Today was like a holiday for me. A day to celebrate Sachem is a perfect day. We Are Sachem.
Amidst planning media coverage and helping to inform the Sachem community about our “We Are Sachem” rally on Saturday, I also had the privilege to speak for a few minutes about what it means to be a graduate of the Sachem Central School District.
A few minutes is easy considering I wouldn’t be the man I am today without my foundation and formative development in Sachem as a student and as an adult as I still continue to learn from the great leaders and individuals who have maintained this district’s true tradition of excellence.
Without recapping the speech word-for-word, I wanted to further convey my thoughts in writing to document my individual feelings about one of the most historic days in Sachem history. Remember the day when nearly 2,000 packed the house at Sachem North to show their school spirit. Remember the day when the community rallied to send a positive message to the world about what it truly means to be a member of the Sachem Family. When we say “We Are Sachem,” we mean it.
There was no place I would have rather been then in that gym at Sachem with the Sachem Faithful.
I had no paper, no notes. I spoke from the heart, which is filled with a deep passion and love for Sachem unlike anything else, just as much as my actual family. In recent months I’ve started referring to myself as the modern-day Mr. Sachem. I can’t take the claim that I’m the original. That was Joe Alfano and he passed away in the early 1980s. God bless his Sachem soul.
I began the heart of my speech with a quote:
“Our schools should set an intellectual tone from which our townspeople can profit; they should operate with order, imagination, and dignity, thereby setting an example for the daily affairs of the community; and they should reflect a love and understanding among people that will carry over into local public life.”
That is one of the key points of philosophy written by Walter Dunham in the late 1950s when he became the first school chief in Sachem’s long and illustrious history. Mr. Dunham was looking down on Sachem Saturday and was extremely proud of the connection his school district has with the community. We are one.
What does Sachem mean to me? To put it lightly, I’ll be getting married on the football field at Sachem High School North in October (it’s on a Sunday so as to not interfere with the football schedule). Yes, you’re all invited. I recently got a puppy … named him Arrow. There are other examples, but you get the point.
A couple of months ago my good friend Sal Nicosia asked me what Sachem means to me. Instantly my response was, “opportunity.” Sachem afforded me the ability to find my passion, journalism, as early as 15 years old. By the time I graduated I ran the school paper, the school radio station and the school website. All of those traits have helped in my career as a professional journalist, author, and professor. I would not be the professional I am today without Sachem.
The other ingredient I developed at Sachem was confidence. Recently I was in a meeting with executives in New York City for some other endeavors I’m involved with. They asked where I grow my confidence from. The answer was simple: Sachem. They already know the love I have for my community and knew exactly what I meant.
Yours in Sachem Pride, Passion and Honor,
Chris R. Vaccaro