uh possibilities and the city of Patterson. And as someone that was born in the city of Patterson that brings a lot of pride and joy. Um moments like these bring incredibly uh special uh memories. There is something powerful about seeing my alma
mada William Patterson University, the city of Patterson and our partners uh today uh making magic literally uh and creating history and all the visionary partners that have again uh worked with us to make this happen. Today uh we just
want to take uh a moment again I want to introduce some of our elected officials. Uh my name is Carol Cordado uh associate vice president for university and government relations and it is truly my honor to serve as your master of ceremonies today. Uh but before we begin
the program, I would like to recognize uh first our leadership team uh within Patterson University and our distinguished guest. Of course, President Hell Dabler will certainly acknowledge the board of trustees uh and our honorable speakers, but I would like to take a moment to also recognize
members of our university cabinet and our elected uh from our university cabinet and leadership team. I would like to start with Melissa uh Rien Henry. She's our general counsel to the university and board of trustees. Please take a bow, Melissa.
Thank you. Would appreciate that as a theater major. Loretta McLolin, uh, Veneer, chief of staff of Joshua Powers, Provos and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
today, but we acknowledge him exactly the same. George Cassinga, uh, vice president for enrollment management. Nikki Camarada, vice president for student development. Dean Arnold, chief diversity officer.
Kirstston Lurkite, vice president for finance and administration. Allison Basher Jarvis, vice president for Steuart Goldstein, vice president for marketing and public, chief information officer,
Sandra Diaz, vice president for institutional advancement, and one of the newest members on our cabinet, Jill Guzman, chief wellness officer. Thank you. We are also honored to be joined by distinguished elected officials. And again, the president will
be sure to recognize those honorable speakers. Uh so I want to start right now with our county uh delegation, our representatives that are here. Pay County Sheriff Thomas Adano, S County Surrogate Judge Zoya Kasanova. Uh Pay County Madame Clerk Daniel
Ireland Imhof. Hello to the Pay County Commissioners Lou Imha County Commissioner and Dean at Vet County Technical Institute, Rodney D'vor. Uh we have our Christian Gil representing Congresswoman Nelly Poe who
is in Washington. We have uh P County Commissioner Orlando Cruz, Patterson Councilwoman and Council Vice Chair Marissa Davila. I know I saw our Hilden Mayor Michael Johnson, Councilman Carlos Mosto,
our New Jersey Puerto Rico Commission Commissioner Ombberto Fu. BAYZ, board president of the Manchester Regional High School, and our former Assemblywoman, Elise Evans, Commissioner, Elise Evans. Thank you for
for joining us today. And I just want to say that you are all family. And again, I want to thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedules to join us and to support our students and our university. Thank you. And again, that deserves a round of applause as well.
We are also honored to welcome our friends from Hencliff Sports Partners, the New York Cosmos, and the New Jersey Jackals. Uh, and I'm sure their leader will make mention of them uh in a little bit as well. Uh, but I know I saw somewhere around here, Eric Stove, uh,
Jamie Pon, Bobby Jones, and Tom Dherty. THANK YOU GUYS. YOU KNOW, WE also have a valued uh chamber partners and I know some of them are on their way. Uh we have from our statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I know Carlos Medina is on his way and
our chairman Luis de Laos as well and our uh William Patterson proud alum and president and CEO of the Unity Chamber of Commerce, Gus Peniranda. We're very grateful also to welcome our healthcare and community partners. Uh
and I'll make mention of of some of them. Uh in particular from St. Joseph's Wayne Medical Center, we have Corey Brown the executive director Chris executive director of nursing and
Bonnie Kilia from PT Solutions. and representing the inner club feti, the official fan club of soccer players, Tony Gronado. And of course, I want to acknowledge and thank all the media that is here today. Um, I know that one of our our legendary
uh Latino media newspapers uh from Espito uh made his way here today. It's Antonio Varia. Thank you for all of you. really thank you so much uh for supporting this this uh conference today. Um I'd like to uh now welcome and
introduce um our leader uh at at our institution and as we celebrate uh these incredible partnerships and the people making them possible. It is now my distinct honor to introduce to you a transformational leader, the president
of William Patterson University, Dr. Richard J. Doppler who has led this institution through a remarkable period of growth and momentum redefining what access, affordability, and student success look like in higher education. a
first generation college graduate of immigrant parents. The commitment to social mobility is deeply personal and reflected in the bold initiatives that he has launched to put more life changing degrees into the hands of
students across New Jersey and beyond. Under his leadership, William Patterson has risen into the top 4.5% of institutions nationally for social mobility, truly becoming a powerhouse of progress. And today's partnership
announcement is proof of that vision. Please join me in welcoming our great president, Richard J. So, good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us. I want to welcome all of you to William Patterson
University, the proud new official higher education partner of Hinchless Sport Partners and the New Jersey Jackals and the New York Cosmos. So, we are so excited for this partnership and what it means for
William Patterson and our students, for HSP, these two storied professional sports teams and most importantly the city of Patterson where our institution began as the Patterson City Normal School more than 170 years ago and grew
and thrived over the course of a century. We continue to maintain strong community uh ties throughout Patterson and we are excited by the opportunity to forge new ones like the partnership that we are celebrating today. But before I
continue, I want to recognize some members of our dedicated board of trustees including the chair Michael Steve who's with us and his fellow trustees who are also Pattersonians Audrey McDall AND BOB DASH. SO, AS UH CAROL MENTIONED, WE'RE ALSO joined by members of our of our cabinet
of senior administrators. Uh and I want to thank them all for being here, but a special thanks really goes to our chief financial officer Kirstston Loverkite and vice president for student development Mickey Camarada and associate vice president for university and government relations Carol CuadraD
for working with HSP to forge this new great partnership. So, thank you. Thank you. I also want to quickly acknowledge some of the many elected officials, some who are here, some who are on their way, some who couldn't make it at the last minute. Uh so um bear with me, but they
have all been so incredibly supportive of William Patterson and our relationship with the city of Patterson uh in particular. They are all proud Pattersonians and I'm proud to say that several of them are also William Patterson alums. Uh soon we'll be
welcoming Mayor Andre Sai. You'll note that I am wearing a William Patterson uh jersey with the number eight on it as I'm the eighth president in my eighth year. And the mayor and I started our roles on the same day. We also want to extend a special welcome
to New Jersey State Senator Benji Wimberly. You know, the senator earned his teaching certificate here at William Patterson, and he has been a tremendous advocate for William Patterson and our students, and we so appreciate his role
in securing critical resources for William Patterson and higher education in general. Thank you so much. Unfortunately, the newly elected assemblyman uh who is also a WPLM, Kenyatta Stewart, an assemblyman and WPLM albe
uh who got his degree in fiscal education here at William Patterson. So, I know that this partnership is particularly meaningful to him on many uh levels. Regrettably, they were called into a meeting, so they won't be able to join us today, but we look forward to working with them in their many important roles in the state assembly,
especially at budget time. just just putting it out there, right? Um but on behalf of everyone at William Patterson, I want to thank them for um their leadership and their continued support of the university and for public higher education in New Jersey. Um I also want to give a big uh shout out and and
recognition to say county commissioner Orlando Cruz who is with us today. You'll hear from him shortly, but let's give them all a bigger round of applause. And of course, I really want to recognize Bayier Adula Wilson and his colleagues at HSP. I really appreciate
Bay's leadership and his vision for the tremendous potential of partnerships like the one that we're announcing today to accelerate the impact that the Jackals and the Cosmos can have for our students and for his native city of
Patterson. So, Bayer, THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO THIS new innovative collaboration with HSP reflects our shared values of opportunity, access, and excellence, as well as William Patterson's commitment to experiential learning, workforce
development, and meaningful community engagement. One key example is the creation of priority internship opportunities for our students across a wide range of disciplines within the HSP organization, including marketing,
communications and social media, finance, operations, sports data and analytics, merchandising and licensing, athletic training, website management, graphic design, and more. These priority internships will provide
our students with opportunities to apply their academic knowledge in a professional setting while building valuable career skills and connections in a highly competitive industry. one where our graduates have had great success and where we know there is
strong career interest on the part of today's students while at the same time giving back to the city of Patterson where our journey as a university started. Under this partnership, the Jackles and Cosmos will live and
practice here on our campus where our pioneer athletics have a proud history of student athlete success, including most recently our Njack regular season champion women's basketball team who are leaving tomorrow to take part in the
NCAA TOURNAMENT ON FRIDAY. SO, THE HSP FRANCHISES will then actually play their home games at Patterson's beautifully restored historic Hinchless Stadium, helping to further expand and strengthen William Patterson's ties with our native city,
which currently includes initiatives like the William Patterson Small Business Development Center located in downtown Patterson, just a few blocks from the stadium which has a great record of helping people launch and grow businesses in the city. Like our college
of education's professional development school network which supports teachers and school leaders in districts including the Patterson public schools like the range of civic engagement programs that provide avenues for our students to support Patterson residents
and organizations. And in many other ways, William Patterson and the city of Patterson remain deeply, deeply connected to one another. Like these many connections with our new WPHSP partnership will help power progress in
the Silk City. I know that as a proud Patterson native himself, Bay along with his partners are deeply committed to the future of his hometown and recognizes the tremendous potential that professional sports team have to bring
communities together and make a positive economic impact on local neighborhoods and the entire city and beyond. You know, I really have been delighted to see firsthand what is possible with these kinds of smart investments in professional sports and local facilities
in my own hometown of Toledo, Ohio. The Mudheads baseball and the Walleye hockey teams have contributed significantly to the revitalization of downtown Toledo, drawing thousands of fans to Fifth Third Field at Huntington Center. fans who
patronize existing restaurants and bars, create new markets where new businesses can grow and launch, and where old hotels and department stores have been transformed into living spaces and helped to build a sustaining local
economy that can thrive year round. And it might be interesting for you to know that the Wall Street Journal just named Toledo, Ohio as one of the hottest housing markets in the country. And as wonderful as these venues in Toledo are, what Patterson and the
Jackals and the Cosmos have that Toledo lacks is the historic Hinch Lift Stadium. Under HSP, they have made it even more special. Like William Patterson, it represents a unique and
special place in the history of Patterson. Together, they will serve as a foundation where the history of the great city propels the future growth and the opportunity for its people, many of
whom are William Patterson students, employees, and alumni. And I am truly excited for what lies ahead. And I am grateful to all of our partners, elected officials, friends, and community members who have helped bring this
partnership to fruition. and that we ask that you go and help cheer it on in the stadium and on our campus and all across the great city of Patterson. Thank you so much. Do it again please for our president.
Before I call upon our next speaker, I just want to recognize also Habib Kadir who's here representing our great assemblyman, Kinyatta Sto. Thank you. I know he's being shy in uh outdoors. Well, I want to welcome Luis de Laos,
who I mentioned earlier from the White Hispanic Chamber of >> Our next speaker represents the power of partnership and action. A proud United States veteran, attorney, and developer. He brings a remarkable blend of public service, developmental expertise, and
strategic vision. He previously served as deputy mayor of the city of North where he led the department of economic and housing development. Let's welcome our mayor, MAYOR. My apologies. He previously served as deputy mayor of the city of North where
he led the department of economic and housing development driving transformative initiatives that strengthened communities and expanded opportunities. What stands out most is his commitment to building meaningful partnerships that move cities forward.
Please help me welcome with a great round of applause by a couple. Thank you every like listen thank you everyone for coming today. We really appreciate it. We're really excited about this uh this partnership. I want to acknowledge the
the mayor um for all the work and support that you provided um stadium for the teams. It's been a honor working with you. Also uh my uh high school buddy Senator Wimbley um who also
without his support, encouragement and um dedication um we wouldn't be here as well as the the board of William Patterson. Um I actually reached out to Michael. This this sort of started with a conversation um with your chairperson
uh last spring and um about the opportunity of partnering with you guys. Um when I was you know one of the things you mentioned I was in New York and one of the things when I was in New York is that I really didn't work closely with Ruckers New York and NGIT um on projects
um that the city of New York knew of. And so when I um came back to Patterson, I felt it was important that you have institutions like William Patterson that they engage the community that in and in in our cities we need, you know, sort of I feel like these cities are always like
all hands on deck, you know, and how do you help to help to transform the city, improve it, and I just think that education should be at the forefront of, you know, whether it's changing people's lives or improving their lives or even just sort of giving a foundation for
learning. I just feel like education should be central in that. And so it was really um a a quick call to the chairperson to say, "Look, how do we figure out a way to work and partner together? We have all these athletes who are coming, the Jackals, the Cosmos, and
the campus here is really, it's a spectacular campus in close proximity to the stadium." And so we went through a process um of working with um the excellent leadership team here at William Patterson. Um, Carol has been amazing. Uh, I have a quick question. How many people here have older sisters?
Can you raise your hand? Carol has older sister energy. Just know I appreciate it. Someone has older sister, but Carol has older sister energy. And so, uh, so it's been great just sort of working with her and just sort of getting to know her in this
capacity as opposed to sort of just in terms of when she worked with, uh, the congresswoman to to sort of work. I think is um she's an asset for the university and for Patterson and SO she still has big sister energy
and so um it's been fun but it's really you know for us um being able to be here at this moment where we are um relaunching the cosmos and sort of new ownership and and the jackals. I think it's important for us to grow together, you know, and I wanted us to grow I want
us to grow together, but I also want the players to have a space where they feel safe, where they feel comfortable. Um, I also think it's it's important for them because of uh a lot of their ages that they too are in the educational environment. And so I just thought the partnership would be great and it's
close proximity. And how do we grow our cities if we're not using all of the assets? how do we transform our places if we're not communicating with one another? And so I'm sort of thankful just that you guys agree and that you really wanted to participate and do
this. Um our team at is excellent. You have uh our county commissioner Orlando Cruz. I don't know if I Eric is here, Eric Silver, Bobby Jones, um Jamie, I see Sandra. Our team has been excellent in terms of making sure and the coaching
staff really the coaching staff for both teams um been excellent in terms of making sure that this transition happens. I want us to be asset too for what you have. So it's not just sort of us staying here. I also want to be able to help with your you know recruitment.
I think that um the jackals and cows here will help with your student athletes and that they too will see the opportunity of being in a place in proximity to professional athletes. um and and be inspired. You know, one of the things that was really important to
me about Larry Dobby story is that when Larry Dobby was in high school, the New York Black Yankees played at HR Stadium. And so, he's able to walk down to the stadium and watch a game, you know, as a high school student and he signs to play with the New York uh not like New York.
Uh both teams play, but he signs with the New Eagles. um as a 17-year-old under the name of Larry Walker. What's important about that is that if you have these professional athletes in your community, the the the dream of being a professional athlete isn't afraid. It's
it's the it's the dream that's down the street. It's the dream that's around the corner. It's the dream that's within proximity. And so, I also want um your student athletes um and the kids in Patterson to see um professional athletes in their community. And it's
not just it's not just the the sport of it. It's also as you said marketing, it's uh legal, it's ownership, it's communications, it's all the components that are put together to make it to. And so I think it's important that when you have these um these academic programs
here that uh students can say, all right, you know, I'm from Patterson. I'm in sports management. I'm at William Patterson. I can work here. I can intern in my community and still, you know, go home and eat, go to my parents house to eat. So, I think that's what that's what
we're trying to do. We're trying to uh bring um more athletes here, we're also trying to encourage the increase of sports entertainment in Patterson. Um Patterson has always been known as a city that even though the size has had has a disproportionate number of
athletes that have come out of the city and I think that um we want to continue that um continue that trajectory especially in this market in this economy at this moment. So I um thank you for coming out. Really appreciate it. I also want to give um both the
Jackles and Cosmos a round of applause. THEY'RE HERE. YOU KNOW, they've been amazing in terms of the adop adapting to the environment, but also as uh Miss being great about being here because like I said, I I do think it's important for them. But I
want um the student athletes here to um see them, have access to them, um watch them play, come down to the stadium, see them practice because I hopefully through all this um all of us are better all you know the rising ties where he's all so. So hopefully this increases what
happens at stadium but also what happens at Williamson. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Let's hear FROM BAY AGAIN. IT'S GOOD to know that uh this conversation started with our chairman of our board of trustees. Uh thank you
so much for that and and for your beautiful and kind words. It really has been a pleasure to work with you by and with your professional uh uh members of your team as well. They have all been amazing, very responsive uh all of you. So I'm really looking forward ahead to um continuing this relationship uh this
working relationship. But I want to thank obviously my colleagues who also participated in this uh in this uh uh you know uh collaboration between us. So thank you again. Um I just want to now take a moment uh to introduce our mayor
uh who was running a little bit late for very good reason. Um but it is good to welcome you mayor. Um it is my pleasure to introduce a friend, a steadfast steadfast supporter and leader. uh and someone that has always been there for William Patterson University whenever
we've called upon him. He is the mayor of the city of Patterson. Uh he is an educator at heart who believes deeply in propelling our next generation into leadership. Uh he also serves the city of Patterson or he's been serving the city of Patterson as the mayor since
2018. and prior to that he served as the on the city council for 10 years building a record of service and commitment to nonetheless the third largest city in the state of New Jersey. Uh and so please help me uh welcome our great MAYOR
and this is my younger sister Carol. It is an auspicious day, isn't it, Bob? >> Yes. >> When we reopened Hinchlift Stadium on May 19th, 2023, I said it put Patterson back in the win column. This is another victory for the city and for William
Patterson University. I was a proud member of your faculty for 15 years. I taught history, right, Senator? He knows. Once I got married, I decided I had to you focus on other important matters. Family matters. Yes,
economics. That's correct, Senator. So, I know what the mission here is as far as will power is concerned. And when we talk about Hitch of the Stadium, it's not only a field of dreams, but it's a field of opportunities. Cuz now you have not one, not two, but
three professional sports teams that call Hitchin Stadium home. I was in my office prior to this massive fire that delayed my attendance. I was with Marquishia Guthrie. She's a Pattersonian who is now going to be the starting
linebacker on the Jersey Shore Wave that plays in the city of Patterson. She's here. Consider whether they are sponsoring her this year. Make sure you get out to the games. There's three home games on March 28th. That's their home opener and we can root her on as well as Monae
Clansancy. So when I talk about opportunities, that's what I mean. Empowering Pattersonians and now William Pattersonians as well, but the Cosmos, I've only been, with all due respect, I'm not the biggest soccer
fan in full disclosure, but I've only been to one soccer game my entire life, and that's when the Cosmos in the 80s played at Giant Stadium. So, it feels really good that we're able to bring a nationally recog I'm sorry, an internationally recognized brand to the
city of Patterson. So, welcome to our city. God bless you. I'm going to start this story with the New Jersey, Dr. So, I met with the previous owner before I became mayor, Luis Delos. Thank you for joining us. And I said to him, I said, "When I
become mayor, we're going to bring Hinchiff Stadium back and we are going to take your team out of Little Falls, where they played for 25 years, and bring them to Patterson." And his response was, "You could drop $50 million in the middle of that field. I will never bring my team to the city of
Patterson." So $130 million LATER SEASON. >> You like that one, Commissioner? I never never heard Chuck like that. This is a truce. These are facts, not fake news. Remember and Dr. Held many years ago, we
said we were going to propel Patterson. >> Well, this is the manifestation of what we were alluding to. We are going to propel Patterson through professional sports and and also afford opportunities to individuals for empowerment. So, this
is a banner day for the city of Patterson. We're winning. Not the kind of winning that other guy said for about two hours that nobody really paid attention to at the state. This is real winning. >> Yes. >> Winning for a city that really needs it. Because when you're trying to position a
place like Patterson for progress, it's not a spectator sport. It's a team sport. And nobody can afford to sit on the sidelines. We need you on the field in the game scoring the goals and hitting the home runs. Congratulations and thank you.
Senator. >> Oh, come on, Senator. >> I had a fire hat on. Come on. >> There you go. My younger sister. >> That's true. >> Thank you, mayor. You're always fabulous with all that energy that you pass on to
all of us. And I just want to acknowledge obviously the teams here. They uh the players from the Cos Cosmos and Jazzles uh players that are here. They're they look amazing in their uniforms and hopefully we'll have an opportunity later to, you know, uh connect with them and take some some
pictures as well. But please give them a great round. It is now, thank you everyone. Thank you. It is now my pleasure to introduce another dear friend and steadfast supporter of William Patterson University, uh, State Senator Benji
Wimberly, a longtime educator as well and coach, Senator Wimbley has championed the university and delivered critical resources to support our students and community. and I can tell you that firsthand because I work side by side with him alongside our then senator Nelly Po uh in the state
legislature. Thank you for everything you do. Uh he has served in the New Jersey legislature since 2012, first in the assembly when he served as speaker promp and vice chair of the budget committee and since 2025 in the senate
where he serves on the community and urban affairs committee and military and veterans affairs. Please join me in welcoming our great senator, Benji Wimbley. >> Listen, I don't have a jersey. >> I have a jersey. Andre doesn't have a jersey.
Thank Bobby and the guys here. >> I think we have other electives here that need to be pinned, Mr. President. >> I'm going to wear my jersey. Uh now you have the Cosmo jersey. Yes, we we had to keep them good. But uh this is a great day uh for uh William Patterson and the
city of Patterson. Uh uh President Ala, you don't get any better than Super Carol. >> I was at I was a couple minutes behind and she's called me ON THE PHONE. WHERE YOU AT? I'M HERE. I'm going to be here. But that's also that we will be here for William Patterson LD35. And obviously
the connection for LD35 and William Patterson is something special. And I send my regards from CM Kingdom Stewart, a William Patterson graduate, and Alan Aziz, who's a William Patterson graduate. All through our prior commitment to come be here. And I will tell you this, I've always had a great
connection at William Patterson. I played a year of college football here at William Patterson. I taught EF uh reading uh here at William Patterson. And as you said, I attained my uh teaching certification for William Patterson. So the connection and the collaboration will continue. Uh Bay
understands, the mayor understands that it will always be a priority. I do want to thank our congresswoman, Nelly Poe, for really leading the charge when we needed the major dollars, over $54 million for Angelico Stadium and we made sure that it was a project that was going to be done. Uh B mentioned uh you
know, Larry Doby and the history of William I mean of Stadium. If you go to the Charles Museum, you will understand that we are the rank number seven museum in the United States. museums, >> new museums in the United States. It's an amazing thing. I had an opportunity
to also coach baseball at East Side and coach the last game uh before the mayor and so many other people like Bay revived the stadium. So, understand that this is important. I think the collaboration when it comes to opportunities for internships is so so important because there's nothing like
hands-on opportunities to work there. And hopefully that same energy that will come from the William Patterson campus as we all call Willie P will come down and roll it around a mile and a quarter to uh HCO Stadium. I would love to see you know games uh the new football coach
and his team come down and play again at HCO Stadium. The baseball team has opportunity to play at the Jackals uh home field. But it is so important that this collaboration uh continues. I can tell you this. I guarantee you LD35 will support you, be it financially or
whatever way we have to make sure this is a success. This is something that I could say to the cosmos and to the jackals. You have a friend in Trenton and we will continue to fight for you guys and make sure you get the best facilities, the best opportunities, exposure, and also that you become part
of our Patterson community. So each and every kid 30,000 plus stu uh school age kids will understand who you are understand what the cosmos are understand what the jackals are and at the end of the day thank you president for this opportunity to collaborate and bay thank you for your vision you it
takes people who have visions to make sure that these things happen you didn't just wake up one morning and make this happen but I thank you publicly for taking the helm when it comes to stadium many people don't understand the sacrifices that you have made and I can tell you this I understand what you have
done and I understand that the long-term vision is really a legacy that people will understand probably unfortunately after the fact and understand that a kid from Patterson from over uh uh on the border of the third and fourth ward and PCT graduate like me comes back and
purchases not just one team but three teams uh at Henso Stadium and basically revive something that we really needed in the city of B. We needed Hensico Stadium to be lit up. we needed to, you know, have uh uh great days be it as a carnival or baseball or soccer whatever
it may be. So publicly I want to thank you. So God bless you AND has the best sneakers on the sneakers are really good. I'm a sneaker guy now with as much as they just >> I want you to know that Senator Wimberly
joined us for homecoming and he wore all our branding colors the spirit wear and so we were just elated to have him that day. So that's how we how committed he is to William Patter University and again thank you for your leadership. There you go the announcement. So you're all invited to homecoming. Uh so thank
you again. Let's hear it again for Senator Ben. I want to call upon now someone uh that represents us well on the county level. Uh he's already I think on his second term uh serving as our Vet County Commissioner. Uh he wears multiple hats.
I will mention a few because I know he's a busy bod, but he's doing the right thing by our people um and working really really hard uh for our 16 towns again as a county commissioner, but he also serves as the president uh and CEO of the Patterson Chamber of Commerce as
well as the external relations director for the Cosmos and the Jackals. Please help me welcome Orlando Cruz. Mary, we need someone to tell the story, right? You texted me that earlier. >> Yes. Yes. >> Uh, good afternoon everyone. >> Um, as Carol mentioned, I find myself
always in a unique position because I get to wear many hats and serve in different capacities. Um, I owe the start of my career to this man, Michael Sees, right here. Gave me the first opportunity as the one of the hats you didn't mention that I still wear as the director of the downtown Patterson Special Improvement District where he
was the chair. So, I appreciate that as well. So, um you know, it's partnerships like this that make things happen. Partnerships between William Patterson and the New Jersey Jackals and the New York Cosmos that represent something bigger than sports, represent synergy where education, athletes, and community
uh they intersect and create real opportunities for our region. Housing the players here on campus is doing more than just providing a a facility or a place for them to stay. The university has opened its doors and is becoming part of a dynamic ecosystem where
students, athletes and professionals can interact, learn from one another and build meaningful relationships for the students. This means exposure to professional sports world from sports management to marketing and broadcasting, athletic training and event operations. It creates real world
learning opportunities that extend beyond the classroom where we connect. When we connect with institutions like William Patterson, professional teams like the Jackals and Cosmos can create something truly special. A pipeline for opportunity from the classroom to the field to the future. These exact kind of
collaborations, these are the exact kinds of collaborations that move our communities forward. So, I want to thank the leadership here at William Patterson, obviously the leadership at the Cosmos and the Jackals, uh, for recognizing that success isn't built in isolation, but it's through powerful
partnership. Together, we are not just creating a home for players, but we're building a hub for opportunity, learning, and community pride for our entire region. So, thank you very much and congratulations, COMMISSIONER So again, just on behalf of William Patterson and our partners uh at HSP uh
and to the great city of Patterson, we thank you for being here today. We look forward to seeing you in the stands. We look forward to seeing you in the restaurants in the city of Patterson. We look forward to you investing in the great city of Patterson. And more importantly, we look forward to seeing you on our campus here in Wayne, New Jersey. Thank you and have A GREAT
NIGHT. WILL POWER WILL POWER WILL POWER will power will power with the chamber.