5/3/15 - Statement of Support for FARHS and questions from concerned Ryan Alumni: The signers below join
The Friends of Archbishop Ryan (FARHS) in their outrage at the lack of respect they and other alumni have been
shown the past 12 months by the Ryan administration.
We are an informal group of seasoned and dedicated alumni (we call ourselves the In Vite Mane group) that
consists of 15 Spirit of Ryan winners, 6 former Alumni board chair persons plus Ryan Hall of Fame sports inductees,
business professionals , former faculty and coaches and dedicated alumni from different decades and professions.
We are not currently board members of (FARHS) as many in this group stopped volunteering because of
their differences with the school, with a significant number leaving in 2014.
All of us are Ryan grads; many either sent our kids to Ryan and / or have siblings, nieces and nephews who are
Ryan grads. Our range of service to the school spans 20 to 35 years and we have raised over a million dollars from
making calls on Annual Appeals, reunions, car shows, coach bingos, lunches with Santa, casino bus trips, 25th
anniversary celebrations, cruises, reunions and Ryan Makes Waves etc. Most of the names below started Career
Day (with the help of Judge and North Catholic alumni) and consistently recruited 50 plus graduates to spend the
day with current Ryan students. FARHS assumed the lead role two years ago and did an excellent job under the
name of Future Pursuits Day. STRIKE 1…….The event was taken away from FARHS this year by the new
administration without consent and then abruptly cancelled. We suspect the Administration could not recruit
enough Alumni to participate since we are aware of 30 plus presenters who said no as a sign of protest. The school
will tell you the last minute cancellation was due to the Middle States Evaluation calendar. Even if that story has
any truth to it, why take it away from FARHS?
Like many of you, we supported and have given back to AR. We have over 240 years combined of going to school
at Ryan and in excess of another 600 years of combined volunteering. Many of us (plus others) raised $10,000 after
Hurricane Katrina and sent it to fellow Ryan grads (who are now Franciscans) after they had adopted families from
New Orleans into their parish in Mississippi. With your help, the former alumni board purchased clothing for our
athletic coaching staff, bought prom tickets for needy students, found jobs for students and alumni, served as
mentors and have been friends to many of the faculty. Which leads us to the reason for this statement ……….
Most of us conceived and started Ryan Makes Waves (with the guidance and help of the Roman, Hallahan and
West Catholic alumni groups). We also have the Copyright registration for the name Ryan Makes Waves, the
school does not. Through 100% Alumni efforts and 19 years of time, we built it from the ground up moving from
the Sea Isle Yacht Club, to Moore’s and now Westy’s. Alumni have made it into the largest fundraiser of the year.
We then paid it forward and assisted Judge, Hubert’s and Wood as they started their shore party.
The school has stolen this year’s contract at Westy’s from FARHS and we are trying to figure out if it was done with diocesan
knowledge and support. Why did they secretly take it away and then spin a cover up and risk alienating so many supporters?
PROOF - Our team had a written contract with Westy’s since it was faxed to us over Labor Day weekend in
September 2014. We have a hardcopy showing it was received from Westy’s fax machine and is date stamped.
In March of 2015, to show a united front and eliminate confusion for all alumni, we offered to transfer our
contract to FARHS as a show of alumni solidarity. Our team agreed to staff the event (in conjunction with FARHS)
as we have done for every single Ryan Makes Waves. We have Westy’s written permission to reassign the contract.
We then followed up with a letter to Westy’s and have correspondence from them saying they would issue a
contract to FARHS. It went on to say that at any time FARHS could not move forward, Westy’s would return the
contract to our group to insure alumni continuity and stewardship of the event. We would be happy to show
anyone the correspondence. For the record, we certainly do not think we own the event but this year (as well as all
of the previous ones) we had a contract to run another one. Westy’s contacted us in late August to lock us up for
2015 as many establishments in North Wildwood have been trying to get us to move to their place.
Strike 2- The Ryan Makes Waves contract for 2015 was hijacked by the current administration. The decision to
contact Westy’s and misrepresent their association with the alumni, was a fraudulent and unscrupulous power
grab. (The word misrepresent and returning the contract to the school are words Westy’s used about the
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administration in a written text sent to us on April 14 ), we would be happy to share a screen shot of the text.
There was no need for the administration to move quickly and protect the 33,000 plus alumni and current students
as they tried to spin it in an email to the faculty last week. This deliberate action was made without discussion,
notification or consulting with FARHS or our alumni group who have 19 years of sweat equity into the event. The
money raised over the years was managed by a team of competent alumni who made sure (thru a series of checks
and balances) that every penny raised went to support different aspects of the school or to help someone
associated with Ryan who was in need. At this point, we have offers to move to a few places and have spoken with
legal counsel. We have not decided on a course of action yet.
In conclusion, the current Administration has attempted to trample FARHS this past school year. Many of us
wanted to attend the FARHS meeting and speak with the administration about Ryan Makes Waves. We were
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prepared to attend the monthly meeting on May 7 . Knowing they are unable to defend their stance, conveniently
the administration issued an email this week cancelling the remaining FARHS meetings for May and June 2015. We
ask, how can a principal and president (who are not Ryan alumni) cancel a meeting of Ryan alumni? How can they
take an event but won’t sit in a room with all of us to explain or defend their position? We were prepared to show
them all of our documentation and ask WHY.
The answer as to WHY could be because we have been told the diocese wants complete control of all funds. The
administration has stated they are starting a new internal Alumni Association. They want to own it, manage it and
control all of the money raised. They have already produced by laws etc and told FARHS they have an option to
stay on as a scholarship money raising committee. Our friends (from the other alumni associations) have informed
us that the diocese tried this against them as well and they stood firm and many remain independent. We feel like
the diocese is saying we know we educated all of you, but we do not feel you are smart enough to handle the
controlling of the funds you raise and donate. If you are trying to control everything just come out and say so.
Thankfully, FARHS is an external 501c3 corporation and separate from the school and diocese. The school no
longer wishes to work with them or any of their former members, and that is their call. Our call is to support
FARHS as we move forward to maintain our own independent group’s voice with an arm’s length relationship.
STRIKE 3- WE MOVED OUT…..Many of us tried to have an informal meeting back in the fall of 2014 and 30 alumni
agreed to meet at a local restaurant owned by a Ryan alumn. The administration caught wind of it and showed up
30 minutes early and took over the room with signs, pictures, and handouts. We got their message that they do
not want to work with independent alumni and we respect that. We moved on quietly and professionally and met
to discuss the establishment of an external alumni organization with a goal of communicating with and supporting
alumni. They crashed the meeting and told us there would “no separate Alumni Associations” on their watch. We
kept our mouth shut and did not make that public display of arrogance known at that time. But now we ask Why send 6 administrators (who kicked us out) and crash an off campus meeting to try and shut us down?
Why not put that time into raising money and running the school instead of chasing us around Northeast Philly
and the Jersey Shore? We are alumni, our collective parents paid for this school, we are not the enemy.
Moving forward, we have consulted with alumni groups from 5 other Catholic high schools. They have expressed
concern that if the diocese allows the school to steal successful alumni events then they need to be on guard. We
have been around long enough to realize the tactics are well thought out with little regard for others. They have
shown no mutual respect or any desire for a win win relationship. Their behavior is not Christian and has been
hostile towards FARHS and Alumni who volunteer and receive no personal gain. One member of their
administration trolls the internet and instantly attacks anyone who may even have the slightest question about
what is happening…….So for the record, before he takes to facebook, this statement has three facts with written
proof and no internet rant by them can defend their position. We have acted responsibly and professionally and
kept all of it off social media up until now.
Ryan taught us to think and stand up to right a wrong, so we chose to stop being quiet about how many are
treated and perceived. Why did the core group of alumni volunteers and fundraisers become the target ?
Are we to believe our combined groups of 60 plus alumni (many who have been awarded with the schools highest
honors) all went rogue at one time ?
Our position is: The school administration keeps asking for money and sending out appeal letters and making
phone calls, which is fine. However, why not come up with their own ideas and events to compliment alumni funds
instead of disenfranchising and disrespecting alumni (crashing meetings, taking over Future Pursuits Day, Ryan
Makes Waves etc) and other areas of concern that we have kept quiet about?
Why this year did they move away from honoring 6 to 8 plus alumni and a few staff at the Spirit of Ryan breakfast
to honoring more staff and a only a handful of alumni? Why in the two magazines they published this year
(supposedly for alumni) did they intentionally leave out the full page traditionally devoted to the Alumni /Farhs
chair to write a letter to alumni? It appears they want alumni money but no alumni voice. They want 100% control
and no alumni input unless you are in their inner circle and show up and don’t question anything.
Combined, our group and many others have given countless hours of service, donations and funds raised to Ryan
the past 4 decades. We rise to voice our concerns and support FARHS and encourage them to remain an
independent organization. We will assist FARHS in planning a Summer Celebration if they move forward or
possibly host our own in 2015 but definitely in 2016. We encourage any and all alumni to do your own
homework and do as we are doing and ask WHY. We seek nothing in return and are simply standing up for Ryan
Alumni.
Dan Amspacher
Terry Bowman
Jim Avato
Jerry Curran
Neil Brassell
Madonna Phillips Duffy
Coleen McCrae Katz
Peg Hasher Cascerceri
John Hickey
Lynn Fallon
Laura Pezullo Robinson
Bob Tammaro
Mike Bremser
Mary Smith
Phil Palmer
William J. Brennan
Mary Kelly
Jim Ryan
Bob Drennen
Tom Craig
Joe Sanginiti
Bill Jann
Steve Izzi
Eileen Matthews
John Sestito
Dominic DiRenzo
Paul Romano
Donna Capper Fox
Bob Brooks
Dave Bontempo
Dolores Schnitzel
McMullen
Donna Lynn Kinsley
Staskel
Ron Oskiera
Ed Szysko
Steve Wojtko
Mike Nelms
Maryanne Benner
Tom Robinson
** There are other concerned alumni who are part of this group not mentioned above because they are connected
with the school or Archdiocese thru employment, business association or are a parent of a student. They will lend
a hand in meetings and fundraising.
Below, are two bullets taken from the school’s Mission Statement on their website.
Is it too much to ask that they embrace what they preach?
Embrace Christian values during the decision making process
Work collaboratively, appreciating how differences contribute to the whole
It is our contention that our once proud institution shows no respect to alumni who have questions or simply
ask for mutual respect in return. Their actions and disrespect is not Christ Like.
It has been a sad year for those of us who have remained on the Vine. (In Vite Mane)