Reception for Metuchen High School's second Hall of Fame class to be held April 15

Greg Tufaro
Courier News and Home News Tribune
Metuchen High School sign

Metuchen High School will honor its second Hall of Fame induction class, consisting of 11 distinguished alumni and former employees, during a reception at The Gran Centurions in Clark on April 15 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Metuchen High School, which graduated its first class 108 years ago, established the Hall of Fame to honor alumni and employees who have distinguished themselves through their achievements in career, scholarship, athletics and/or community service.

Tickets for the reception remain available and can be purchased for $30 in person at Metuchen High School or by calling the high school’s main office at (732) 321-8744. Hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine, coffee and dessert will be served at the reception. All checks should be made payable to Metuchen High School. Email Maureen Azzara at mazzara@metboe.k12.nj.us for further information.

LOOK BACK: Metuchen High School's inaugural Hall of Fame induction class honored at November 2016 reception

A committee that solicited and reviewed nominations selected the inductees who, through their actions, have contributed to the Metuchen School District's established vision. The inductees will continue to serve as positive role models, providing inspiration, hope, support and relevance to their community.

Dr. Vincent Caputo, superintendent of Metuchen Public Schools, said with "more than 100 years of graduating classes, many very deserving candidates even in the first, second, third and fourth years won't be inducted. Our committee will really have their hands full the first five years or so until we get those no-brainers inducted."

The Hall of Fame inductees were selected in the following areas (biographical sketches of the inductees, which the high school provided, can be found below):

Accomplished Professional

Graduates who have performed at an extraordinary level in their chosen profession to become leaders and role models while having an impact on their community: Dr. Joy Bergelson, David Kotkin (David Copperfield), Thomas Ruegger and Rebecca Young.

Humanitarian and Service Contributor

Graduates who have demonstrated consistent and significant service to the local, state, national or world communities: Bernard Spigner (deceased) and Rev. Dr. George Hollingshead.

Bulldog Spirit

Graduates who, during their time at Metuchen High School, made lasting contributions that have had a positive effect: Gene Haley (deceased) and Valerie Ann Gazda.

Distinguished Faculty

Individuals who, during their time of service with the Metuchen School District, profoundly impacted students' lives: John Cassell (deceased) and Theresa Pollifrone-Sinatra.

Lifetime Recognition

Individuals who made a valuable contribution to the Metuchen community, demonstrating high moral character, dignity and/or courage: Dr. Mildred B. Moss (deceased).

LIFETIME RECOGNITION

Dr. Mildred B. Moss, served Metuchen Public Schools 1918-65

Moss served as a teacher and principal at Washington School, which was later renamed after her, for 48 years. She was recognized nationally in 1962 as Principal of the Year. Moss began her career in education as a second-grade teacher in 1918 at Edgar School, where she taught until 1927, when she began teaching second grade at Washington School. In 1931 she was named a “teacher-in-charge” at Washington School. She became Washington School’s principal in 1954, a position she held until her retirement 11 years later. A graduate of Metuchen High School, Moss received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Rutgers University. An educational consultant connected with the Rutgers University Reading and Psychological Clinic, she taught at Rutgers University’s School of Education from 1949-62. She began teaching summer sessions at Elmira College in 1962. She was president of the Kindergarten Primary Department of the National Education Association from 1947-49 and President of the Metuchen Teachers Association from 1948-49. Dr. Moss was a member of the Executive Committee of the State Elementary Principals Association from 1941-44. Regarded as an authority on reading, she served as a consultant to national curriculum studies.

HUMANITARIAN AND SERVICE

Rev. Dr. George Hollingshead, Class of ‘54

Ordained in 1961, Hollingshead actively served Presbyterian congregations for more than 40 years. He served from 1978-2001 as associate pastor for outreach, mission and stewardship at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania, which, at the time, was the 12th largest Presbyterian Church in the country with more than 3,400 members according to mainlinetimes.com. In 2000, Hollingshead served as moderator of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, the nation’s oldest presbytery and the country’s fourth largest consisting of 158 congregations. He served as the presbytery’s funding committee chairperson and chaired the “Unity Amidst Diversity Task Force.” Also in 2000, he was appointed treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professions. In 1990 he became the founding president of the Main Line Interfaith Hospitality Network, which assists homeless families. For more than a decade he served on the Bryn Mawr Hospital’s Institutional Review Board, which oversees scientific research programs involving humans. With a strong interest in housing for lower-income persons, Hollingshead was active for several years with the Delaware Valley Habitat for Humanity. In 1996, he led a 40-member team of Presbyterians and Roman Catholics to Ireland, where they assisted in constructing a house for Habitat for Humanity. He has traveled to Africa, Jamaica, Guatemala, Costa Rica and several European and Middle Eastern countries. He also served as Protestant Chaplain aboard two major cruise lines. Hollingshead graduated from Washington and Jefferson College and  Princeton Theological Seminary. He also studied at New College, Edinburg University in Scotland.

Bernard T. Spigner, Class of ‘73

Noted for his smooth voice and urbane manner, Spigner was a well-recognized radio personality known by many as the "Voice of Central New Jersey." Before his passing in 2007, he was serving as the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority spokesman under Chairman George Zoffinger. According to his obituary, Spigner “was always an active participant in government and community volunteer activities, including being appointed as vice chairman of the Government Records Council by Governor McGreevey to ensure the public had complete access to all government documents. Bernard also served on several community boards of directors, including Common Cause New Jersey, Metuchen-Edison YMCA and St. Peter's School Association. He was also named the 2003 Man of the Year by the National Foundation for Cancer Research. A journalism/communications major, Bernard graduated from Adelphi University in 1978. He began his career as an operations manager for Avis Rent-A-Car at its Newark International Airport hub. In 1985 he started as a part-time editor at Shadow Broadcast Services and rose quickly through the ranks to become second-in-command at the New York office. During that time he also began his on-air career as a reporter for several media stations including WCBS-TV, 1010 WINS-AM, and WCBS-AM. Among his colleagues, he was known as ‘Mr. Rand McNally’ for his superior knowledge of highways. In 1994 he was named general manager of Shadow's newest market in Washington D.C. In 1996 Chancellor Broadcasting brought Bernard to New York as general manager of the Sunrise Radio Network. After years as a broadcast executive, Bernard followed his dreams and came from behind the desk to go behind the microphone, joining WCTC radio in 1999 as a talk show host.”  

Bernard T. Spigner

DISTINGUISHED FACULTY

Theresa Pollifrone-Sinatra, served Metuchen Public Schools 1991-2012

According to the Board of Education minutes of a July 19, 2011 meeting, Pollifrone-Sinatra “always showed a commitment and passion for her work, introduced computer technology into the schools, restructured the administration, established a five-year curriculum review cycle, produced a user-friendly review of the school district’s budget process which resulted in the passage of 14 consecutive annual school budgets and two referenda for building and site improvements at the high school and elementary schools. She demonstrated her ability to operate every day as a cheerful, optimistic, consummate professional and problem solver in the best interest of the students and the Metuchen Public Schools.” She  teamed with State Senator Barbara Buono in 2002 to pass New  Jersey’s first school anti-bullying law, based on the Metuchen Public Schools’ policy. In 2011, Pollifrone-Sinatra was named Middlesex County’s Superintendent of the Year. Pollifrone-Sinatra dedicated more than 21 years of her professional life to Metuchen Public Schools, including 11 as the district’s superintendent. She joined the district in 1991 as a director of special services. In 1996, she assumed additional responsibilities as a school business administrator. In 1997, she was appointed assistant superintendent for business and special services. In 1999, she was named acting superintendent. She was named superintendent one year later.

John Cassell, served Metuchen Public Schools 1953-84

A legendary track and cross country coach at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, Cassell took over the Metuchen High School programs in 1953. He turned the Bulldogs into a small school state power in the sports, a status Metuchen still maintains to this day. Cassell coached track and cross country until 1968, at which time he became the high school’s athletics director. “He was one of those old-school taskmasters who was really rough and gruff on the outside, but deep down he was one of the most caring and thoughtful men who would do anything to help a student in a time of need,” veteran sports writer John Haley said of Cassell. “John was a great coach who was so well-respected among his peers,” said former Metuchen High School principal John Novak, who was part of Metuchen High School’s inaugural Hall of Fame induction class. “Metuchen was a great dual-meet team who could compete against the bigger schools in Middlesex County.” John Cassell set the high standards for coaches and athletic directors not only in Middlesex County but at the state level as well that are still being followed today.

Val Gazda coaching the Metuchen High School girls soccer team during a 2006 game.

BULLDOG SPIRIT

Valerie Ann Gazda, Class of ‘82

Gazda has been an integral part of the Metuchen school-community for more than 35 years, 32 as a teacher and coach and four as one of the school’s greatest student-athletes. As a varsity girls soccer coach for 26 years, Gazda has won more than 350 games including four sectional titles and a state championship. Her soccer teams have reached the state finals three times and were the first Group I team to reach a Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final (1997). Gazda has also won seven division titles in girls soccer. As Metuchen’s girls basketball coach from 1992 to 2001 and 2008 to 2013, Gazda won two division titles and a sectional championship. Gazda served as president of the New Jersey Girls Soccer Association and is a member of the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. She has received more than a dozen Coach of the Year honors from the league and various publications including The Star Ledger, which named Gazda the state’s Girls Soccer Coach of the Year in 2007. The NJSIAA also honored Gazda with its prestigious lifetime Service and Contribution Award for her commitment to girls soccer. As a Metuchen High School student, Gazda was an outstanding and groundbreaking female athlete. She was a member of the boys soccer team, a goalkeeper for the field hockey team, a four-year member of the varsity softball team (all-division/all-conference) and was the first girls basketball player to score more than 1,000 points. She helped the Bulldogs win two Valley Division titles and two sectional championships (1981 and 1982) and also win the county tournament (1981) in girls basketball. Gazda’s appeal extended beyond the playing field as classmates nominated her Prom Princess during her junior year. Gazda has volunteered as a Buddy Ball soccer coach for the past 11 years and as a Special Olympics bowling coach. She has fundraised for the high school’s basketball and soccer teams, as well as for Buddy Ball, the Lakeview School, Roosevelt Care Center and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Gene Haley in 1944 Metuchen High School graduation photo

Gene Haley, Class of ‘44

In addition to being one of the most highly respected scholastic sports writers in state history, Gene was a Democratic councilman in Metuchen during the 1960s and in that capacity was instrumental in founding the Metuchen Pool. In addition to working as an accountant with the Ford Motor Company, from which he retired in 1982, Haley covered sports for 20 years at the Metuchen Recorder and for 20 more years at the Home News. He was graduated from Rider College in 1948. Haley became known for his encyclopedic knowledge and passionate writing of high school sports. His devotion to school sports led to many awards, both from his fellow sportswriters and coaches in the region. Haley was posthumously honored by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletics Association for his contributions to athletics in the state. In 1983, he was named by the Middlesex County Coaches Association as honorary chairman of the county basketball association – the first time someone outside the coaching ranks had been chosen to hold the seat. Haley became known to Home News readers as a scholastic sports maven when he first started writing for the paper in the 1970s. Since that time, he did more to promote local high school athletes than any other sports writer in the area. His impact on high school athletics was recognized in 1991 when he received the Journalistic Achievement Award from the New Jersey Sports Writers Association (NJSWA). He also served as secretary to the organization. Haley coached basketball at the local YMCA and tutored such athletes who went on to become prominent Middlesex County coaches as Bob Coward and Bill Kuchar. Haley, who was stricken with polio, could not participate in youth sports but served as team manager for Metuchen High School’s boys basketball and football teams. He had been confined to a wheelchair after breaking his leg in 1989. Although his leg never fully healed, that never stopped him from covering the high school sports that he loved. He always maintained a positive perspective on scholastic athletics.

ACCOMPLISHED PROFESSIONAL

Dr. Joy Bergelson, Class of ‘80

Joy Bergelson is Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago. According to Science Life, the online news hub for the University of Chicago Medicine & Biological Sciences, “Bergelson’s work focuses on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the community of bacteria that inhabit it, with particular interest in understanding how the ecology of these interactions shapes evolutionary change. Her studies combine molecular evolutionary research with functional genomics under natural field conditions to test models of host-pathogen co-evolution.” Bergelson is a member of three University of Chicago committees. She has served on dozens of other departmental, divisional and university committees, National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Agriculture panels, international advisory boards and journal editorial boards. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served as chair of the AAAS Biology section. According to her bio on the University of Chicago’s website, Bergelson “completed her undergraduate degree at Brown University before traveling to the University of York with a Marshall Fellowship (MPhil in Biology, 1986). She completed her doctorate at the University of Washington (PhD in Zoology, 1990) and her post-doctoral studies at Oxford.” Bergelson has authored more than 100 papers that have accumulated more than 13,000 citations. According to Science Life, under Bergelson, The University of Chicago “completed the Warren Woods Ecological Field Station, the first Passive House-certified laboratory in North America and only the fifth worldwide. Built to Passive House standards – an innovative design process that results in minimal energy requirements for heating and cooling – the field station and accompanying cabins set a new benchmark for sustainable and energy-efficient educational facilities.”

David Copperfield

David Kotkin (David Copperfield), Class of ‘74

According to his website, Copperfield “has been hailed by audiences and critics alike as the greatest magician in the world. He’s the first living illusionist to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was knighted by the French government and he received the Living Legend award from the United States Library of Congress. Named Magician of the Century and Magician of the Millennium, his face graces the postage stamps of six different countries. He’s won over 21 Emmy awards for his groundbreaking television specials and holds 11 Guinness World Records. He has also sold more tickets than any other solo entertainer in history, with ticket sales in the billions.” Copperfield was invited to join the Society of American Magicians at the age of 12, was a New York University adjunct professor teaching “the Art of Magic” at the age of 16 and was cast at the age of 18 as the lead in “The Magic Man,” a musical comedy that became the longest running musical in Chicago’s history. After the show closed, according to his website, “As host of ‘The Magic of ABC, Starring David Copperfield’, Copperfield achieved top ratings. CBS immediately put David under contract for a series of yearly TV specials, which became known as ‘The Magic of David Copperfield.’” According to Copperfield’s website, he collaborated in 1996 with Francis Ford Coppola to create "Dreams and Nightmares," which still holds the Broadway record for most tickets sold in one week. According to his website, Copperfield founded Project Magic, “a program that uses magic as therapy in a thousand hospitals in 30 countries worldwide. This medically certified program motivates patients to regain their dexterity, coordination and cognitive skills by learning simple magic and sleight of hand.” Copperfield, according to his website, “founded The International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, which houses the world's largest collection of historically significant magic memorabilia, posters, books, props and artifacts.”

Executive producer Tom Ruegger (right), at a recording session for the 7D with Jess Harnell (left) and Kelly Osbourne (center).

Thomas Ruegger, Class of ‘72

An animator, writer, storyboard artist, producer and director who has worked with Steven Spielberg, Ruegger is best known for his association with Walt Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. Ruegger has received 14 Emmy awards for animation. He is the creator of Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain and Histeria! According to a biographical sketch of Ruegger at revolvy.com, Ruegger began his career at Hanna-Barbera “writing and producing various animated series including Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Pound Puppies and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.” Ruegger founded Tom Ruegger Productions, a full-service animation studio, in 2004. Two years later, Ruegger served as executive producer on the 40-episode animated series Animalia, based on Graeme Base’s picture book. According to revolvy.com, “In 2011, Ruegger began working for Walt Disney Television Animation and Disney Junior, where he executive produced 40 half-hours of The 7D,” a comedy based on the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. “As of 2017,” according to revolvy.com, “Ruegger is developing new animated series for Disney Junior.” Ruegger was graduated from Dartmouth College, where, in 1976, he reportedly made his first cartoon called The Premiere of Platypus Duck.

Rebecca Young

Rebecca Young, Class of ‘82

According to her bio at the New York Philharmonic’s website, “Young joined the New York Philharmonic in 1986 as its youngest member. In 1991 she won the position of Associate Principal Viola. Two months later she was named principal viola of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After spending the 1992-93 season in Boston and two summers at Tanglewood [Music Center in Massachusetts], she ultimately decided to return to her family in New York, resuming her Associate Principal position with the Philharmonic in September 1994. She can currently be seen leading the viola section of the All-Star Orchestra, a popular televised educational series about classical music. An avid chamber musician, Young has performed with many renowned groups, including the Boston Chamber Music Society, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, New York Philharmonic Ensembles, and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She can be heard in a recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Pamela Frank, and bass player Edgar Meyer on the Sony Classical label. Young is a graduate of The Juilliard School. Today, she is the host of the Philharmonic’s popular Very Young Peoples Concerts, intimate chamber music concerts where she has tap-danced, played drums, ridden a scooter around the stage, and even sung Gilbert & Sullivan.”