October 26, 2007
As the flag of St. John’s University flew proudly outside the
Waldorf=Astoria in New York City, 1,300 supporters and special
friends gathered for the Tenth Annual President’s Dinner in the
fabled Grand Ballroom to celebrate the most exciting and successful
decade in University history. Acknowledged as St. John’s premier
fundraising event, this year’s President’s Dinner was the most
successful ever, raising an unprecedented $2,114,449 to be used for
scholarships to directly benefit our most deserving students.
A highlight of every President’s Dinner is the presentation of
the University’s prestigious Spirit of Service
Award, established to recognize outstanding individuals who
have lived their lives in accordance with the Vincentian ideals of
serving the underserved in a spirit of caring and compassion.
Award recipients for 2007 include Elizabeth
Mirante and Arthur J. Mirante II, Esq., ’68L, ’98HON,
President, Global Client Development, Cushman & Wakefield,
Inc., Patricia
M. Shea ’83C and Brian T. Shea ’83CBA, President and Chief
Operating Officer, Pershing LLC and Eleanor
B. Taffner ‘94HON, Secretary and Treasurer, DLT Entertainment
Ltd. and Donald
L. Taffner ’53C, ’89HON, Chairman, DLT Entertainment Ltd.
Elizabeth and Arthur Mirante were quick to acknowledge that they
continue to be moved by the mission that has always been such a
part of the St. John’s experience. “St. John’s continues to improve
and grow and it does that while continuing to maintain our basic
service mission to help the poor and serve the disadvantaged, more
so than ever before.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Patricia and Brian Shea, who
noted that, for them, “This {President’s Dinner}is a very special
event that allows the University to perpetuate the good work that
it does by providing an education to students who are extremely
talented but many times also financially needy. We’re so very proud
and honored to receive this award, and to be a part of this great
University.”
Eleanor and Donald Taffner movingly recounted the impact that
St. John’s had on every aspect of their lives. “St. John’s gave me
{Donald} a level of mores and values that I lived up to, and we’re
both very proud of what this University helped us to accomplish. We
did it our way, we did it in New York, and we did it because of St.
John’s”.
Reflecting upon the uniqueness of the recipients, Rev. Donald J.
Harrington, C.M., President of St. John’s University
acknowledged that “People such as these, our honorees, embody the
values of our University so clearly and help us day after day to
ensure that students of the future will continue to receive a
wonderful education at this University. May the values which you
[honorees] embody in your lives thrive and flourish on the campuses
of St. John’s University.”
The evening was made even more special by the presence of many
Spirit of Service Award honorees from the past decade who were on
hand to share in the celebration.
Fr. Harrington reminded the guests of how much St. John’s has
achieved in the past ten years. He noted that during the just
completed decade the University has become nationally ranked in a
number of academic areas, increased enrollment to more than 20,000
students, expanded to five campus locations both locally and
internationally, constructed a combined total of 20 buildings on
the Queens and Staten Island campuses and completed a $271 million
capital campaign.
“In these and countless other ways we have been faithful to our
mission in the past; we will continue to be faithful to our mission
in the future. And for this we have been blessed with great success
in serving our students.”
Fr. Harrington expressed his gratitude to the President’s Dinner
guests and credited their support for assisting the University on
its journey to greatness. “I believe our success is directly
attributable to so many who have gathered in this room this
evening. You have shared your resources and your wise counsel with
us as we walked this path of making St. John’s an even stronger
University.”
Guests were uniformly vocal in their praise for the University
that holds a special place in their hearts. “I have a passion for
St. John’s and I share that passion with everyone I meet” remarked
Jency Jones ’03TCB, ’06MBA. “I feel very honored and very blessed
to be here tonight and be a part of this wonderful event.”
“This is a wonderful experience for me” said Sam Pierre ’06CPS.
“St. John’s means everything to me. People leave this prestigious
University knowing that they’re going places, and they’re going to
make the world a better place. Tonight is a great, great
night!”
Members of The President’s Society, when not assisting the
honorees and guests, were quick to express their gratitude to the
donors whose generosity continues to help them realize their dream
of a St. John’s education. “I’m very privileged to be here tonight,
where I can meet some of the people who made this school what it is
today” commented Canile Jackson, a senior Environmental Studies
major in St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “We’re
very thankful for all that they’ve done, and continue to do for
us.”
Senior Jennifer O’Brien, a Communication major in St. John’s
College of Professional Studies was quick to point out that, for
her, the excitement of the evening was due in large part to being
in the presence of the past and current Spirit of Service Award
recipients. “It’s such an honor to be with these very special
honorees and celebrate ten years of excellence at St. John’s. I
really want to tell them thank you so much for making St. John’s
such a great place to go to school.”