Posted on Aug 5, 2005

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (August 5, 2005) – Union College has named Bill Brahler as the head men's and women's tennis coach. The announcement was made today by Director of Athletics Jim McLaughlin '93.

Brahler replaces Wayne Emerick, who had served in the roles since the 2003 women's tennis fall season. Brahler has served as an assistant tennis coach at Union since June of 2004. The 1995 Hudson Valley Community College graduate is the head tennis professional at Saratoga Golf & Polo Club.

“Bill is familiar with our program and the student-athletes,” commented McLaughlin. “His experience in the tennis community, as well as here at Union, will be a tremendous benefit to our student-athletes.”

At Saratoga, Brahler's duties included scheduling tournament events, and providing private and group lessons. He also serves as an independent tennis professional. Brahler was the Director of Tennis at Tri-City Fitness, and the Head Tennis Professional at Schenectady Racquet Club.

The Union women's tennis season, which is featured in the fall, begins September 3 at Clarkson.

Posted on Aug 1, 2005

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Seven distinguished individuals will be inducted into the Union College Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 10. The announcement was made today by Director of Athletics Jim McLaughlin '93.

The Class of 2005 consists of Bruce Allison (Athletic Director and men's lacrosse head coach), Gary Brown '65 (baseball, basketball and soccer; soccer, basketball and lacrosse coach), Priscilla Francis (Nellissen) '77. (field hockey and softball), George Haas '47 (baseball and basketball), Wayne McDougall '86 (ice hockey), Alex Rita '87 (baseball and football), and Dick Sakala (Athletic Director). The Union Athletics Hall of Fame, which began in 2002, will expand to 24 members with this year's group.

“This is truly a talented array of Union individuals who will enter our prestigious Athletics Hall of Fame in September,” commented McLaughlin. “The Class of 2005 features administrators, coaches, and student-athletes from our superb sports annals. This is just our fourth class, and through the years we will continue to honor extraordinary people from our rich and vast athletic history.”

The festivities feature a full day of events on Saturday, September 10. A welcome reception will begin at 3 p.m., and the luncheon will take place at 4 p.m. A pre-game Open House is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and the Union football team will open the 2005 season with a 7 p.m. game against Springfield College. At halftime of the football contest, the seven new inductees will be honored with medallion presentations by McLaughlin on the field.

Bruce Allison came to Union in 1957 and served the College through 1976. He started at Union as a coach of varsity wrestling, varsity men's lacrosse and freshman football, and also served as a physical education instructor. Allison was named the Director of Athletics and Chairman of Physical Education in 1971. He coached the men's lacrosse program for 19 seasons (1958-1976), and had many memorable victories, including wins in 1966 and 1974 over Syracuse. The 1966 team was 10-1 and ended the season with nine straight victories, while the 1974 team set a school record with 11 wins and reached the ECAC Finals. As the Director of Athletics, Allison established six intercollegiate women's programs. Allison later coached men's lacrosse at the Colorado School of Mines and was inducted into the Colorado Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame in 1995. He resides in Golden, CO.

Gary Brown is recognized as the first three-sport captain in Union athletics history. He received the then-maximum of nine varsity letters, three each in soccer, basketball and baseball, as freshmen were not eligible for varsity teams during his time, 1961-65. In his junior year, Brown was awarded Union's prestigious William A. Pike Trophy for athletic excellence and leadership. His senior season featured Knickerbocker News College First Team All-Star honors in both basketball and baseball. Brown's stellar career ended in a flourish on the baseball diamond, as the Dutchmen posted a 15-2 record in the 1965 season, and he helped lead the squad to the NCAA College Division Atlantic Coach Championship in Yankee Stadium with a three-hit pitching victory over Old Dominion. Brown later coached varsity soccer, freshman basketball and freshman lacrosse at Union. He is a Pittsford, NY resident.

Priscilla Francis was affectionately known as “Perky” during her career. She is considered to be one of the pioneers of women's sports on the Union playing fields during her time on the campus. Francis was an original star for both the field hockey and softball programs during their infancy. She was a two-year starter during the first two seasons of varsity field hockey at Union (1975-76), and was a star center-halfback and midfielder. As reported in the school newspaper, the Concordiensis, “Perky is easily one of the Players of the Year. Her superiority on the field has clearly won this honor. Many goal (attempts) were stopped by Perky's amazing defensive play in front of the net.” Francis also started in each of her three seasons on the softball diamond, (1975-77). The Dutchwomen won 73% of their games during her softball career, and in 1976, she capped off her stellar collegiate sports career with a 49-7 softball triumph. Now known as Priscilla Francis Nellissen, she resides in Norwood, MA.

George W. Haas, Jr. continued a stellar baseball tradition in his family. His father, George W. Haas, Sr., played for the legendary Connie Mack during the American League pennant winning seasons of 1929-31. George Jr. attended Union as a Navy V-12 student, and was an outstanding first baseman with the 1944 Dutchmen. After serving in World War II, George Jr. had a spectacular season in 1947, batting nearly .500 for the spring. Haas also played basketball for Union. His baseball exploits, featuring a .465 career average, did not go unnoticed. In a game witnessed by many Major League Baseball scouts, Haas went 5 for 5 and soon thereafter signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yet, in his second minor league season, the 6'4″ first baseman ran into a fence and suffered a career-ending injury in Waco, Texas. Haas is a resident of LaPlace, LA.

Wayne McDougall is one of the greatest goaltenders in Union's long and distinguished men's ice hockey history. He played in 86 career games in the net from 1983-86, and still holds the career victories total for a goaltender with 47. McDougall's record of 2,296 career saves still stands. He was the team's Most Valuable Player in his sophomore season and was the Junior Athlete of the Year the following winter. In 1984, McDougall made a career-best 61 saves in a four-overtime win over RIT that put Union in the program's first-ever NCAA final. He played the entire game, 93 minutes, 26 seconds, in the longest NCAA Division III men's ice hockey game in history. McDougall finished his career with a 3.14 goals against average and a save percentage of .900. Upon completion of his collegiate career, he was invited to the Montreal Canadiens mini-camp. McDougall resides in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Alex Rita was a four-year starter on both the football field and baseball diamond for Union. His 16 career interceptions and his eight from the 1983 season still both rank second all-time in Dutchmen football annals. In 1984 he earned Pizza Hut All-American and Associated Press Little All-American Honorable Mention honors. The defensive back was an ECAC All-Star in his 1985 junior season, and the senior year featured Pizza Hut and AP Honorable Mention All-American honors. Rita struck out just five times in his four-year baseball career, and the starting centerfielder batted .422 for his career. He hit .426 to lead the team in his 1984 freshman campaign, and batted .463 in his senior season. Rita started in the New York State Div. II-III All-Star Game at Shea Stadium in 1985 and also was selected to the game in 1987. Rita won the Jaffe Award as the outstanding senior male athlete in 1987. He is a resident of Eden Prairie, MN.

Dick Sakala was the Athletic Director at Union from 1977 until his retirement in 2000. He returned to serve the department during a transitional period in 2004-05. During his tenure, Sakala was the architect of one of the most successful NCAA Division III programs in the East. Union's football and swimming & diving teams were national contenders, while the field hockey, women's volleyball, men's lacrosse, baseball, softball and women's lacrosse teams enjoyed postseason success within the ECAC and NYSWCAA. Union's men's ice hockey team was considered one of the finest in the ECAC and the nation at the Division III level before moving into Division I in 1991. A former president of the ECAC, Sakala served on the ECAC Executive Council and also was a member of the NCAA Division III Football Committee. Sakala was a driving force behind the formation of the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (now “Liberty League”) in 1995. He oversaw the renovation of numerous Union athletic facilities, and was presented with the Alumni Association's Faculty Meritorious Service Award in 1984. Sakala, a 1962 Columbia graduate and former star quarterback for the Lions, resides in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Tickets for the 2005 Union College Athletics Hall of Fame Luncheon are priced at $60, and can be purchased by calling (518) 388-6284.

Posted on Aug 1, 2005

As Derek Mebus sowed the seeds for Treetop Design from his Union College dorm room at the turn of the millennia, the climate for opening a Schenectady area business portal was capricious at best.

At the time, Treetop was a small-scale web design nerve geared toward helping small, incubating businesses establish themselves on the Web.

“Though we ran our business from the dorm, we were an independent business,” says Mebus. “It was weird – we had Union College interns working for us when we were seniors.”

In thinking further ahead, Mebus and partner David Ward thought that Schenectady as a community would benefit through the creation of an online business portal, or directory, to help different small businesses and non-profit organizations network their skills and services.

During the late 90's, the expansive groundswell of potential resulting from the Internet boom led many entrepreneurs to believe that web design would be paramount in keeping their small businesses ahead. While they may have been correct in the long run, a pessimism prevailed that struggling communities (like Schenectady) would not truly benefit from an online business portal.

“During that time, some people saw the internet as a fad that would go out,” says Mebus.

Although Schenectady's local business market did not see the need for a portal at the time, Treetop insisted on opening one nonetheless. The aptly named “Schenectady 1” portal opened in early 2000 with the ambition of raising awareness among small businesses to jump on the web-wagon.

“The only way a small business can compete in today's business market is through strong partnerships,” asserts Mebus. “We wanted to help these businesses grow, because rising water raises all ships.”

Offering their talents primarily as Web designers for startups, Mebus succeeded in networking his clients through Schenectady 1, though admittedly, revenues were weak. “We were getting a lot of hits, but we just weren't turning any cash,” he recalls.

It was only a matter of time before an outside investor bought the domain for Schenectady I out from under them, soundly mopping up their old clients and effectively shutting the Treetop portal.

Later that year, Mebus and Ward instituted Treetop Hosting to revitalize their business. This allowed their clients having their website information stored securely on a remote server; in this case, the server was located some 200 miles way in New Jersey.

During this time, Mebus realized that he had three separate businesses under his thumb: Treetop Design, a defunct Schenectady 1 portal, and the newfangled hosting service. To streamline his operation towards an increasingly turbulent, yet lucrative e-market, he decided to consolidate his microcosmic triumvirate into a single entity – Tree Top Solutions, Inc.

With its complex network of resources extending and multiplying into the future, Treetop Solutions displays the promise and convenience that web solutions can have for small businesses, chambers of commerce, colleges and nonprofits alike.

Posted on Aug 1, 2005

Bradley G. Lewis, professor of economics, was elected vice president of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) at its recent 2005 General Synod meetings held at Union College.

“I'm humbled, honored and grateful for your confidence in me,” Lewis told delegates in attendance at College Park Hall.  “It's been said that we're facing unprecedented problems. I suppose every generation's problems are unprecedented. I think we have unprecedented opportunity.”

Lewis, 58, is an elder at First Reformed Church in Schenectady's Stockade section and vice chairman of Schenectady's Metroplex Development Authority board. He came to Schenectady in 1969 after graduating from Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., where he majored in economics.

He was an accounting manager and a corporate auditor for the General Electric Co. before taking a leave of absence to earn his master's degree and doctorate from the University of Chicago. He joined the Union faculty in 1979.

Lewis was active in church activities growing up in the Midwest, but “drifted away a little bit” during college in the 1960s.

“I was deeply affected by the death of Martin Luther King, and there were other things going on during that time I was wrestling with, and I felt like the church wasn't addressing these issues,” he said. “I certainly wouldn't have expected that I would have become as involved in the church as I am.

“After I took the position at Union, I started feeling like it was time to get back to church,” said Lewis, whose wife, Cathy, is a member of the Schenectady City Council.

He found First Reformed to be “a serious place that allowed you to think and discuss things about your faith.”

Strengthening his involvement with the church, Lewis became a deacon and later an elder, took Bible studies and has been active in other ways, most recently helping lead the church's new Sunday early morning service.

The RCA has some 284,000 members and 940 churches. Held in June, the General Synod recommitted to the church's 10-year goal to revitalize existing congregations, build new ones, encourage greater unity in ministry and mission, and become a multicultural church.