36 MARINER / 2016 - ISSUE 3
Class Notes
1990
In September, Rev. Dr. James J.
Olson ’90 was appointed to serve
as Acting Associate Conference
Minister for Fox Valley and the
Chicago Metropolitan Associations
of the United Church of Christ.
After graduating from MMA, he
went on to earn a B.S. in Hospi-
tality Management from UMass
Amherst. He earned his M.Div at
United Theological Seminary of the
Twin Cities, and S.T.M. and D.Min
degrees from Boston University
School of Theology. Olson has
served churches in Minnesota,
Vermont, Connecticut and Illinois.
Additionally, he served as the
Associate Dean of Religious Life at
Marsh Chapel, and as a teaching
assistant in the School of Theology,
both at Boston University. Olson
serves as the president of his semi-
nary alumni association.1991
Capt.
Holly L.
Najarian
’91 took
over com-
mand of
Coast
Guard
Sector St.
Petersburg,
Florida
at the end of June. As the Sector
Commander her area of responsi-
bility spans the entire western coast
of Florida. Najarian has oversight
of all 11 Coast Guard statutory
missions conducted by a team of
2,700 people (including active duty,
reserve, civilian and auxiliary per-
sonnel) and 14 units, including five
search and rescue stations, eight
cutters, and an Aid to Navigation
Team.
She came to St. Petersburg after
completing three years at Coast
Guard Headquarters in the Officeof Budget and Programs. “I am
extremely happy to be back in an
operational billet,” she says, “and
am greatly enjoying Florida.”1992
Geoff Ashton ’92 reports Posei-
don paid a visit to the sloop Enough
on their voyage to the South Pacific.
Pollywog sons Horatio and Noah
successfully passed the King’s
equator crossing exam and are now
shellbacks.
The family has been cruising
since 2014. Leaving Mexico this
past March they have visited the
Marquesas, Tuomotus, Society
Islands, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga
and New Zealand for cyclone
season. Visit Enoughsailing.com for
more details on their adventure.1993
Cdr. Stephen E. “Jack” Spratt,
USN, MMA ’93D / MS ’02
recently retired from the US Navy
upon completion of 23 years of
active and reserve duty. His retire-
ment ceremony was conducted at
MMA’s Delano Auditorium and
included remarks by President of
MMA, Dr. William Brennan.
During his service, Spratt is a
plankowner of USS Laboon (DDG
58) and also served on board USS
Te m p e s t (PC 2). He is also a plan-
kowner of Naval Special Warfare
Tactical Development and Eval-
uation Squadron One. He served
as the interim Prepositioning and
Surge Sealift Program Manager
(N422C) at the Pentagon’s Strategic
Mobility and Combat Logisticsdirectorate.
Spratt resides in Castine, Maine
and works offshore for Transocean
Deepwater Drilling. He serves on
the MMA Alumni Association
Board of Directors and is the Assis-
tant Fire Chief of the Castine Fire
Rescue Department.1994
Classmates Paul Perrin and Steve
Riedel (both ’94 Systems) met
up this summer on the campus of
Purdue University, West Lafayette,
Indiana. Perrin was there with his
son for orientation, and Riedel
works there as Research Security
Administrator for the Office of
Research and Partnerships.1997
Todd Cooper ’97 is Co-Managing
Pilot at Port Everglades Pilots As-
sociation. Port Everglades is one of
the top-three busiest cruise ports in
the world and the largest fuel depot
in Florida. It serves thousands of
vessels every year.
Cooper began his career as an
AB on the MV Strong Virginian
and continued sailing deep sea for
the next 15 years as a licensed deck
officer, eventually sailing as Master
of the SS Cornhusker State.“Choosing Maine Maritime was
the best decision I’ve ever made,” he
says unequivocally. “The education
I received there has led to much of
my success in the workplace.
“I am living my dreams every
day. I have a successful career, a
loving wife and family. My goal is
to “pay it forward” and share my
experiences with others and mentor
children and young adults along the
path to success.”2000
Alec Cunningham ’00 sent an
update that since graduating he
has married and has five children.
“I worked my way up to Master on
commercial ships, but spent most
of my career running and building
mega yachts...last project was Alu-
cia (shown above) for four years.
I then took a master/chief mate
job on a ROS Cape Decision in my
home town of Charleston, South
Carolina and am now living happily
ever after!”2002
John Gasper ’02 has parlayed his
call of duty and affection for fire
trucks into a restoration business in
Manchester, Connecticut. Gasper’s
Automotive Restoration was started