By Rose O’Connor | Correspondent

During an evening celebrating 50 years of Catholic education and excellence, past and present Iron Mikes gathered with present honorees for service to the Trenton Catholic Academy school community April 6 for the annual Iron Mike Gala, held in the Stone Terrace, Hamilton. 

In a program entitled, “The Dream Continues” gala committee chair and school board member, Nina Melker, greeted the honorees, their guests, alumni, faculty and friends of TCA which included Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., JoAnn Tier, diocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools and local and state dignitaries. 

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“It is with great joy that I welcome each and every one of you here tonight to celebrate our foundation, a foundation that was built on a solid rock, by loving hands of Msgr. Michael McCorristin and the people of St. Anthony Parish,” TCA president, Sister of St. Joseph Dorothy Payne, said to those in attendance.

“Our foundation was built upon three words – faith, family and friendship,” she said, and acknowledged the school’s name changes from St. Anthony High School, and McCorristin Catholic High School, to its current moniker, Trenton Catholic Academy, following a school consolidation in 2005.

However, she added, “The values have not changed; faith, family and friendship are still evident in the lives of our students, who are very proud to be a part of a special group and the Iron Mike legacy.”

Sister Dorothy also recognized Bishop O’Connell as a friend to Catholic education and to Trenton Catholic Academy as she invited him to confer the invocation.

“I am so thrilled to be here tonight and am really honored to be associated with Trenton Catholic Academy,” Bishop O’Connell stated prior to the invocation. “We are so fortunate in our diocese to have a place like this, like Trenton Catholic Academy.

“I would like to thank Sister [Dorothy] and I want to thank the faculty and all the administration and staff in my own name and in the name of the diocese for the great work that you do with our young, the future. God gives them to us,” he continued, “so that we may give those youngsters back to the world.”

Bishop O’Connell also acknowledged the contributions of the benefactors and friends of the school.

“I thank you for the support that you give Trenton Catholic Academy, without your help, without your support, without your assistance it’s hard to imagine that we can continue these things.”

The legacy that Sister Dorothy spoke of began with the original Iron Mike, Monsignor Michael McCorristin, who requested permission to build a Catholic high school for area youth when Bishop Ahr announced the closure of the all-boys Trenton Catholic High School in 1961.

The Iron Mike Foundation continues that dream of Monsignor McCorristin to provide a Catholic education to area youth, and affords financial aid for students who require such assistance, provides funding for capital improvements and imparts additional curriculum and educational resources to the school community.

Five individuals were honored for their service to Trenton Catholic Academy and were recognized for their dedication to the students of TCA:

Tracey Destribats, a member of the class of 1981, received the Iron Mike Service Award.  Destribats serves as chair of the board for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), is a member of the Friends of Sayen Gardens, the Mercer County Bar Foundation and St. Francis Medical Center Foundation,   She is a former school board member, a former chair of the board of the American Cancer Society Mercer County Unit, Mercer County Dress for Success and PEI Kids.

Former Senator Peter Inverso served in the New Jersey State Senate from January 1992 to January 2008.  In addition to public service, he has been president of and CEO of Roma Financial Corporation and president and CEO of Roma Bank.  In addition to his service to other organizations, Inverso serves on the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities and the Board of Trustees of Robert Wood Johnson Health Care Corp.  He received the Community Enrichment Award that evening.

Michael Doyle received the Iron Mike Leadership Award.  Doyle, the founder and managing director of Novahill Partners, has 25 years experience in domestic and international corporate finance.  He spent 19 years with JP Morgan & Co.  In addition to his work in finance, he has served non-profit boards including Mount Carmel Guild and the TCA School Board.

Lucine Fabian was awarded with the Distinguished Educator honor and spent her teaching career at St. Anthony High School, McCorristin Catholic High School, and Trenton Catholic Academy.  She was presented the award by her former student, Ann Marie Williams Gray, an Emmy Award winning producer, who credits Fabian and her education for helping her achieve success. 

Brian Duperreault received the Monsignor McCorristin Mission Award.  Duperreault, a member of the first graduating class of 1965, has served in a variety of leadership roles, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh and McLennan Companies, INC., a service firm specializing in the areas of risk, insurance, human capital and strategy.  He serves as Chairman of the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance, the Board of Overseers of the School of Risk Management of St. John’s University and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science.  He is also a member of several additional boards and committees and was inducted into the International Insurance Hall of Fame in 2011.

Despite his personal own accomplishments he was humbled by the award and congratulated his fellow award recipients as well, describing them as “amazing men and women.”

“It is particularly meaningful to for me to receive this award,” he shared humbly.

“[Msgr. MCorriston] was a man for others, he was a selfless man, he had a smile that would light up the room and was so persuasive,” Duperreault reflected on the parish priest for whom the award was named.

“We’re here tonight because the school is 50 years old and we are acknowledging those who are a part of it but one of his legacies is the school itself.  He didn’t build the school for himself, to have his name on it or for personal recognition.  He built the school for the kids. He wanted to educate them and give them a great Catholic education and many of us today are part of that legacy. I can’t think of anything that touches me more,” he said.

Reflecting on the mission and vision of TCA,  junior Madison Kotnarowski noted in the Gala program, “I know I can rely on TCA for guidance, love of learning, and strengthening my faith.  Our school may be 50 years old, but our spirit and Iron Mikes pride is infinite.”