Fort Hamilton’s Alumni Association hosted its bi-annual Hall of Fame Inductee Ceremony at El Caribe Country Club on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Among the alumni inducted were New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes ‘03, John Christakos ‘86, Edwin Batiz ‘82, Bobby Daquara ‘82, Dr. Deeb Salem ‘62, Stella Porto ‘86, and Elliot Lamboy ‘88.
The event commenced with a brunch, followed by a ceremony in which each inductee was introduced by a close friend or family member before delivering a speech of their own. Mr. Christakos, the assistant principal of Fort’s science department, delivered an affectionate speech about his love for Fort Hamilton.
“I don’t have to tell you how great Fort Hamilton is,” he told the audience. “You’ve all experienced it in some way. I went there, my siblings went there, my cousins went there. There were so many people at Fort Hamilton I could turn to. And now I get to work at a place where I have so many memories.”
All of the inductees paid homage to the teachers, coaches, and mentors who left indelible imprints on them at Fort Hamilton. In an impassioned speech, Stella Porto, who received the honor of Athlete of the Year the year she graduated, thanked her coaches and teachers for guiding her.
“Your teachers are your mentors, and the world would not be where it is today without them,” she said. “They guided me to where I am today.”
The Alumni Association also inducted two Fort Hamilton senior athletes into the Hall of Fame: Kaitlyn Ho, a player on the golf team, and Henry Izzo, a player on the varsity baseball team.
“I feel very honored [to be inducted],” said Izzo, who will be attending Saint Elizabeth University on a full scholarship in the fall. “There are a lot of student athletes, but I was picked, which shows how much my hard work paid off.”
In addition to inducting alumni and students into the Hall of Fame, the ceremony serves as a fundraiser for scholarship programs, artistic projects, and sports at Fort Hamilton. Joseph Estrella, the president of the Alumni Association, plans on using part of the revenue from the ceremony to finance a new Hall of Fame wall display for the first floor of Fort Hamilton.
Estrella also hopes to “get the Alumni Association integrated into the Fort Hamilton family fabric.”
“Everyone who went to Fort Hamilton said they were the best four years,” he added. “I want other alumni to come talk to current students about how fantastic our time at Fort was. I want to bring added value to the school and not be an outside private entity that operates on the periphery.”
State Senator Andrew Gounardes, whose induction concluded the ceremony, said he owes much to Fort Hamilton for preparing him for his political career.
“Fort was one of the most formative four years of my life,” he said. “It helped prepare me for my work today in terms of having to deal with people of all different backgrounds, cultures, and religions. It helped prepare me for a life in public leadership. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
