Words from Gary & Warren

When Father Warren Hall, ’81, and I found ourselves with personal plans to travel to South Florida on overlapping dates, we quickly developed the idea to take advantage of our presence locally to identify, contact, and visit with several alumni in the area. The prevailing notion was that if these alums could not easily come to Hudson Catholic to learn of all the good things happening here in the past 12 months, then we would take Hudson Catholic to them!

On Friday night, May 15, Jamie Fals, ’86, received us at his office overlooking all of the Miami waterfront and Miami Beach in the distance. After sitting for a spell and reminiscing about H.C.H.S., we continued our visit at a restaurant on the Miami waterfront, proceeding to strengthen the bond that existed among us, even though neither of us had met Jamie before. Jamie, being the son of immigrants to Union City, said that his parents emphasized education incessantly, and that he was well-prepared for his studies at N.Y.U.

     Father Warren Hall, '81, poses with Jill, Christian, and Rod McCarthy, '68, as the
two McCarthy men show off their new Hudson Catholic basketball shirts.       

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Father Warren and I were off on a drive north to Palm City to visit Roddy McCarthy, ’68. The morning was spent meeting his family at home, having breakfast at a local hash house, leafing through the '68 Hawk yearbook, laughing at the graduating photos of our McGinley pioneers, sharing a number of recollections and hilarious stories (names left out to protect the innocent!), and introductions to Roddy's wife Jill (an "Academy" girl) and their regional spelling champion son Christian, who was busy preparing for the trip to the nationals in Washington D.C. Rod is an insurance broker for AFLAC and plays golf at least three times a week. After Hudson, he went to Biscayne College in North Miami (now St. Thomas University, which gave us Father Warren a year ago!) on a basketball scholarship. His team played for the NCAA Division II Title in 1971. Upon returning to Jersey City, he rose through the police department to become JC Public Safety Director during the Gerald McCann (also’68) administration.

Then it was off to a noon appointment in Delray Beach with Father Warren's classmate, Dr. Akram Girgis (formerly 'Guirgis', but changed due to the difficulty people had with pronunciation). Akram told us that while at Hudson, Vin Vyzas nicknamed him "Pickles,” having something to do with his last name. We stayed for lunch and met Akram's family: wife Denise, son Mark A. (Akram spelled backwards, for you pallindrome fans!), and daughter, Catherine.

We returned the next morning for a skippered sail on Akram's pleasure boat, "Akattack.” We took the proverbial three-hour tour along the inter-coastal waterway up through Boca Raton and out into the ocean, where Akram deftly demonstrated his seafaring skills and regaled us with stories of his march through medical school in Egypt, internships, medical practice, and, more recently, co-leadership with his brother of a medical supply firm called Med Care, employing 90 people. Akram is Egyptian Coptic but credits Hudson Catholic value system with instilling in him the necessary ethical compass that have guided him through Rutgers and into his personal and professional life. After lunch, we bear-hugged and vowed to renew ties again soon.

That night, back in the Miami area, we met Dr. Ramsey Saffouri, ’79, who went by 'Habib" while in school, for dinner at The Delano in South Beach. He is founder and CEO of AM-PM Docs, a franchised business of medical professionals catering to the medical care of travelers who fall ill at hotels or while visiting companies. Ramsey is also a man of God, a Palestinian-born Christian raised in the Baptist faith. After obtaining a degree in osteopathic medicine at KCUMB in Kansas City, he went on to obtain a PhD in Religious Philosophy from Tabernacle Bible College in Tampa and is an ordained Baptist minister. His inspiration for starting his business fifteen years ago was a chance run-in with one ill Francis Albert Sinatra in a Miami hotel that Ramsey just happened to be visiting when the old "Is there a doctor in the house?" clarion call rang out, and a trip to the hotel's penthouse yielded a brief but telling encounter with Hoboken's most famous crooner. His thought upon departing the penthouse suite: "Hey, I've got something here!"

On Monday, the tour continued with a jaunt up Rt. 95 to meet Steve Novello, ’84, who came down from Boca Raton to join us for lunch in Aventura. He is in Business Development for an online travel agency based in Plantation. He recalls fondly the days he edited The Commentator (one of his editions still adorns the display case in the main hallway of the school), and played Hawk baseball. We made mention of the return of Jack Curry, ’82, to the 'Nest' to speak at the Senior Awards Dinner this month, and Steve recalled his fondness for Jack, an upperclassman at the time, who inspired Steve to follow him to Fordham and enroll in Journalism studies.

Of interest were the commonalities that came out of our discussions with each of these highly successful men. They each touted the need to guard and enhance our academic standards and to be selective in our admissions process. The quote of the trip was: "The more selective you become, the more desirable Hudson becomes." They also would like to see greater organizing and promotion of class reunions and encouraged us to provide increased networking opportunities among the alumni base. Lastly, they are unmatched for the generosity in their hospitality and continued commitment to the support of Hudson Catholic.

A huge thank you to our Florida brother Hawks from the halls of 790 Bergen Avenue!

Gratefully,

Gary Ferrari and Father Warren