At its November 2, meeting Allentown Rotary Club members heard new member Tom Brogan give his classification talk. And sitting not far away was his inspiration, his wife and longtime member Judy Barberich Brogan.
It was second marriage for both, several years after their spouses had passed. “Together we have five children and nine grandchildren, ages 14 to 2,” Tom adds. Judy, a member of ARC since 1994 had felt Tom would enjoy Rotary and he has.
Tom, a former academic began his talk by noting that he had gotten some advice from Judy. “She told me I had 15 minutes to introduce myself, but I must warn you that I have been programmed after 40 years of college teaching to 50-minute classes. Its going to be tight fit but I am willing to try.”
Tom’s roots are in Philadelphia where both his father and grandfather were funeral directors. He recalled hearing how 100 years ago his father then a freshman at Villanova got a call from his father telling him to return home to help during the flu pandemic that killed thousands of people in the city in 1918.
“My father never returned to college, and as a result I spent my early years residing in a funeral home in West Philadelphia with a morgue in the basement and a funeral parlor on the first floor,” he recalls. Tom noted that he and Judy are close to his sister and visits with her in the summer at the Jersey shore.
Growing up Tom attended West Philadelphia Catholic Boys High School and later received a full academic scholarship at LaSalle College where he majored in political science. On graduation Tom received a full fellowship to the University of Pittsburgh for his doctorate. While at Pitt he worked with the mayor’s office during the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and was a part of the commission to investigate the causes of the riots.
Tom went on to teach at Albright College for 42 years, in Reading. Along with his teaching duties Tom continued to participate in civic affairs in the city.
From 1984 to 2002 Brogan was Pennsylvania State Manager of News Election Service, “where I was responsible for the collection and accuracy of election returns for the television networks and wire services during national elections in Pennsylvania.” He has vivid memories of the 2000 Bush vs Gore election.
In conclusion Tom noted, “I had the good fortune to marry a Rotarian who, after four years of loving encouragement, convinced me to join… I look forward to many more years in service and life in Allentown.”
