is a pleasure to work with this great committee. But, I must say there were some others who were extremely helpful early on. We cannot exclude the names of Joseph “Pep” Novotny, the legend, Vito D’Orio, one of the great athletic directors, Richie Potente, former president of the Hall of Fame, a very good athlete in his own right, John Cinguirre a World War II hero, our first treasurer, Joe Tatano, our next treasurer who was an all county pitcher and a heavy Semi-Pro player, John Donnarumma co-captain and quarter back on the 1945 Football Team. Others came and went, but one must remember that it takes some dedicated people to make our “Hall of Fame” dinner and fund raising to be successful.
We have given out 185 scholarships already, which allowed those worthy of our help. Many of those students have graduated from NJCU, Rutgers University, Princeton University, MIT, Massachusetts University, Connecticut University, Columbia University, NYU, and the list goes on and on.
One last item of worthiness, I must mention, Robert De Ruggiero, a true “Bulldog” loyal, caring, and a dear friend who has donated to the Hall of Fame year after year. Bob has passed away on June 27, 2012. We will all miss this wonderful man.
Sincerely,
Nick “Whizzer” Mastorelli