(pictured l. to r.) Brendan McCurdy, Maureen Murphy, Gary Verticchio
The Rotary Club of Sayville is proud to support the Naval Sea Cadet program, under Commander Gary Vertichio. Last week, at the evening fellowship meeting at the http://www.cullhouse.com, Sayville NY, Sayville Rotary presented a check for $2,000 to support the ongoing training of the Sea Cadets under Gary's direction. Brendan McCurdy, Sayville Rotarian, Past President, and incoming Vice President, has been volunteering these past years supporting the cadets with their pool training. We were delighted to have Maureen Murphy join us for the presentation. Maureen is the Gold Star Mother of Medal of Honor recipient Navy SEAL LT Michael P. Murphy, the namesake of the museum and sea cadet training facility.
President Chris Imperato, relayed the following message to Gary and Maureen on behalf of the club. "There are few programs of leadership development that approach what the US Naval Sea Cadet program does. Their core values of honor, respect, commitment, and service remind me of the US Marine Corps Junior ROTC program I was myself in while in high school. That program shaped me into who I am today. And I see the results of the Sea Cadet Program and with efforts of Commander Gary Verticchio doing exactly the same for young boys and girls today. Their commitment to service was clearly seen when a contingent of Sea Cadets along with Gary hiked deep into the Sans Souci park on earth day and helped pull out nearly 900 pounds of trash. Helping us clean the park for our environmental commitment as it is an important area of focus of Rotary International. With peace and conflict resolution and economic development being two other areas of focus, I foresee nothing but great leaders continuing to come out of the Sea Cadet program and enhancing our world in these specific areas.
Graduates of the Naval Sea Cadet program have entered all branches of the US Military and have gone on to the Naval Academy and West Point. The Rotary Club of Sayville is proud to support this organization. Thank you".