Throughout the next few weeks OLMC is publishing profiles of each of our Hall of Fame Inductees, we hope you enjoy these personal portraits of alumni, parishioners and Academy families and we especially hope to see you at the gala event, November 30, 2018. Tickets can be purchased at the Narthex Office after the 10AM Mass or in the Church and Academy offices during the week!
Creating amazing memories during life’s celebrations is David Waterman’s business.
Originally from Queens, New York, Dave grew up on Long Island and eventually landed in high school in Rockland County, New York. After Pace University, he got involved in the entertainment business and, along with his partners, brought Total Entertainment, a social and corporate events company, to Englewood in 1995.
While the business was rooted in Englewood, Dave was living in Hoboken. It was fortuitous, to say the least. He met his future wife, Claudia, there and the two were married in 2000. “We eloped!” Dave says. “We took the wedding on the road and, instead of people coming to us, we traveled to visit friends and family as far away as Colombia!” Sharing life’s celebration with others is the family business.
OLMC Parent, Dave Waterman
Jake, their eldest son, was born in 2005 and, while looking for a school for him, Dave met with a client and through them heard about OLMC. “I mentioned we were looking for a school for Jake in passing and my client, whose children were in Jewish schools, said, ‘My child’s most polite and best friends come from a place called Our Lady of Mount Carmel.’ My client loved the way these young kids carried themselves. It really opened my eyes, so we visited.”
“Claudia and I immediately loved the religious values and structure we found at OLMC,” Dave says. “The teachers, the principal, all had this amazing energy and it was Rose Ann Miglietta (2012 Hall of Fame Inductee) who made us feel right at home. She brought me in asking about what I did for a living and, when she found out what I did for a living, I was immediately helping.” With the help of then Parents Guild co-presidents Helen Vafiadis (2012 Hall of Fame Inductee) and Benedetta Watros (2014 Hall of Fame Inductee) that they started planning big things! OLMC was Dave’s family now too, and sharing life’s celebrations is Dave’s family business.
It wasn’t a big change. Dave’s desire to serve started when he was a kid in sports programs. He participated in volunteer programs, like park clean-ups. Now, with Total Entertainment, Dave and his team have been doing free and fun parties for the Scouts and Special Olympics, just to name a few.
Along with his wife, Claudia, and often with his sons, Dave was essential to some of the most amazing moments in the Academy’s history in the last decade. OLMC Fall Fest, The Spring Gala at Palisadium, countless Warrior Days and Service Days—so many of these events led to the ability to air condition every classroom in the building, renovate a playground, and so much more!
When our beloved RJ Sy was celebrating his fourth birthday, Dave was everyone’s first call. “I was blessed. I got the company to volunteer their time, and so many people rallied around him, and like so many events at OLMC, the entire building was alive! I was a part of something,” Dave says. “It was more than just a school—OLMC is a community. It was so easy to volunteer because everyone was doing it, and the kids’ reaction to what we were doing made it fun, too!” Now it’s Dave’s turn to be the one honored, and at our Hall of Fame we’re making it OLMC’s business to do so.
The Service Award will be presented to OLMC parent, Mr. David Waterman. The Service Award is awarded to those community members who have dedicated their efforts in serving their fellow parishioners and Academy families, either through time, talent or treasure.