AWARD PLAQUES were recently installed in the Dave Fenderson ’56 Conference Room on the first floor of Wyman House. The award room is nearly complete, thanks to the great crew from Welch Signs in Scarborough. A highlight is the Wall of Honor, which has been recreated digitally on a giant touch screen. There are also plaques naming Outstanding Alumni, Honorary Alumni, Associate Alumni, Humanitarian Award, and Past Presidents.
Alumni and campus officials were recognized with the Alumni Banquet during Homecoming 2022.
Larry Burrill ‘77
Larry Burrill, class of 1977, was named to MMA’s Wall of Honor. After graduating from MMA, Burrill spent 24 years of dedicated service in the United States Navy, retiring in 2001 at the rank of captain. In 1995, he was recognized by the Navy League as the Military Shore Officer of the Year.
He also received two Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, a Navy Achievement Medal, and other service awards.
In 2006, Burrill co-founded McKean Defense Group, LLC, serving as president until 2021. Burrill provided leadership and focus to meet the formidable challenges the Navy faces. The company had over 650 employees with offices in six U.S. cities when it was purchased by Noblis in May 2021. Noblis is a leading provider of science, technology, and strategic services to the federal government. Since 2010, Burrill has served on the board of Bringing Hope Home, a nonprofit focusing on keeping individuals in their homes following surgery and during their chemo treatments for cancer. Burrill was chair of the Alumni Advancement Committee when MMA secured a $750,000 challenge grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation. He also co-chaired Opening Doors, Changing Lives: The Scholarship Campaign for MMA. This $20 million scholarship campaign surpassed its goal ahead of schedule.
jJe Cote ‘82
Joe Cote, class of 1982, was awarded Outstanding Alumnus. An original founding member of the Bangor Seadogs Alumni Chapter, Cote later served as its president for eight years and among many achievements, raised over $30,000 to endow a scholarship. In 2010, Cote was elected a member of the MMA Alumni Board of Directors, selected vice president in 2012, and elected its president for two terms in 2016 and 2018. During Cote’s tenure, many beneficial changes and improvements to the operation and support of the Alumni Association were accomplished, including: updating the Association’s bylaws and investment policy, increasing volunteerism, creating the class agent program, developing the Shipmate alumni e-newsletter, pushing alumni giving over $25 million, creating the Deck for All Hands gift for new students, and establishing the Honor Alley for honor classes at Homecoming.
The Humanitarian Award was created in 2018 to recognize MMA alumni who have distinguished themselves by meritorious participation in an act, operation, or for prolonged service of a humanitarian nature directed toward an individual or groups of individuals. Four alumni have received this award.
Brian Enos ’04 was recognized for his role as chief mate aboard the American Pride in the at-sea rescue of three people 50 miles off the coast of Tampa, Fla.
Peter Johnson ’64 was recognized for 17 years of voluntary work as a relief chief engineer aboard Mercy Ships and other humanitarian vessels.
Maureen Jones-Higgins ’87 was recognized for volunteer service with the World Food Programme following retirement from a 25-year career at sea. Since then, her travels and efforts have spanned the globe, delivering and distributing lifesaving food and essential products to areas devastated by famine, conflict, or natural disaster. In 2020, World Food Programme won the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and foster peace in areas of conflict.
Larry Wade ’64 is a dedicated volunteer and involved in numerous local, regional, and national organizations and causes.
Dr. William J. Brennan, past MMA president, was conferred an honorary membership in the Maine Maritime Academy Alumni Association. Appointed in 2010, Dr. Brennan led MMA during a time of academic enhancement, record enrollment, highly successful fundraising campaigns, and facility growth.
Professor Emerita Susan Loomis was conferred an Associate membership in the Maine Maritime Academy Alumni Association. Appointed in 1985, Professor Loomis served MMA as professor, department chair, and served on numerous academic and student service committees. She retired in 2021 as Dean of Faculty after 36 years of service.
HELLO!!Spotlight
Timothy S. Jackson ’97
I have long known I owe much of my success in life to my experience at Maine Maritime Academy. I give gladly to the Academy, both to thank the institution for the life it helped me create, and to help the Academy offer that opportunity to others. Here’s my story.
I graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in 1997 with a degree in nautical science. I also volunteered for a commission in the United States Naval Reserve. For two years following graduation, I followed the same path as many of my classmates: I went to sea for shipping companies. But I quickly realized that such a career, while adventurous, exciting, and well-paying, was not the career for me. Beyond often getting seasick in bad storms (something I should have investigated before going to a maritime academy), I knew I wanted to go home to a family every night.
It was hard to think about what else I could do with my specialized degree. Fortunately, I had developed an interest in investing while at sea. I did not have much else to spend my wages on at the time, so figured I should do something vaguely responsible with them. I decided to see if I could parlay my interest in investing into an actual career and began sending résumés to investment banks and asset management firms.
To be honest, my expectations were low. Reading through the résumés of the junior staff members at the firms I was applying to, I saw that nearly all had attended well-known business schools and studied finance and economics. It was hard to believe I had much of a chance. To my surprise, I started receiving invitations for interviews. In no time, I had three job offers from well-respected firms. It seemed incredible that I was having to choose among offers. I selected an analyst position with Northern Trust—a prestigious private bank based in Chicago.
Maine Maritime Academy gave me the skills and habits to succeed, and I remain grateful to this day.
Shortly after starting, I asked my boss why I was chosen. I did not have a business degree or internship. The most I could claim was having read a few books on investing while at sea. My boss replied with two points. The first was maturity. Apparently, I did not carry myself as the typical 23- or 24-year-old. The second was his assertion that anyone who could do the calculations to sail by celestial navigation had all the quantitative skills finance required (a field that had become mathematically driven by the 1990s).
Maine Maritime Academy gave me the skills and habits to succeed, and I remain grateful to this day. The example (and occasional fair reprimand) of the Commandant of Midshipmen, Gunny, and outstanding professors such as Captain William McKinley, taught me the discipline and bearing that would one day land me that job at Northern Trust. From there, the rest seemed easy. I studied for my MBA at night after long days at the bank, but for someone used to standing watch in the middle of the night or getting up early every day for colors, it did not seem all that hard.
I was promoted quickly through Northern Trust and later became a partner at a leading investment consulting firm before I was thirty. I became a principal at a global investment bank, and then co-founded a private equity firm before I was thirty-five. Best of all, I have the wonderful family I dreamed of when I was out to sea as a 22-year-old. I have never forgotten how much of my success I owe to Maine Maritime Academy and the lessons I learned there. They are lessons I still draw upon to this day.█
HELLO!!
This photograph, by MTO senior Robert Dudley, was the winner of the photo contest sponsored by Student Activities. Submitted photos were voted on by those attending the Galaxsea Gala held at the Waterfront Friday, September 23. (See Where the Sea Meets the Stars article for more information and photos.)
Photo by Robert Dudley
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