Mount Saint Mary Athletics Hall of Fame
William Kaplan is a leader who demonstrates that authentic power is service.
As a successful businessman, he has provided employment for thousands of people: at the Regal Bag Corporation, which he started in Newburgh shortly after World War II, and then at A.C. Moore arts and crafts, which he co-founded and grew from a single store to 130 outlets.
He also generously collaborated to build numerous other organizations, serving on the Board of Trustees of St. Luke’s Hospital, Norstar Bank of the Hudson Valley, the Hudson-Delaware Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and the Jewish Federation of Orange County.
William Kaplan and his late wife Elaine passed their sense of commitment along to daughters Joan, Sheila, Deborah, and Amy. Joan, a Mount Saint Mary College alumna, served on the college’s Board of Trustees; her son Jonathan Gatsik, also a Mount grad, is now on the Board.
Through the Kaplan Family Foundations, Mr. Kaplan has provided major funding for much-needed facilities, including St. Luke’s Dialysis Center and Elaine Kaplan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Inspire cerebral palsy center, and Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties.
He advances education that transforms lives. At Mount Saint Mary College, he has supported scholarships and projects: including the Elaine and William Kaplan Recreation Center; the new Mathematics, Science & Technology Center; and the historic Dominican Center. He was also instrumental in the building of a SUNY Orange campus in Newburgh, with which the Mount has an articulation agreement for transfer credits.
Mr. Kaplan continues to show his faith in the City of Newburgh, investing in projects which enrich the lives of residents. Long a catalyst for the formation of grassroots projects, he now serves as chair of the Board of Directors of the Newburgh Armory Unity Center, a collaboration of people from organizations and businesses, with the aims of community recreation and education. In a video produced by Mount students, a gratified Mr. Kaplan said: “There was an outpouring of volunteers and help … a drill hall completed, educational centers, computer rooms … mostly done by volunteer organizations.”
He has also championed the nearby National Purple Heart Hall of Honor.
Mr. Kaplan exemplifies a special brand of leadership wherein one life can help build the community entire.
With gratitude for all he has accomplished, for his commitment to the education of future professionals, and for drawing the entire community to work more closely, Mount Saint Mary College inducts William Kaplan to the Athletics Hall of Fame.
