Tag Archives: Alumni

Alumni Profile: Colonel Thomas H. Palmatier

Posted on by
Reply

Alumni Profiles is an ongoing series highlighting successful graduates who, with a SUNY education, achieved interesting and influential careers.

Col Thomas Palmatier SUNY PotsdamColonel Thomas H. Palmatier is a musician, serviceman, and family man. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from SUNY Potsdam in 1975, and went on to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree in music from Truman State University. He also later completed a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College.

Col. Palmatier was appointed ninth leader and commander of the U.S. Army Band, “Pershing’s Own,” in August 2011. He previously served as commander and conductor of the U.S. Army Field Band, making him the first officer to command both of the Army’s top premier bands. He is currently the senior military musician in the Department of Defense.

Among his accomplishments, Col. Palmatier has led the White House Herald Trumpets, performing at every ceremony the President of the United States attended and has conducted performances at five Presidential Inaugurations. He was the first Army Band officer to earn both the Parachutist and Air Assault Badges, and earned the right to wear a combat patch for service in El Salvador and Iraq.

His support for his alma mater has been unwavering, as he has returned to campus to lead masterclasses and conduct at The Crane School of Music, as well as for the Crane Youth Music camp and was honored with the 2010 Minerva Award by the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association.

Col. Palmatier has also generously established the Band Guest Artist Fund at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music to provide financial support for Crane’s band program in order to raise the program’s national profile. He and his wife, Shirley, are campaign leadership donors for Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which aims to raise $27 million to support the SUNY Potsdam student experience by the College’s bicentennial in 2016.

Continue reading →

Alumni Profile: Erin Coon

Posted on by
Reply

Alumni Profiles is an ongoing series highlighting successful graduates who, with a SUNY education, achieved interesting and influential careers.

Erin Coon, image from Post Star newspaper
Erin Coon is a community member, leader, and advocate. She was recently named the Executive Director of the Charles R. Wood Theater in Glens Falls, NY–the same city that one of her alma maters, SUNY Adirondack, is located.

Ms. Coon attended SUNY New Paltz to earn her Bachelor’s degree following her attendance at SUNY Adirondack in high school, then returned to the North Country to refresh her business skills at SUNY Adirondack more recently. For two years before being named the Executive Director, Ms. Coon was the theater’s operations manager after completing an internship with Adirondack Theatre Festival, a group that the theater continues to host.

The Charles R. Wood Theater is a 30,000 square-foot community facility with a theater, rehearsal hall, and reception area that hosts year-round art events. It is this year celebrating 10 years in operation. Learn more about the Charles R. Wood Theater, including the history and schedule of events at their website.

Continue reading →

Alumni Roundup: April 16, 2013

Posted on by
Reply

See What SUNY Alumni are Accomplishing This Week!

The Power of SUNY

In addition to our regular Alumni Profile series, we hear about great things our graduates are doing around the country. Why not share them?

 

An endowment by SUNY Geneseo alumni Jack and Carol Kramer, both 1976 Geneseo graduates, made a keynote speech by a former New York Times science reporter at the school’s annual GREAT Day possible.

SUNY Oneonta alumnus and ESPN reporter Sal Paolatonio is set to deliver the school’s Class of 2013 Commencement Address.

SUNY Plattsburgh alumnus Chris Marchitelli, Vice President of Litepanels, Inc., donated $70,000 in lighting to help upgrade the Albert R. Montanaro Television Studios, home of the PSTV college TV station and a training ground for communication students.

Five SUNY Geneseo alumni artists are scheduled to perform this week during the Geneseo Dance Ensemble’s “Dancing Past to Present: Celebrating 45 Years.”

Rosemary Cardamone Crane, a SUNY Oswego alumna who has built a career in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, will join in recognizing more than 100 academic achievers at the college this week.

_________________________

SUNY Potsdam graduate Ryan Zeigler visited the college this past week to talk with current students about his work with NASA.

Click to watch video on YNNZeigler, who curates the Apollo moon samples, spoke with students about the importance of the missions in an event titled “What We Have Learned Since the Apollo Missions”.  He brought with him moon samples from the collection, some of which were billions of years old.

The Potsdam alumnus spoke to local news station YNN:

“We haven’t been there in about 40 years. Our understanding of the moon has evolved a lot since then, so I think going back to the moon would be a very important step as NASA goes out into the solar system to explore again,” Zeigler said.

Zeigler also noted to YNN that it is important to note humans’ technology abilities when we went to the moon.  For example, we hold in our hand today more computing power in smartphones and tablets than the entire NASA rocket was capable of when we were making trips to the moon.

SUNY has an extensive relationship through alumni, students, and joint projects with NASA.  Zeigler’s trip to the North Country last week was one of many outreach efforts that our supportive alumni embark on every day.

Alumni Profile: Shawn Yetter

Posted on by
Reply

Alumni Profiles is an ongoing series highlighting successful graduates who, with a SUNY education, achieved interesting and influential careers.

Shawn YetterShawn Yetter is the Commissioner of Tioga County Department of Social Services in New York.  He is a graduate of Broome Community College, Class of 1982, and SUNY Oswego, Class of 1988.

Yetter has spent the last three decades in public and private sectors in the health and human services arena, where most of that was in leadership positions.  He is now actively involved in organizational and community development projects around the Owego, NY area, where Yetter lives.

Using his managerial expertise and applying his social science background, Yetter serves as: Board Member (and past President) of Tioga United Way, Inc.; Advisory Board member of Lourdes Hospice; Board Member of New York Public Welfare Association; and Board Member of Broome-Tioga Workforce Investment Board.  Yetter is also a Board Member of the Broome Community College Foundation, which provides financial support for students enrolled at his Alma Mater.

As Commissioner of Tioga County Social Services, Yetter leads a 100-person staff to serve a population of 52,000, budget of $22 million, and over 30 diverse Federal and State programs.

Continue reading →