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Lynne Beiermeister is an alumna of the class of 1969 and a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee. Post-high school, Lynne attended the Goethe Institut in Germany and graduated with a BA from SUNY Albany in 1973. Post college education included courses at Hudson Valley Community College and the University of Connecticut in conjunction with Rutgers University. Lynne worked for the NYS Office of Mental Health in Quality Assurance and Standards Compliance for 33 years, retiring in 2006. Previous to becoming president of the RHS Alumni Association in 2011, she was co-president of the Friends of the Albany Berkshire Ballet and sat on the ballet’s board. Although she currently lives in Voorheesville, Lynne’s Rensselaer roots include her great-grandfather John Hall, Mayor 1919-20 and her grandfather Louis Dutcher, former VRHS principal and 2013 Hall of Fame inductee. Lynne has one daughter. She enjoys genealogy, gardening, travelling and has an antique business.
Barry Cavanaugh is an alumnus of the class of 1975. When St. John's closed, Barry came to Rensselaer HS. He played basketball for the Rams and became the school's all- time leading scorer and re-bounder. Barry's senior year, the team finished 22-1 and won the Class B-C Championship (There was no NYS tournament at that time). Towards the end of his senior year, Barry's HS basketball jersey #42 was officially retired. Barry's #42 remains the only male basketball jersey number retired for the Rams. After high school, Barry continued his education and playing career at UAlbany. Barry majored in sociology while continuing his love for basketball. He became a 4 year starter, 3rd all-time scorer and 4th all- time re-bounder. Barry was awarded the "Most Outstanding Player Award" for all athletics at UAlbany for both his junior and senior year. After college, he played professionally in Stockholm, Sweden for two years. Barry coached youth basketball, high school basketball, junior college and four year college throughout his coaching career. He became Athletic Director at Morrisville State College. He also works at the House of the Good Shepherd where he assists children who have suffered trauma in their lives. Most recently, he wrote and had published his children's book "Tree Trolls and Their Secret Gifts". Barry has been inducted into 3 "Hall of Fames" for his personal and team achievements. He was inducted into our Hall of Fame in 2013. Barry currently lives in Whitesboro, NY with his wife Denise, daughter Shaye and son Emmett.
Linda O'Toole Martino grew up in the city of Rensselaer having graduated in the class of 1973. While raising her family, she earned her Medical Assistant Certification in 1988, was a Cub Scout leader and parent during the summers to a down-state boy from the Fresh Air Fund. From 1997-2015 Linda began volunteering with the Ombudsman Program which led to the positions of Assistant Coordinator and Coordinator of the Rensselaer County Ombudsman Program where she worked as an advocate for the elderly and mentally ill. She is the founder and president of “Nopiates” a committee that assists people suffering from the disease of opiate addiction and fights for legislative change and to educate the community. Linda left “Nopiates” to become the chairperson for the legislative branch of the Rensselaer County Heroin coalition. She is currently working with others to establish a helpline in Rensselaer County to assist those suffering from addiction find services. She meets regularly with legislators, Senators and congressmen to fight for legislative change to combat the heroin epidemic that is a national health crisis. She also addresses the stigma that is associated with addiction and mental illness. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 45 years and has six children, a “Fresh Air” son, eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. She and her husband Jim live in West Sand Lake. Linda was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.
John Mooney is an alumnus of the class of 1975 and the current President of the RCSD Board of Education. He is also a 2015 inductee of the Hall of Fame. John became a successful Real Estate Broker after graduating high school and has been a leading agent in his office for Howard Hanna (formerly Realty USA) for several years. He has been a respected member of the Rensselaer community for a long time, beginning with serving elected positions of 2nd Ward Alderperson from 1982-93, as a member of the Youth Bureau Board of Directors from 1991-99 and as a member of the Board of Assessment and Review from 1997 to present. He also has an active role with the Rensselaer Democratic Committee. He is a life member of the E.F. Hart Hose Fire Company and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He has also been President of the Benevolent Order of the Elks (BOE) since 2001 and has served as Treasurer for the Rensselaer Athletic Association. John has always supported the efforts and activities of the Alumni Association whole-heartedly. John has lived in Rensselaer all his life with his wife, the former Laurie Van Vorst ’76 where they raised their three children. They now have four grandchildren.
William M. (Bill) Stewart is an alumnus of the class of 1971 (the last class to graduate from the old Van Rensselaer High) and is a 2017 Hall of Fame inductee. A graduate of Siena College with a BA in Political Science, he went on to earn a Master’s degree in Business Administration from SUNY-Albany in 1977. For nearly 40 years Bill held senior positions in corporate communications in both the finance and higher education fields including KeyCorp and, for 20 years before retirement in 2015, with Excelsior College. Involved with several community and non-profit organizations, he has been a firefighter/EMT for the past 23 years with the DeFreestville Fire Department. He and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters and two grandchildren. To relax, he spends as much time as he can at the family camp in the northern Adirondacks.
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Benjamin Thorp is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for his leadership and accomplishments in career and community volunteerism.
Ben is an alumnus of the class of 1956. In high school he was in Honor Society, Student Council, played Intermural football and basketball, was in the Hi-Y club, on Library staff and won the World History Scholastic Prize.
Post high school, Ben attended RPI from 1956-61 nights until he could afford to go to the University of Maryland where he graduated in 1964 with a BS in Physics. In 1966, he did post graduate work in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bridgeport, CT., in 1968, he returned to RPI for graduate degree work in Management and went on to the University of Tennessee for more graduate work in Marketing in 1971. He attended school while working for Huyck’s Fornex Division in Greeneville, TN, from 1964-73.
From 1973-75, he was Vice President & General Manager over 500 employees in three plant locations. He was Vice President & Director of Research at Huyck Corporation at various locations, including Rensselaer until 1981. For the next 25 yrs or so, Ben held high ranking managerial positions throughout the south working for companies such as Georgia Pacific Paper and Chesapeake Corp. and as a Renewable Products Consultant. He is a certified expert witness in Federal District Court and holds many patents, honors and awards in the field of paper technology and has authored many articles, and a book.
Ben’s accomplishments do not stop at his career. He belongs to many civic organizations and is on the board of directors of many associations and committees mostly related to the paper and bioenergy industry. For all his achievements, Ben was selected to be in Marquis “Who’s Who in America” and in the 2018 edition was selected to be an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Ben currently is the Vice President and Co-Founder of the Bio-renewable Deployment Consortium (BDC) in Richmond, VA. Ben was nominated by his childhood friend and neighbor, alumnus Rodney Schroeder. He and his wife Diane live in Richmond, VA. Ben had a son who passed away and left a grandson.
Ben Thorp '56 accepts his award with his nominator Robney Schroeder
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Irwin Stewart is being inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame for his contributions, leadership and volunteerism to the community of Rensselaer.
Irwin “Irv” was an alumnus of the class of 1935, where he was an honor student. After high school, he took a course at RPI in Production Planning and Control, then courses through the NYS School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, with concentrations in: labor law, special labor and management problems, contract negotiation and collective bargaining.
Born and raised in Rensselaer, he married in 1942, then was off to WWII, serving in the South Pacific in the 35th Battalion of the US Navy Seabeas for over three years. When he returned he became involved in ward politics and was elected as 6th Ward Alderman from 1953-65. He also chaired the Law and Water committeess. In ’65 he was elected as Common Council President, serving until 1971 and was then elected Mayor and served for 2 yrs. Four years later, he was appointed as Common Council President again to fill the post due to a death. He won the next election and served as President until 1979.
His political career was in addition to his paid career in the GAF Corporation in Rensselaer where he worked for 38 yrs., 10 of which were as Chief Production Scheduler. In 1981, Irv was appointed by Gov. Hugh Carey and re-appointed by Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1983 and 86 to the Albany-Rensselaer Port Commission. For his work on this, the common council renamed the access road to the port after him: The Irwin Stewart Port Expressway.
Irv was active in the GAF Old Timers Association, the GAF Athletic Association and was president of the company Supervisory Association and Industrial Club. Irv volunteered as Santa Claus for many years in the GAF sponsored Kiddies Christmas Party, at St. John’s Orphanage and at area hospitals and nursing homes. In addition to the company activities, Irv volunteered his time as a member of the Gerald O’Neil and Raymond Ranellucci Posts and as first Commander of the VFW Starland Post comprised of GAF employees.
Other volunteer activities included the Capital District Transportation Study and the Committee on Pollution Abatement, and the E.F. Hart Hose and G.S. Mink Fire Companies. Socially he was director of the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, a member of the Rensselaer Historical Society, The Elks, and was a Vestryman and Treasurer for the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. He was a member, with his wife Mary, for many years, of the NYS PTA in the 1950s. In 1993, the satellite facility of the Boys’ and Girls’ Club on Aiken Avenue was also named for Irwin.
Irwin passed away in 1995. He was posthumously nominated by his eldest son, David, also being honored this evening. He and his wife, the former Mary Morris, also an alumna of the class of 1937, raised 3 children, all alumni: David ’63, Linda ’65 and William ’71 who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
The Stewart Family accepts their father Irwin Stewart's '35 plaque, poshumously