Politicians, scientists, pioneering athletes and filmmakers and at least one billionaire gathered in Midwood last weekend to mark the 100th anniversary of their alma mater, James Madison High School.
Known for its many renowned alumni, including U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders, environmentalist Barry Commoner, singer-songwriter Carole King, Judge Judith “Judy” Blum Sheindlinand, the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and about six Nobel prize winners, JMHS celebrated the school’s legacy, memories, and hopes for more in the coming years.
“It’s absolutely surreal,” said principal Jodie Cohen, herself a member of the Class of 1989. Her mother is also an alum, while her two children graduated from JMHS in 2020 and 2022.
“It’s been a beautiful reunion,” she said. “People have been celebrating a community that made them who they are today.”
Cohen and the alumni association, headed by co-president John Rice, started planning the three-day centennial celebration three years ago. Cohen jokingly admitted that bringing people from all over the country back to the school took time.
The festivities began on Friday, October 24th when several prominent alumni came to speak with students during interested in entering their career fields. That was followed by a traditional pep rally and then an All-Class Reunion at Sheepshead Bay restaurant Clemente’s Maryland Crabhouse, owned by another alum, Jimmy Muir. Saturday was Homecoming Day with a football game between JMHS and Midwood High School, known as The Battle of Bedford.
The celebration culminated on Sunday with the induction ceremony of the latest alumni to the school’s Wall of Distinction, in the main lobby.
Hope Punnet (née Handler) from the Class of 1944 was among those being inducted. She was the first female editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper and went on to study plant life. which led to her work in human genetics. As an adult, she advocated for genetic counseling programs and children with genetic disorders. Now living in Philadelphia, Punnet returned to her high school surrounded by four generations of her family.
“I’m very honored,” she said about being added to the Wall of Distinction. “It’s an amazing place, I’m always telling people about it. Madison is a very special place in my life.”
Joining her on the wall was Don Vultaggio, founder and chairman of AriZona Beverages. A member of the Class of 1970, he started his career distributing local beer right after graduating from JMHS before building his multi-billion company.
“Madison is great, still great,” he said. “I’m honored to be part of it. I appreciate what I learned here. Everyone should have roots like me.”
Vultaggio was accompanied by his family, including his sons, Wesley and Spencer, who help run AriZona Beverages. On Saturday, they handed out free AriZona drinks at the football game.
Although she was not among the list of distinguished guests, Amelia Ippolito (née Viscardi) of the Class of 1967 came back to JMHS out of pride and to look back on a specific moment in both JMHS and American history. When she started at JMHS in 1964, the Civil Rights Act had just been passed, and schools were still very segregated.
“When I first started here, there were no Black students,” she explained. “For a while, there was one Black boy in an entire grade. But I look around now and everything has changed. It marked history.”
Ippolito, who is retired from computer management systems, remarked how strange it was to be back, but also not recognize old classmates.
Though is not a JMHS alum, WNBC Sportscaster Len Berman was friends with a few students and even had a mentor in Olympian and sports announcer Martin Glickman, who graduated from JMHS in 1954. He was also there to support Vultaggio.
“I’m proud to call him a friend,” Berman said. “What he does by never running an ad for AriZona, is unique.”
Berman attended Stuyvesant High School, which he jokingly said was “probably not as fun” as JMHS.
Not all renowned alumni are among the prominent members of society. As Rice pointed out, some are everyday people.
“We love to celebrate our famous alumni as much as we celebrate everyday people,” he says. “People that keep this city going. A lot of them are cops, firemen, plumbers.”
One everyday person has become a heroic legend at JMHS. Daniel Suhr was part of the Class of 1982, and was captain of the football and baseball team. He joined the FDNY and was one of the first firemen killed on 9/11 at the World Trade Center. He is now on the Wall of Distinction. His brother, Ed Suhr, was added to the Wall on Sunday, for his athletic and coaching career as a para-athlete.
“Whether it is a senator, a businessman, or a judge, we’ve got a combination of everything,” Rice says. “That’s what makes the school great.”
Steve Orr, class of 1984 and the President of Touchdown Club, which raises funds for the athletic clubs, helped raise money for the celebration’s football events. He was pleased to see everything come together.
“The last two years of Jodie Cohen’s planning has come to fruition,” Orr said. “Just to see everything come into play is pretty amazing. It’s overwhelming to see so many contributions to Madison and our country.”
Even some local elected officials, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, joined in to show their support at the induction ceremony.
“James Madison has played an instrumental role in our community for a century,” Vernikov said in a statement. “While a book could be written about some of its most famous alumni, what strikes me most is its present day standards that are maintained to this very day in a challenging educational environment under the leadership of Principal Jodie Cohen. I am proud to have been able to take part in their celebration and hope to see their legacy for excellence continue another 100 years.”
Rice seemed relieved that the celebrations went off well, after three years of planning. He also acknowledged how fiercely proud alumni can be toward JMHS years after they graduate.
“My wife says it is almost cultish about how we feel about Madison, and we all joke around it,” Rice laughed. “But these students are our future alumni, and the future of our city.”
In the lobby, collections of yearbooks from years and decades were on display for visitors to look through and take home. A table of school t-shirts and sweaters were on sale. Current JMHS students and recent alumni hurried around, acting as ushers, photographers, and assistants throughout the day.
One of them was Rania Malik, who graduated this past June and now attends Baruch College. As she managed the table with shirts for sale, Malik seemed to absorb the elated atmosphere at her alma mater.
“The feeling of family at Madison made me want to contribute,” she says. “It’s been a few months since I left, but there’s still that warm, embracing feeling. I hope future generations excel as our alumni. There’s so much hope for their future and the other students here.”
