⏩ Forum: Serra is Middletown’s Greatest of All Time

Thomas J. Serra is the GOAT: Greatest Of All Time.

The greatest citizen, greatest public servant, and greatest Middletonian of all time. No one else is even close.

Is the GOAT Tom Brady or Joe Montana? Is it Vince Lombardi or Bill Belichick? Michael Jordan or Lebron James? Is it Franklin D. Roosevelt or Abraham Lincoln? The debates are endless and the answers usually tinged by one’s own time of life.

Here in Middletown, there are certainly formidable names to consider for our GOAT. nominations, past and present: titans of business, icons of education, sports, arts and politics that have served at every level. Sebastian Garafalo, Larry McHugh, Mark Masselli, Jennifer Alexander, Phil Cacciola, Sebastian “Prof” Gallitto, Bishop W. Vance Cotten, Corney Thompson, former governor Raymond Baldwin, Wilbert Snow, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz. All worthy of mention. None worthy of the top spot. That spot belongs solely to the life, and now memory, of Tom Serra.

Serra was a god-like figure in my life from about age 10 when I first saw him throw a 30-yard perfect spiral, in a dress suit, to my buddy on Roberta Drive, while he was out campaigning for common council. Over the next 35 years, he moved from god-like figure to father figure as our lives crisscrossed each other. Five years ago, I lost my dad. Tom filled the void, as we often talked about life and true public service.

You probably are thinking that filling a void in one life doesn’t qualify anyone to be the GOAT. You may be right in that assessment, except for the fact that Tom played the role of mentor, friend, cheerleader, fixer and family patriarch in hundreds, if not thousands, of local lives.

• He served as principal of Vinal Technial High School for two decades, touching the lives and careers of young people that now reach into every facet of service, manufacturing, carpentry, and technical know-how throughout Middletown and Middlesex County.

• He helped shape the very Middletown skyline that we see today. He was there when the supreme court, Kidcity, the Middlesex Tower, Aetna complex, Fed Ex and other major projects took height and flight.

• Tom wasn’t just a former mayor, current councilman or majority leader, he was a civic giant unlike any other. His public service was eclipsed only by his fervent love of family, his support or leadership of veterans, public schools, public sports and recreation, the Sports Hall of Fame, St. Sebastian’s parish and local labor organizations. Few, if any, have showed up at every civic club event, dinner or fundraiser and served the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce like Tom did. In the last few years, he often mentioned to me his greatest love was organizing the chamber’s career fair for young people. Once a teacher, always a teacher.

• He was a high school sports legend in his own right, and still physically looked the part in his 70s. We should also remember the sports legend of yesterday was called upon in 2006 to save his old school one last time. If it weren’t for Tom, the new Middletown High School would still be a giant hole in the ground. Trust me: I was the one in the background calculating what goal line we needed Tom to cross, for all of us, one more time. A million dollars here, another $4 million there.

Here’s the ultimate irony: He did all this in a very public eye that spanned over 50 years of his life, often getting blamed for things he had nothing to do with. Yet, not one bit of it makes him the GOAT.

He, and anyone else, in that rare high air, are not there based on what we see, but it’s based on all that stuff we don’t see. It’s based on all the extra work, sacrifice, personal advice, and private calls for help answered, that makes them great. That’s the stuff of legends.

That’s the stuff that will always make Tom Serra Middletown’s GOAT. End of debate.

Middletown Parking Director Geen Thazhampallath interned for former mayor Serra and was a former mayoral aide for the city.