Howard Munson Scholarship Presented to Brian Venturino
There’s no getting around the fact that attending college is an expensive proposition in today’s world. But, it was made more affordable for Huntington High School senior Brian Venturino, who was presented with the Howard N. Munson Scholarship by the Huntington Fire Department.
Although he never really enjoyed school, Mr. Munson knew it was important, so he did what needed to be done, graduating Port Washington High School and keeping his eye set firmly on the future. The award presented in his honor carries a stipend of $3,000 payable to the recipient’s college of choice.
Born June 28, 1908 to Frank and Dora Hill Munson, Howard “didn’t like school very much,” said Neil D. Getter, an ex-chief and the current financial secretary of the Huntington Fire Department. “He liked being around cars and told his dad to forget about the new car he had been promised if he stuck it out and graduated, because he would rather use the money to study engineering at Pratt Institute, which he did, graduating in 1928. After Pratt, he went on to graduate from General Motors Tech.”
Mr. Munson opened an auto repair shop in Huntington in 1930 and continued running it until the very day he passed away on October 22, 1999. “During the almost 70 years he was in the auto repair business he served the local fire department, the rich and famous, the poor who could not pay, the local town folk and those who came from afar,” Mr. Getter said
A particularly telling episode in Mr. Munson’s life was shared with a crowd of several hundred at Huntington High School’s annual senior academic awards night. “On one terribly cold and icy night, when there was a very bad fire in Huntington, he worked all night to keep a truck pumping and got it out of the way when the building started to collapse,” Mr. Getter said.
“Over the years, the business continued to grow, largely due to the fact that he cared about his customers, never once over charged nor cheated them in any way and while he got his hands dirty, he was noted for always wearing a necktie with his uniform and keeping the shot neat, clean and organized,” Mr. Getter said about Mr. Munson.
Mr. Venturino will attend SUNY College at Morrisville in upstate New York. Mr. Getter closed his remarks by wishing the same type of success Mr. Munson enjoyed on the soon-to-be Huntington grad. “Though he chose blue collar work, he died a wealthy man and his family hopes that you will do as well in your chosen career,” Mr. Getter said.
This marked the eighth year the Munson Scholarship was presented to a Huntington senior.
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