The Barn Blog

Austin Pfaff is a U.S. Marine. This summer he completed the 13-week intensive training at Recruit Depot at Parris Island, culminating in a grueling 54-hour exercise known as the Crucible. Austin described the recruitment and training process and discussed what being a Marine entails as he awaits deployment.

Richard Forliano is the Eastchester Town Historian. His presentation focused on the significance of the history of the long-standing Ward House on Post Road. Dick discussed some of the prominent families in this region and described various events at the time of the Revolutionary War such as the reading of the Declaration of Independence. He has a wealth of historical knowledge and is working to preserve it.

Josh Gaccione is Director of Student Support Services and Adjunct Professor at Westchester Community College. Travis Melby is the Student Support Services Coordinator & VA Certifying Official at Westchester Community College. Both are veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Josh and Travis shared their back stories and talked about their wartime experiences on and off the battlefield.

George Latimer, our Westchester County Executive, is also a lifelong avid baseball fan. He lead an interactive discussion on the topic of baseball. George covered its history, the ballparks, the business of baseball, and its rules. He asked whether baseball is still our national pastime or if it’s past time. A lively discussion ensued.

Alex Gloy is an independent investment professional with over 35 years of experience in financial markets. He worked in equity research and sales, both in investment and private banking. He discussed the unsustainability of the current monetary system and its inevitable future. Alex touched on inflation, cryptocurrencies, the gold standard, central banks, and the federal reserve.

Harmeet Goindi gave a presentation last year on cryptocurrency. He returned to discuss another topic he’s knowledgable and passionate about. Harmeet discussed the history of science of perfume and passed around samples throughout the presentation. He gave practical advice for buying fine perfumes at different budgets including suggestions for upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Don Wauchope is a serious history buff with wide breadth of knowledge about wars and warfare. In August 2017 he gave a fascinating presentation on the topic of Battleships. Don lead a lively discussion on the devastating war in Ukraine. He presented lots of interesting data on the types of weapons used by both sides. Don shared his predictions on how the war will unfold.