2005 Admiral’s Scholarship Dinner Sets Record

Left to right: Mrs. Diane Ryan; Honorees Captain Brian A. McAllister ’56; Captain Anthony J. McAllister III ’80 and Vice Admiral John Ryan at the 2005 Admiral’s Scholarship Dinner at SUNY Maritime College. (Photo courtesy of Ron Glassman)

SUNY Maritime College hosted a record crowd of over 400 during the 2005 Admiral’s Scholarship Dinner, held in Vander Clute Hall on Friday, May 6 at Maritime’s scenic waterfront campus. A record $200,000 was also raised in support of cadet scholarships for incoming freshmen. Dinner Honorees included the Reverend Michael Robert Moynihan, Maritime College chaplain and pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Church and St. Timothy Chapel in Greenwich, Connecticut; alumnus Michael Toner, Class of 1965 and executive vice president of General Dynamics, Marine Systems Group that includes Bath Iron Works, Electric Boat, NASSCO and AMSEA; and three members of the McAllister Family including Captain Brian A. McAllister ’56, principle and president of McAllister Towing and Transportation Company, Inc.; Captain Anthony J. McAllister III ’80, vice president of sales at McAllister; and the late Captain Anthony J. McAllister, Jr., ’52 was recognized posthumously.

Maritime president, Vice Admiral John R. Ryan, USN, (Ret.), presented awards to the honorees and extended a special welcome to the Most Reverend Edwin F. O’Brien, STD, Archbishop for the Military Services. Archbishop O’Brien paid special tribute to Reverend Moynihan, known as “Father Mike” to the Maritime College community. Moynihan has served as college chaplain for the last 23 years.

Other distinguished guests included Vice Admiral John and Wendy Craine; Mrs. Diane Ryan; New York State Senator Jeff Klein; Assemblyman Michael Benedetto; Steven Alfasi, Deputy Commissioner, Bronx County Public Administration Office; and Vice Chancellor John O’Connor of State University of New York Research Foundation. Maritime College Council members in attendance included Robert J. Braun ’75; Timothea Larr; and Clifford Spelke. Other special guests included Lawrence Auriana of Columbus Citizens Foundation; Clay Maitland of International Registries, Inc.; Charles Balancia ’56 of Montefiore Medical Center; Captain Thomas Sullivan of K-Sea Transportation; Leonard J. Weiss ’46; and Alan Golden ’56.

Corporate dinner sponsors included Columbus Citizens Foundation; Exxon Mobil; Florence and Robert A. Rosen Family Foundation; General Dynamics; International Registries, Inc., K-Sea Transportation; Lockheed Martin, Kapl, Inc.; Mallory, Jones, Lynch, Flynn & Associates, Inc.; McAllister Towing; MCA Associates, Inc.; Montefiore Medical Center; New York Maritime Parents Association; North Star Maritime; OSG Ship Management, Inc., Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church; and Sentry 4-D Security Solutions, Inc.

Dinner guests participated in a lively tradition of the auctioning off of admirals’ covers by chaplain, Father Mike Moynihan. Vice Admiral John R. Ryan’s and Vice Admiral John Craine’s covers both sold for a record $20,000 each, and Father Moynihan’s yielded a respectable $8000 in support of cadet scholarships. Members of St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church also presented Admiral Ryan with a contribution of $25,000 to establish a cadet scholarship in Father Moynihan’s honor.

The first maritime school in the country, SUNY Maritime College prepares students for careers in the maritime industry, government, military, and private industry. Maritime graduates experience an extremely high placement rate and are often employed in careers of their choice within three months of graduation. A four-year college located at historic Fort Schuyler in Throggs Neck, New York, SUNY Maritime offers undergraduate degree programs in Engineering, Business Administration/Marine Transportation, Marine Environmental Science, Humanities, International Transportation and Trade and a Master’s degree in International Transportation Management. Maritime’s curriculum also features annual Summer Sea term career training aboard Empire State VI to international ports of call and U.S. Coast Guard license and non-license programs. Maritime is home to the only Navy and Marine Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program in the New York City metropolitan area.