December 19, 2011
St. John’s
University hosted the closing ceremony for the year-long
350th anniversary celebration of Staten Island (si350)
on Sunday, December 18. The ceremony honored all those who
helped contribute to the year’s success.
Beginning in January 2011, cultural and educational
institutions across Staten Island collaborated to honor the history
of the borough with a new theme each month. Many of those
individuals and groups took part in Sunday’s special event,
including students from Wagner College, the College of Staten
Island and St. John’s who narrated a slideshow of the year’s
highlights, and the New York State National Guard and Staten Island
Knights of Columbus who provided the Color Guard and Honor Guard,
respectively.
Joseph Sciame,
Vice President for Community Relations at St. John’s, served as
Master of Ceremonies for the event, introducing various key
speakers as well as performances by the Curtis High School Jazz
Band and the Gotham Guitar Quartet of the Richmond County
Orchestra.
“I found that
the diversity of the programs throughout the year were an
expression of the many facets of life on Staten Island,” Sciame
said. “Anniversaries are a time for reflection, both looking
back and ahead, and for such reasons si350 was an important time
for all to become even more proud of Staten Island’s existence and
founding.”
Photo Gallery
Martha K. Hirst, Senior Vice President for Operations and Treasurer
at St. John’s University welcomed the guests to the University’s
Grymes Hill campus for this special event and commended the
participants for an outstanding year. “As emphasized by the
si350 committee early on in the year, the planned events celebrate
not only Staten Island’s past and present but should serve to
reinvigorate the people of Staten Island’s commitment to the
promising future of our borough,” she said.
Chairman of the Board of si350, Robert Coghlan, was
presented with a commemorative plaque in appreciation of his
efforts and success in leading the celebration. Also in
attendance were several key Staten Island officials, including New
York City Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, a resident of the
borough, as well as New York City Deputy Police Commissioner and
member of the St. John’s University faculty, Dr. James
O’Keefe. Dr. Tomas Morales, President of the College of
Staten Island, and Mrs. Carin Guarasci, wife of Dr. Richard
Guarasci, President of Wagner College, were each on hand
representing their respective schools in thanking all those who
made the si350 such a wonderful event.
Additional
honorees at the closing ceremonies included: Patricia Salmon,
Curator of History, Staten Island Museum and Adjunct Faculty Wagner
College; Leticia Remauro, Chair, Community Board One; Dorothy
Myhre-Donahue, for organizing and recording the SI Memories
programs at all 12 NY Public Libraries on Staten Island; Ann
Merlino, faculty emeriti, College of Staten Island; Gerard
McEnerney, Assistant Vice-President and Executive Director, Staten
Island Campus, St. John’s University; the Staten Island Advance
“for 125 years of bringing the world to our doorsteps and
strengthening Staten Island and its diverse communities by
promoting our civic, educational and cultural initiatives,” and the
Richmond County Savings Foundation for their support of programs to
celebrate Staten Island’s Military History and the publication
Discovering Staten Island. Lori Weintrob, co-chair of si350 was
recognized for her dedicated work throughout the year.
For more
information regarding the si350 anniversary celebration and its
closing ceremonies contact Lori Weintrob or visit their web site at
www.si350.org.
Interested media
can contact Dominic Scianna, Assistant Vice President for Media
Relations at St. John’s by calling 718.990.6185 or e-mail inquiries
to sciannad@stjohns.edu.
Late breaking
news and information regarding St. John’s can be found by visiting
the university web site at www.stjohns.edu/news.