Schools

The Knollwood School Honors Alumni on Active Duty

The Knollwood School now has a "Wall of Honor" featuring all of the alumni that are currently serving in the military.

As  students walk down the main corridor of the school, they will now bump into some Fair Haven heroes.

Thanks to Joe Perrotto, a resident, veteran and father of a Knollwood alum currently on active duty, a “Wall of Honor” is now hanging in the hallway.  The wall features framed photos (hanging at a lower eye-level, fit for the average middle schooler) of Knollwood School graduates who are currently serving in the military. Once they finish their active duty, their photos will be taken down to make room for new men and women who have entered the service.

“The initiative for my getting involved in this project was when my son Matthew was deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year,” said Perrotto.

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 Perrotto knows how difficult it is to be a soldier overseas, but also to be a family member of the men and women who are serving our country. That is why he felt this wall was so important. “Hopefully, this wall will keep these soldiers and their families in the memories and prayers of the people who walk down these hallways,” said Perrotto.

 The school unveiled the Wall of Honor on June 3, 2011. Sgt. Major Craig Cannon, who graduated from Knollwood in 1984, came up to Fair Haven from Fort Dix for the ceremony. “It is an awesome feeling,” he said about the dedication of the wall. “The hometown support is so important. It is truly amazing.”

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The wall became possible thanks to the support of Principal Famulary, Betsy Koch, a teacher at Knollwood, and Rick Robbins, who put the board together.

“It is a tremendous sacrifice and so it is really an honor for us to be able to honor all of them,” said Principal Famulary. “This wall sends a great message to all of the students who pass it each day.”

The student council raised the money for the wall. The students have a variety of fundraisers throughout the year, but majority of the money for the wall came from an auction. “The teachers donated prizes and the students sold the tickets,” said Tommy Spernal, member of the Knollwood Student Council. “We raised over $2,000. We were happy to have a cause like this to donate the money to."

 

The first members of active duty to be featured on the Wall of Honor are;

Wayne Coy 1999

Joel Hyduke 2001

Bobby DeCanio 2003

Craig Cannon 1984

Scott Beattie1991

Shaun Foley 1996

Matthew Perrotto 1999

Michael Humphreys 2003


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