WESTFIELD – Westfield State University’s Horace Mann Center played host to the WSU Foundation’s annual Meeting of the Corporation Thursday evening.
At the meeting, the foundation honored two associates of the university who recently passed away.
The families of Joseph Kareta, an alumnus from the Class of 2010 who was killed by a drunk driver in the summer of 2010 and former University Trustee Deanna L. Clark, who passed away earlier this year, spoke to a packed garden level of the Horace Mann Center, the home of the criminal justice department where Kareta earned his bachelor’s degree and the board room where Clark attended trustee meetings.
Michael R. Knapik, executive director of university advancement at Westfield State, spoke to Joe’s parents, Frederick and Kathryn, after their son’s passing.
“They came to the foundation and asked ‘can we do something in Joe’s memory?’” said Knapik. “Is there something we can do out of love, remembering what kind of student he was and what a special son he was and how much he touched others?”
Knapik said that the Kareta family began raising funds in the summer of 2011 and, in partnership with the Citizen Scholarship Foundation and the Westfield State University Foundation, the Joe Kareta Memorial Scholarship passed the $100,000 mark.
Originally intended to serve as a scholarship for criminal justice students, the scholarship has now helped 17 students with their education at Westfield State.
“We’re here to thank you for all you’ve done to honor your son and all that we can do to help you honor your son,” Knapik said. “You’ll touch the lives of future students at this university for generations to come.”
Fred and Kathryn Kareta were awarded the 2014 Stewardship Award from the foundation and spoke of their son.
“Joe was my son and a good son he was,” said Fred Kareta. “The tragic results of drunk driving can never be felt by anyone until it happens to them. We started this scholarship and with the help of Mike (Knapik), Lisa (McMahon, assistant director of development) and Westfield State, we’re going to carry on.”
“We had a goal of $100,000 but now, there is no goal – the sky is the limit,” he said. “And as long as we can partner with Westfield State, we’re going to on.”
New Foundation Chair Robin Jensen took the microphone next to introduce the family of Deanna Clark, the longtime Westfield State Trustee who touched the lives of so many and who Jensen credits with introducing her to Westfield State after they’d served together on the board of the Amelia Park Children’s Museum.
“My Christmas gift from Dee that year was becoming a member of this board – my first meeting was December of ’08,” said Jensen, who added that she was one of the youngest women on the board at that time.
“And if you were to have told me back then one day I’d be chair of this board… no way,” she said. “But Dee said ‘one day you’ll be chair of this board.’ So from her lips to tonight, Dee is always right.”
Jensen then announced to the assembly that the university’s 175th Anniversary Scholarship would be named after Clark and presented her husband Don, children Heather and Morgan, and niece Carla Ottaviano with the honor.
“She was all about helping and putting students first,” said Jensen. “She never really wanted any recognition or praise, but I hope the scholarship will continue to grow and I hope the sky’s the limit for this one, too.”
Heather Clark then offered the crowd a brief thanks on behalf of her family.
“My mother didn’t like to speak in public, but she really did love Westfield State and its students. She talked about it all the time – what a wonderful place it was, the education one could get here,” said Clark before speaking of her mother’s devotion to WSU.
“She didn’t do it for the recognition – she did it because she loved Westfield and Westfield State,” she said. “I think she’d be surprised at all the attention that’s being given to her but I think she’d be very humbled and honored by it, as are we.”
After the event, Jensen reiterated the “family first” focus of the event.
“Here at Westfield State University, we’re a family and we put our students first,” she said. “We’re looking forward to this next year. It’s a year of rebuilding, but we’re reinvigorated and I think everyone is excited looking into this next year.”
“It was really a night for Joey and Dee. It was all about them,” she said. “Everything we talked about led back to them and I really believe it’s going to make it the best year ever.”
