Mr. Thomas Connelly graduated from Bergen Catholic in 1962. He was a member of the school’s first varsity football team in 1960 and in 1961. He played varsity football for Rutgers for three years, starting every game for which he was eligible. In his senior year, he was awarded the Homer Hazel MVP Award and the trophy as the outstanding rush lineman. This is the first time in 100 plus years of Rutgers football that anyone won both awards. In addition, he was named All-East Defensive Lineman. After college, Tom spent 7 years in the Navy, successfully completing over 290 combat missions and over 500 carrier landings. After the Navy, tom began his career in business aircraft management. His company, GP Aviation, Inc., operates aircraft in Europe, Africa, South America and the United States. Tom has accumulated over 14,000 hours of pilot time in over 40 different aircraft.