CHARLES “ERNIE” MANN, JR. is being inducted for his 32 years of teaching at RCSD, his work on authoring “Rensselaer Then and Now” and “Railroads of Rensselaer” and his 48 yrs of volunteering for the Rensselaer Fire Department. Ernie is a 1965 alumnus of Van Rensselaer High School. His higher education was at Dutchess Community College, SUNY New Paltz and his Masters was from the College of St Rose. He taught Art from 1970-2002 at Rensselaer Jr-Sr High School. While at RJSHS he was a member of the school Safety Committee, Peer Mediation Group, Key Club advisor, softball coach and theater scenery designer as well as mentor to many art students. He was a member of the Rensselaer Teacher’s Association as well. His volunteerism for the city includes 48 years with the Fire Dept, including serving as Fire Chief. He is the current Rensselaer County Fire Coordinator for the City. Ernie’s love of history has made him the “unofficial city historian”, especially in the areas of the railroad and fire department. He has two published works about the city: 1) “Rensselaer Then and Now” was commissioned for the city’s centennial and 2) “Railroads of Rensselaer” from the Images of America Series, from Arcadia Publishing, Oct 19, 2009. Ernie was also the winner of the Alumni Association’s Logo Contest and is the artist of our current logo. Ernie still lives in Rensselaer and is predeceased by his wife, the former alumna, Janice Erlich, ‘67. He has 2 children and 4 grandchildren.