The South Huntington School District 2012 Hall of Fame Inductees have been announced. A day of celebration and honoring the new inductees is planned for Saturday, October 20th, 2012 at Walt Whitman’s Annual Homecoming. Community, friends, and family are invited to welcome back Walt Whitman alumni who have distinguished themselves both professionally and personally. It is with great honor that we present the South Huntington School District Hall of Fame class of 2012:
A.J. Preller – Class of 1995, Senior Director of Player Personnel for the Texas Rangers, a major league baseball team. A.J. is in charge of player acquisition, where he oversees the team’s scouting operations around the world and manages approximately fifty amateur, professional, and international baseball scouts.
Laura Schroff – Class of 1970, is a former advertising executive who is best known for her book: “An Invisible Thread” which is a true account of how a busy sales executive befriends an 11 year old panhandler on the streets of NYC. Laura epitomizes what mentoring can do for a child’s life.
Michael McGuinness, Class of 1990. Lieutenant McGuiness is a 19 year veteran of the New York City Police Department where he has been assigned to the Emergency Service Unit, the department’s special weapons and tactics team, and the Rescue Unit. He has been a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agencies and New York Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue team, where he serves as manager.
Stuart Udell – Class of 1985, currently serves as President and CEO of Catapult Learning LLC at Literacy First and is Chairman of the Executive Board of The National Dropout Prevention Network/Center. Stuart has been active in the field of education, especially dropout prevention.
Mark Palzer – Class of 1978, On May 4, 2011, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced that the President nominated Colonel Mark W. Palzer, United States Army Reserve, for promotion to the rank of Brigadier General. An All American High School Wrestler at Whitman, after graduation he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, majoring in Computer Science.
Andy Farber – Class of 1987, an award winning jazz composer, arranger and saxophonist has spent years performing with the likes of Jon Hendricks and Wynton Marsalis. Since 1994, he has been part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center stable of writers and performers. Andy has written arrangements for people like Shirley Horn, Bobby Short, Stevie Wonder, Wynona Judd, Bob Dylan, Fantasia, Joe Cocker, Ray Charles and George Benson, just to name a few.
Daniel Levin – Class of 1973, has had an amazing legal career. Daniel has served as Chief of Staff to the Director of the FBI, Robert Mueller, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, William Barr, Acting Assistant Attorney General, and Office of Legal Counsel, where he wrote the replacement opinion concerning the statue prohibiting torture
Ronaldo George – Class of 1989, Owner of the Law Offices of Ronaldo C. George, LLC, a New Jersey firm that specializes in consumer and commercial bankruptcy as well as residential and commercial real estate, litigation, and collection. Ronaldo attended Fairleigh Dickerson University as a Presidential Scholar and member of the university’s Leadership Counsel.
Shirley Chaikin Mayer – Class of 1968, Co- Founder and President of Generation to Generation, an organization staffed by children of Holocaust Survivors committed to studying the effects of the Holocaust on themselves and the world. At New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center in New York City, Shirley established the first North East Region Burn and Trauma Center.
In addition, there will be a very special Founder’s Award of Recognition presented to:
Dr. Thomas C. Shea, Superintendent of South Huntington Union Free School District 2003-2012 – under his leadership, the SHUFSD Hall of Fame was created. Dr. Shea was inspired by the passion of alumni, the desire to create a memorial suitable of their achievements, and the importance of positive role models for today’s students.
Steve Tarde – Class of 1968 – Steve persistently called, wrote, and challenged his alma mater to create a Hall of Fame as a way to honor the countless alumni who have made great contributions to their chosen fields. It was his inspiration that lead to the creation of this historic tribute to accomplished alumni and tradition of excellence.

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