Class Notes

  • 1960

    Peter Schiot is still on the water but in a much smaller craft. Last year he logged 152 days in his ocean racing 20′ shell. “Pay isn’t so good but plenty of fun.”

  • 1961

    Joseph Fortin downsized and moved from Texas to Louisiana in January 2022.

  • 1962

    Bob Pouch reports, “We completed a 77-day circumnavigation of South America on Holland American Line.”

service
Honoring History’s Heroes

EVER SINCE HE WAS A YOUNG STUDENT at MMA, Anthony ‘Dru’ DiMattia ’88 has loved maritime history. Back then, he looked forward to Friday afternoons when Professor Mayhew would regale his Oceanic History class with sea stories from the near and distant past.

Anthony ‘Dru’ DiMattia

Now, DiMattia is himself helping write an essential chapter of that rich history. For over 15 years, he has been involved with the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV). Since 1983, AMMV has worked to foster a sense of community among Merchant Mariners and raise awareness about the critical role that they have played throughout this nation’s history. DiMattia’s first encounter was with the local chapter near his home in southwest Florida, but he soon became invested in the organization’s work on a national level.

As the all-volunteer organization’s President, DiMattia has been integral in helping to tell the story of America’s World War II veterans. “This group is disappearing,” he says. “Many MMA graduates served in that war, and some were killed in action. Still, if you ask most people about our merchant marine, they haven’t any idea what it is.”

...Read More

  • 1962

    Lawrence Feldman was chosen as a “Top 100” out of 24,000 U-Haul independent dealers.

  • 1962

    Jim Barr wrote to the Alumni Office recently: “This is my narrative as a 1962 graduate of MMA and is intended to emphasize the importance of further education. I have spent a total time on the high seas of 20-25 years, raising my USCG license to Chief Engineer, unlimited horsepower and this included Victory ships, turbo-electric ships, LASH ships, San Clemente tankers, and a transition to large slow speed diesels.

    “In this time frame, I dabbled in nuclear power and qualified as a shift test engineer, testing nuclear submarines at Newport News Shipbuilding and Day Deck Company and Electric Boat in Groton, CT. My further exploration enhanced my repertoire of experience and knowledge through working for Bechtel, Stone & Webster, Sargent & Lundy, Burns and Roe, CMP, and Cianbro.

    “I am now 81 years old. I retired from sailing the high seas at age 70, having sailed with MEBA District 1 Union for 20 years. At this juncture, I returned to MMA for my master’s degree in Global Supply Chain Logistics, 2010, and a doctoral degree in Business Administration, 2020, from University of Phoenix.”

    Congratulations Dr. Barr, well done.

  • 1964

    Class Agent Larry Wade reported to classmates that Joe Moran has moved to the Coastal Manor Nursing Facility in Yarmouth. Wade reports that the past president of the MMA Alumni Association is “incredibly sharp and still as witty as ever” and loves company.

Guidance
Ready to Grow

Alumna shares insights on building a life at sea

Eliza Pingree ’15 keeps an open mind. As a transfer student in the MET program, she knew that things might not always go as planned, and she was open to adventure. In the years that followed her graduation from MMA, she has traveled the world and learned more than she ever imagined she could along the way. Here, she shares insights on what it takes to build a life at sea.

Don’t quit your daydream. “Going to sea had always been one of those unattainable daydreams of mine but I was majoring in fine arts and working as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. When my brother applied to MMA, it felt like I was given permission to explore my old daydream. If he could do it, why couldn’t I?”

Eliza Pingree portrait

Work hard and be humble. “One of my biggest takeaways from MMA was to never be above a job. I would never ask anyone to do something that I’m not willing to do myself. Even as a 1st A/E with a department of 40 people, I’m not above getting my hands dirty! I get bored at my desk and am always looking for excuses to do cool stuff.”

Expect the unexpected. “I had a specific vision for my career, but it doesn’t look anything like that now. I didn’t realize that engineers are basically detectives: something happens that makes no sense, and then you spend the rest of the day gathering clues and figuring out what’s going on. Now that is my favorite part of the job — who doesn’t want to be Sherlock Holmes?”

Listen and learn.

…Read More

  • 1967

    David Norton is “still lobstering and trying to keep up with our grandkids!”

  • 1970

    Bob Martell says, “I missed my 51st reunion due to neck & throat cancer. I would like to thank my classmates for the cards and well wishes from the Academy. I won the battle, thanks to you.”

  • 1971

    Rollin Thurlow was featured in the article “Two Traditional Canoe Builders” in issue 164 (2020) of Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors. Thurlow and a former business partner build wood-and-canvas canoes by hand in the tiny town of Atkinson, ME. Their 1987 book The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide is still in print. (Photo: MaineBoats.com)

  • 1971

    Gary Chapin reports that he has retired and lives in Cumberland Foreside, ME.

  • 1971

    Richard Clapp is in Spokane, WA. His daughter Addy, husband, and grandson are in Seattle. Son Andrew, wife, and granddaughter are in Spokane, WA.

  • 1971

    The Class of 1971 has sustained a robust email thread among classmates for many months with sea stories, MMA remembrances, and interesting images. Tim Plummer shared this image of the July 1971 Alumni News (precursor to the Mariner) where MMA’s newest alumni were featured on its cover. Great job Class of 1971!

  • 1972

    Roland Martin reports that he is retired and lives in Falmouth, ME, with wife Mary.

  • 1973

    Pat Hickey stopped by the alumni office this spring to say hello. Hickey was in town doing work aboard the TSSOM prior to its annual training cruise.

  • 1975

    Gary Dustin announced his retirement and is living in Waterville, ME, with wife Patricia.

  • 1975

    Capt. Dave Kendall recently retired and is now sailing on his new home — the SV Dreamwa, a 42′ Gozzard. He now reports to Admiral Cyndy Kendall. Classmate Steve Gumpel joined them for the Stonington to Greenwich leg of their voyage south to Port Canaveral from Rockland, ME.

  • 1975

    Ray Mann is a staff volunteer for the New Jersey Maritime Museum on Long Beach Island, NJ. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of maritime history and artifacts.

  • 1976

    In a recent email to classmates, Class Agent Capt. Dave Witherill shared some images with his classmates, compliments of Mark Johnson. At graduation 1976, Witherill captions this one “Cool Dudes: along with Mark (middle), we have John (Jake) Jacoby to Mark’s right, Russ Koehler to his left, and I believe Doug Koehler on the far right.” Thanks for sharing Mark and Dave.

  • 1976

    Masoud Sarikhani passes along, “I am proud of MMA and grateful about all MMA gave me. Love to visit MMA at this age with my classmates.”

  • 1977

    AZCO, part of the Burns & McDonnell family of companies, selected Earle Cianchette as CEO of the national industrial construction and prefabrication firm. Cianchette has more than 30 years of construction management experience across multiple industries including power, manufacturing, and oil and gas.

  • 1979

    John Murray, CEO of Port Canaveral, FL, met up with recent MMA President-Select Jerry Paul ’89 at “Seaport Day” in Tallahassee, FL, on February 3, where Florida’s seaports showcased how they are playing a leading role in transportation and logistics.

  • 1979

    Robert Montgomery served 5 years active duty, Surface Warfare Officer, USN then 29 years with Liberty Mutual, investigating commercial losses. He retired four years ago and “living the dream on the farm coast of southeastern (Westport) MA.”

  • 1979

    Steven Wilson retired in February as Chief Engineer with American Steamship Co. after 42 years sailing on the Great Lakes. With the sudden passing of Tammy, his wife of 20 years, retirement plans changed dramatically. Now Wilson spends most of his time hunting, fishing, woodworking, and spending time with his family. He resides in Toledo, OH.

  • 1980

    Several alumni attended the retirement party of Mark Paine, Eleish Higgins ’87 and Mike Marzolf ’78 at Danny Murphy’s (formerly The Reef) in Castine, on February 26, 2022. Congratulations!

  • 1980

    James Kahler is a Ship Berthing Specialist, working for the Maritime Administration, and lives in Harper’s Ferry, WV.

  • 1980

    David MacDonnell has moved to Underhill, VT.

  • 1981

    Lee Washburn is the Plant Manager at the Blackstone Energy facility in Blackstone, MA. Washburn and his wife Patti currently reside in Woonsocket, RI, and travel extensively back to Maine and Florida to spend time with their children and grandchildren.

  • 1982

    Jonathan Ogle is the Senior Director, Strategic Development for Matson Navigation Company in California. Matson recently formed a partnership with MMA, and he is the Matson Ambassador to MMA. Ogle represented Matson, a sponsor for this spring’s “A Night by the Bay” fundraiser. Following this successful event, he spent most of the week on campus, speaking with classes and students about Matson and the world of logistics.

  • 1983

    Anthony Pala is a pilot for FedEx and lives in Falls Church, VA with wife Kathleen.

  • 1984

    Capt. Dave Gelinas and his family were the subject of a post on the Camden Herald on March 10. Titled “Meet the Rink-Meister of Molyneaux Road,” the article describes how the Gelinas family creates their own front-yard skating rink bringing outdoor activity to the neighborhood. (Photo: Camden Herald)

  • 1984

    John Anderson is living in the Lewiston-Auburn area with wife and youngest son Jack, working at a small trash-to-energy plant as a shift supervisor with eight other Maine Maritime alumni.

  • 1984

    William Manduca is self-employed, working as a consultant/coach on various assignments. He lives in Savannah, TN.

  • 1985

    Roger Boyington is employed by Atrium Heath Care as the Northern Region Director of Facilities and lives in Concord, NC with his wife Jody.

  • 1987

    Paul Gallagher & Hugh Tillman met up in Hawaii. Captain Gallagher is the Vice President at Foss Maritime in Seattle and Tillman, a retired USMC aviator, is enjoying diving and flight instructing in Hawaii.

  • 1987

    Jim Carnes has been living in Atlanta, GA, for the past 28 years. After shipping as 3rd/2nd Engineer for 6 years, he worked in the automation field, heavily involved in sensors & pumping systems. In 2002, he started Integrated Process Solutions. Next year will be 20 years in business along with wife of 31 years, Lisa. His daughters are dancers and work cruise ships and other various shows. “MMA gave me the foundation for a good life!”

  • 1988

    What are the chances of running into your Port Management professor from 35 years ago from MMA? Dru DiMattia, representing the Convoy Cup Foundation and the American Merchant Marine Veterans organization, met up with Dr. Shashi Kumar, representing MARAD at St Paul’s Abbey, in Newton, NJ in August 2021, honoring the late Captain Leonard LaRue, commander of the “Miracle Ship” SS Meredith Victory, for rescuing 14,000 North Korean refugees 23 December 1950.

  • 1988

    Eric Smith is the Director at Resolve Marine Group in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. He and wife Pam live in Lithia, FL.

  • 1988

    Thomas Wranosky is the power superintendent for Westrock in Panama City, FL. He lives in Tallahassee with his wife Dawn.

  • 1990

    Eric King, Senior Director of Operations at the Schmidt Ocean Institute, Palo Alto, CA, was interviewed for the 94th episode of the Longitude.site blog, conducted by SOI fellows, about the history and future of SOI. Visit longitude.site/soi to view.

  • 1990

    Dr. John Turner has received tenure at University of North Texas in September 2021 and is an Associate Professor in the College of Information. He is the co-creator of The Flow System (TM), co-author of the book The Flow System (2020), and has published numerous articles.

  • 1992

    Geoff Ashton is the Operations Manager for Elexon Mining and resides in the Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia area.

  • 1992

    David Lithway is a licensed real estate broker/manager for Landfall Properties, LLC and lives in Panama City, FL.

  • 1993

    Members of the Class of 1993 met for dinner in Philadelphia area in February. From left, Eric James (PA), Steve Pellegrino (ME), Mike Tolley (ME), Tom Ashton (PA), and Terry Mannion (PA).

  • 1993

    Paul R. MacGillivary sent a “photo of me and my colleagues outside the Graduate Office, May 1992. I’m in the front row, 3rd from right (next to George Schatz). It was a very special time for all of us. I loved Castine, but sadly have never made it back there for a visit. Most of us went on to have great careers from the MMA launchpad. The 30th anniversary of my attending MMA, and my desire to contribute to the 2022 Annual Fund has proven to be a great impetus to reconnect with the school. I faithfully contributed to the Annual Fund for 20 years. I have my online connections to the school, and I have always been an ardent supporter of MMA. I wish to stay connected and continue to support a
    great institution — now 80 years young!”

  • 1994

    David Harms reports that he is retired. Harms lives in Gilford, NH with wife Heather and children Makenna and Jonathan.

  • 1995

    Ben Strickland and wife Candice are now “empty nesters” and have relocated full-time from Norfolk, Virginia to Orlando, Florida. Their son Brian (Cal Maritime ‘17) works in the Seattle area for Trident Maritime Systems as a program manager and their daughters Amy and Laura attend Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

  • 1996

    In January, Andrew Russo wrote, “I received the most recent Mariner and when I finished looking it over, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Time & Tide section featuring the former TVSOM model. If memory serves me correctly, this model was displayed in the library during my time at MMA. I want to mention that Tom Linsky ’66 is my uncle and a large part of why I attended MMA. Tommy passed away several years ago but his widow, Carol Linsky, and son, Max Linsky, are still residents of Cape Ann & Beverly, MA respectively…”

  • 1996

    “On this Veterans Day, we honor and thank the millions of military veterans who dedicated themselves to the preservation and furtherance of this great nation and recognize one of our own Veterans who continues the call now as a Florida Harbor Pilot. On Monday, Key West Bar Pilot and former LtJg Marine Safety Inspector (11-year total combo U.S. Coast Guard Service Enlisted and Commissioned Officer) Captain Charles Zenter, received a Coast Guard Certificate of Merit for his professionalism and efficiency as the pilot that brought in the Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas cruise ship a few weeks ago at a moment’s notice to save a passenger’s life. We had the whole Key West Bar Pilot team there to witness and support as we could not be prouder of you — for so many reasons, Captain Zenter.”
    — Florida Harbor Pilots Association, Port of Key West

  • 1997

    Scott Lambert retired from Transocean after 24-year career in subsea engineering.

  • 1997

    Gary Chase is the Commanding Officer of the USS Vicksburg (CG 69) and requested orders to become the next CO of the MMA NROTC Unit. Stay tuned…

  • 1997

    Logan Snyder was recently selected to be the General Manager of Frisco Marina in Frisco, CO. At just over nine thousand feet elevation, Frisco boasts one of North America’s highest in-land marinas on the shores of Lake Dillon. Snyder lives in Dillon with his wife of 22 years, Deborah, and three sons who all enjoy the year-round recreation in the area from skiing to sailing.

  • 1998

    Jason Alley is “lobstering in Jonesport USA!”

MARINERS: Stay in Touch

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