On Wednesday, April 11, the Brother Martin Principal, Mr. Ryan Gallagher ’00, Cmdr. Bruce Nolan ‘90, and Chief Petty Officer Terry Necaise presided over the NJROTC 51st Annual Change of Command and Awards Ceremony in the Backyard on the campus of Brother Martin High School. The annual ceremony recognized outstanding Cadets for their performance and dedication to the Brother Martin NJROTC program this year. The ceremony started with an invitation for family, friends, and faculty to “pin on” the new ranks for Officers and Chief Petty Officers. The ceremony also followed a traditional military formation of gathering troops and presenting Cadets to the reviewing officers and guests. Cadets were honored with awards for service from various local military and community groups. Representatives from military organizations and supporters presented awards to Cadets that excelled in leadership, participation, and academics.
Mr. Stephen Camp, Jr. ‘84 presented $1,000 scholarships to the National Flight Academy through a generous donation started by himself, to honor his classmate, Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Jacque Fontan ‘86. AT&T added to his donation this year and NJROTC awarded seven scholarships. The final awards were presented by the Fontan family to Cadet Eric Gegenheimer ‘20 as the Petty Officer of the Year and Cadet Nicholas Lemoine ‘21 as the 2018 Cadet of the Year. The Fontan Leadership and Courage awards go to underclass Cadets that distinguished themselves as leaders in their class through superior academic performance, participation, and leadership.
The ceremony concluded with a Change of Command for all of the leadership positions. Following Navy Tradition, Cmdr. Nolan ordered the new leaders to “Relieve the Watch.” Cadet Cmdr. Scott Johnston ‘18 relinquished his position to the incoming Commanding Officer Cadet Lt. Cmdr. Michael Serié ‘19.
The Seniors were then called forward with their parents to receive the Mr. John Parent Award, recognizing the dedication and assistance of the senior parents throughout their sons’ time in the Brother Martin NJROTC.
Mr. Gallagher, in a speech to Cadets, called them the “examples of the type of students that represent Brother Martin.” Bravo Zulu to the Class of 2018 and congratulations to our new leaders and award recipients!
2018-2019 NJROTC Leaders:
Commanding Officer: Cadet Lt. Cmdr. Michael Serié ‘19
Executive Officer: Cadet Lt. William Spedale ‘19
Command Master Chief: Cadet Master Chief Darien Alexander ‘19
Administration Officer: Cadet Lt. j.g. Harrison Hedgpeth ‘19
Operations Officer: Cadet Lt. William Baillie ‘19
Supply Officer: Cadet Lt. Darius Alexander ‘19
Public Affairs Officer: Cadet Lt. j.g. Justin Conrad ‘19
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List of Awards and Recipients:
2018 NJROTC Change of Command
