The Big East Blast

BLAST 11 WAS A GREAT SUCCEST 

Men came  to the Blast from over 15 states.  I acknowledged my Blast Committee Members for all the help they give me in making the BLAST GREAT!  We inducted 5 more Great Hall of Famers,  Coach Jack Moran , Bob DeMarco, Gary Baldinger , Coach Mike Groh and Eddie Jenkins. 

The crowd was a little smaller but the interaction among the Blasters  was definitely higher.  This  Blast was a success  largely  because of all your recruiting efforts.  Coach Al Groh,  Bob DeMarco and Kevin Parente did  a great job recruiting. 

Many of you offered  to recruit for Blast 12 and you pledged to return again next year.    Thanks to the sweet sounding Meeker Boys plus Slattery's Pub for once again  being a great host for us. 

So What IS Next??? First of all,  there will be BLAS!  12. "THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE BLAST" on June 13,  2024.   At  least you have a year to adjust schedules on things you can control.  I have  already  recruited  about 20 Blasters for next year who could not attend Blast 11.  Others are recruiting as well    See you June 13 2024 at "THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE BLAST" PETE Maste Blaster andThe Committee!!!                                             

REFLECTIONS ON BLAST 10

Many thanks to people who made the blast such a great success. First  Slattery's Pub was amazing from The food the service their  overall congenial attitude.

Thanks John and Justin next all you Blasters both new and repeat offenders where animated and lively.The  Hall of Famers are/were  great it is  that simple Their spokesmen  did a great job speaking about them.

Thanks to the Meeler Boys for their leadership  in song. thanks to my great blast committee and their constant help. Thanks to Art  Louise  and Frank Orzo. Frank handles the website , he  created  the website and made  up  the nametags He has revolutionized The Blast technology  approach.

Thanks  to Art and Frank for presenting the  plaque to me. I apologize for giving them a hard time. Thanks to my son Gregory and his friend Anthony Dicapua for all their help before the Blast and throughout  the whole Blast .

Thanks to my 2 great URI friends Doug Randall and Carl Koussa who looked out for me getting around the city They got a rickshaw for me As far as my own performance I think I can and will do a lot better at Blast 11.

Yes I forgot to tell you, THERE I'LL BE  ANOTHER BLAST TITLED "Chapter 11 Blast Going for Broke"  It  will be held  June  8 2023 at Slattery's. I apologize for not getting around to welcome all you new Blasters. I apologize  to the few Blasters  I  told that I would make announcements about their books etc.

I will rectify those errors shortly. In summary we know we have the Place Slatterys. So now my worries about the venue are gone. Hall of famers will be fewer in number 2-3. Next year I will devote more time to speaking with you and making sure you are aware of people you should meet at the Blast. I will recruit more great guys. Many of you guys said " Yes   I will get some guys".

So I give myself a B next year I go for an A.  So mark it down  June 8 2923  " The Chapter 11 Blast Going for Broke" If that date is no good tell me I will just send you the date reminders  every month for now.Starting Jan 1 I will start the Blast missiles in earnest.

PS  Also we will let you  know when the website  is updated with your comments, Hall of Famer Bios,  some pictures etc.  Frank Orzo and I have discussed some  enhancements to our Website   PS IF YOU LIKED THIS BLAST PLEASE DO NOT MISS THE NEXT ONE  IT WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER   HAPPY TRAILS UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN PETE AND THE COMMITTEE  OS NEXT YEAR COLONEL  TOM ROSATO HAS ALREADY COMMITTED TO BLAST 11   THE BEST , PETE AND BLAST COMMITTEE PS your comments are welcome.

Blast 9 was outstanding! 

Inducting Lt. General William Lennox, Superintendent of West Point into The Blast Hall of Fame was a memorable and significant moment for the Blast.

The memorial ceremony for Coach Gerry Begley was special. Coach Begley was a great athlete He played at Mount for Howie Smith, and at Notre Dame under Frank Leahy and was a member of the 1949 ND national championship team. He also was co- founder of the Holy Cross HS football program along with Coach Bill Stetter.

Kathy and Meegan Begley were in attendance to witness their dad’s induction and share some memories of their father with us.  Some of Coach Begley’s HC Players from Holy Cross HS were in attendance It was great. 

All the Blasters were totally into the Blast. Their interactions with each other were amazing from my observation standpoint. Thanks for making Blast 9 a classic.

Blast 10 will be May 6, 2020 at Tir Na Nog. I expect to have a record crowd. We will blow the roof off of Tir Na Nog, figuratively speaking. This will be the last Blast so I am calling in all guys who said they would attend a Blast. We are already recruiting. You will get info every month bt the 6th of every month. "Happy Trails Until We Meet Again" which will be May 6, 2020    Pete Master Blaster and Blast Committee Tom Rosato, Danny Friel, Johnny Heim, Lenny Vecchio, Frank Orzo and Art Louise.

The Origins of the Big East Blast ...

In 2004, I decided to have a Party to be called Martin"s Friends and Freedom Party"  Pres George W Bush won re-election at that time.  I decided I would invite great people from different schools, teams,  friends etc. that I knew that had not seen each other in decades.   

No one else knew who I invited  or who  was  coming either.  Mr. & Ms. Pat Spitaletta, Bob Ehrhardt,  Jimmy Lambert, Mr. & Ms. Gerry Green, Mr. & Ms. John Bibbo, Mr. & Ms. Bob DeMarco, Mr. & Ms. Bobby Spillane, Mickey Spillane, Bobby Spillane Jr, Joe Stun, Mr. & Ms. Terry "Martin" Wiederlight, Mr. & Ms. Pete Martin - sons Pete, Greg, and Justin Martin all attended 

First, when guests showed up they could not believe the other guests that were present  Also, I found a life size cardboard stand up poster of President Bush and I stood him up in my entrance foyer. So when people walked in they saw "GW"  immediately. The look on their faces was unbelievable.  I said "my friend GW is here." I would move him all around the house so it was like he was walking around.  I put him on the second floor landing overlooking the open area looking down  on  the crowd below.  People took pictures posing with him. 

I set up my living room as a Disco ballroom and played oldies from "Martin's Make Believe Ball Room Collection."  We cut some rug!   In another room, I had articles about all my various guests including athletic and coaching achievements, business accomplishments, etc. etc. 

So with the great results from that party,  the seeds for an expanded future Blast Party were sown in my mind!    Mark down May 6, 2020 - SPREAD THE WORD! 

Happy Trails Until We Meet Again!  Pete Master Blaster.  Check www.bigeastblast.org for total Blast info. 

PS  50 Blasters (20 new Blasters) have told me they will attend Blast 10 already. (Unsolicited affirmative  responses)  Goal is 125 Blasters!!   ( 9 MONTHS TO BIRTH OF BLAST 10)   SONOGRAM ON BLAST LOOKS GOOD  #####

November 2018

Blast 8 was a great success. Four great new Hall of Famers were inducted into the Blast Hall of Fame - Tom Costello, Dr Gerry Hevern, Jack McGee and Phil Costanza, PhD. All of them gave amazing acceptance speeches.

Our numbers were a little down due to some untimely health problems. However the crowd did not miss a beat. We had a great mixture of new Blasters and veterans.  Surprise, excitement and pure joy ruled the party. Tir Na Nog did a fantastic job.  Thanks to Helen Woods and her staff again.

Thanks to My Blast Staff Captains John Heim, Frank Orzo, Art Louise, Lenny Vecchio, Dan Friel and Colonel Tom Rosato for all their help. We are recruiting and expect to deliver more quality Blasters. I am working on Xavier HS and Staten Island potential Blasters from New Dorp, Msgr. Farrell and Tottenville.

New Great Hall of Famers are being lined up. We will not disappoint! Since I am late with this release we would like to wish you Happy Holidays early.  Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.

Blast 9 is May 1^st, 2019.  You will get info after the Super Bowl Please spread the word!  Check the  www.bigeastblast.org for new pictures, Hall of Famers and testimonials. 

Happy Holidays! Good Health! "Happy Trails Until We Meet Again '' Pete Master Blaster and Blast Committee    

2017

Blasters - "We came, we saw, we conquered!"  Tir Na Nog did its usual fantastic job. The 110 Blasters took Blast 7 to our greatest Blast success level to date. 

Many thanks to my Captain Frank Orzo the bigeastblast.org  website wizard and recruiter,  to Captains Dan Friel and Art Louise for their constant and great recruiting results, to Captain John Heim who assists me with all the tasks  on the Blast floor  He raises  me up when I start to falter.

Thanks to Kevin Parente who gave me great information on Chaminade Blasters and thanks to Dan McCarthy who primarily recruited Coach Lamb. Thanks to Gail Sicoli and John Devaney who took many pictures. 

Thanks to the speakers Coach Al Groh, Tom Rosato, Tom Pugh, Bob Ehrhardt, Michael (not Mike!) Griffin, Coach Stetter and Coach Basel - you all did a great job!

Congratulations to The great Hall of Fame inductees Tom Kiernan, Denny Golden, Darrell Reid, JP Foschi, Renzie Lamb and Tom Ehrhardt. Thanks to those who deemed me worthy of being put in the Hall of Fame. Thanks for the kind words from Denny Golden, Frank Orzo and Art Louise who inducted me into the Blast Hall of Fame.  I accept it as your Master Blaster representative who works on your Blast behalf!!  Please check out our website to read the bios of these amazing men.

Finally thanks to all the Blasters who stayed in Tir Na Nog for The Post Blast Party - about 40 guys it was GREAT!!      

NOW THE EXCITING NEWS!!   APRIL 25 2018 BLAST 8 AT TIR NA NOG 3 30 - 7:30  PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS  I ALREADY HAVE STARTED WORKING ON BLAST 8  IT WILL BE BETTER THAN BLAST 7!!  Coach Stetter’s pre-90th Birthday Bash plus other surprises!!!!  Those men who said they have new Blast Candidates please send me their names and email addresses so I can pursue them.   

Once again, it was an amazing Blast but “You ain’t seen nothing yet”. Good Health! God Bless! Happy Trails until we meet again! We know some of you had extenuating circumstances which prevented you from attending Blast 7. We hope next year will work for all of us. We will keep you posted.

Pete “Master Blaster” and the Blast Committee. 

April 2016

Blast 6 was a great success. We had a record crowd. Guys came from North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, and Seattle WA.  Many guys had not seen each other in 50 years!

Tir Na Nog, led by GM Helen Woods, did a great job as always. Coincidentally, Tir Na Nog is Gaelic for "Land of Eternal Youth" and judging by the looks of some of the attendees, it seemed only appropriate to hold our gathering at this venue.  Also, I assume it is now apparent that Tir Na Nog is not a Chinese restaurant like a few of you thought.

The following is an unpaid un-political announcement BLAST 7 will be held on APRIL 26 2017 at TIR NA NOG 3:30 - 7:30 once again! The Master Blaster has over 10 new Blasters in the pipeline already and 3 new Hall of Famers on tap!

GREAT THANKS to Captains Frank Orzo, Art Louise and John Heim and SPECIAL THANKS TO CAPTAIN LEN VECCHIO AT THE BLAST!  As we say in the Bronx "Lenny You done good!

So mark it down - you have a year’s notice!   Spread the word! Keep the faith!  Good health! 

Pete Master Blaster and The Blast committee!

February 2016         

Blasters, Blast 6 is fast approaching. The stage is set for a truly great time on April 20 2016 from 3:30-7:30. Tir Na Nog is the perfect place for us (Note Tir Na Nog has two locations in NYC - we will be at the 315 W. 39th Street location) . For $95 pp we get a 4 hour top shelf bar with 2 bartenders, waitresses also taking our drink orders, a great hot buffet and our own huge classy party space.

 So aside from all the creature features, we have over 100  All Star Blasters, hand-picked, that will be in attendance, most likely,  from the states of California, Washington, Nevada, Virginia, Arizona,  Maine,  Colorado, Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

Be assured, the Blast Committee and myself are not fooling around!  This party will be one for the ages.  We will place a number of great men in the Blast Hall of Fame. Men are free to take the mike and tell a joke or a story, do a little dance or sing a song. All of these are done at your own risk of course.

We will have a raffle, some awards and other surprises.  John Devaney has graciously volunteered to take his award winning Blaster pictures again so practice your poses.  Prepare for a great time .Casual dress is fine! This is not a corporate party. (Thank God)   Political Correctness is Largely Incorrect here! 

The Blast reunites long lost friends and introduces you to many guys you have heard about and always wanted to meet!! In case you have not gotten the idea by now, THE OBJECT OF THE BLAST IS TO SIMPLY HAVE A GREAT FUN TIME. If you drink, then drink, if you do not drink, do not drink. YOU WILL BE HIGH ON LIFE ANYWAY!!!!!      SO WHAT IS NEXT????

Please send me a check for $95 payable to Pete Martin Mail it to 102 Fox Chase Court Freehold Nj 07728 at your earliest convenience As soon as I get the check, I will confirm with you that I received it. I cannot accept money at the door anymore because it simply creates too many logistical problems, heart attacks etc Thanks for your consideration on this matter! You can fill in the Blast form below and send the check with it or just send me the check. Please click on www.bigeastblast.org  

Thanks, GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPY TRAILS UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!   Pete Master Blaster President Emeritus Tom Rosato and Captains John Heim, Frank Orzo, Lenny Vecchio, Art Louise, Larry Lynch and Mike Forbes

PS MAY THE BLAST BE WITH YOU!!!

November 2015

Calling all Blasters - Blast 6 is rapidly approaching and your attendance is requested on April 20, 2016. The party will be held at Tir Na Nog. This is a great venue for our party and they do a fantastic job for us. The price will be $95 per person once again. 

By moving the party to April, there will be a significant increase in attendees. We will definitely have a record crowd. The party is truly an unforgettable life moment and there are relatively few of these in one's lifetime. What makes this event so special? Men come from all over the country who are extremely successful in all types of endeavors. Friends, relatives, teammates, opponents and coaches all attend. The fact that many of these men have not seen each other in decades creates a euphoric electric atmosphere for many of them. Aside from people you know, there are many people you heard about over the years and now you have the opportunity to meet them personally and interact with them. So you will renew old friendships and new friendships will be established. As an observer, I see men at the Blast who are extremely motivated. True motivation comes from a person acting on their own behalf and not because of external forces.  There is simply nothing better than seeing a 100 or more guys all motivated, truly acting on their own behalf!!  Do not miss it!!!                                                   

We look forward to seeing you April 20, 2016. We guarantee you will see new Blasters you know in attendance. Feel free to direct prospective Blasters to our website www.bigeastblast.org or have them contact us. You can expect surprises as always. There will be new inductees into the  Blast Hall of Fame , who many of you know and hold in high esteem. Of course, get your jokes ready, your stories fine-tuned and your voices in/on key. We will be back in touch after the Super Bowl.

Happy trails until we meet again!   Good Health!  Master Blaster Pete Martin, President Emeritus Tom Rosato and Captains John Heim, Frank Orzo, Larry Lynch, Art Louise, Lenny Vecchio and Mike Forbes.

March 2015

BLAST 5 was the best simply because of the 85 great guys that attended this year’s Blast. Guys came from Florida, Arizona, California and Oregon You guys set the example by showing your desire to be at the Blast. I observed great interaction among the Blasters this year. We also had five guys call me afterwards to ask if they could attend next year since they heard a lot about the Blast. These guys were not on our lists so we are getting a great reputation thanks to you guys!
 
We established the Blast Hall of Fame this year. We inducted Tom Nash of Holy Cross HS and Notre Dame University and legendary Coach Vince O'Connor of St. Francis Prep. Both men were inducted posthumously. 

Coach Tom Pugh was honored for his forty two years as Head Football Coach at Holy Cross HS.

We gave away $1,800 between award contests and raffle proceeds. A special thanks goes out to Chris Young (Hayes) for giving back part of his winnings back to the Blast so that an award could be given to another raffle winner.  We had our first official joke contest and you all did a great job. Guys told me they were practicing looking into the mirror in preparation for the event. Way to go men! We will do that again next year!

Tir Na Nog was excellent again - food, service and drinks were first class with Aisling leading the Tir Na Nog staff! Thanks. We are looking forward to returning next year.

My only regret is that we did not have as many guys in a few groups that I had hoped to have. This was not because of lack of effort on our part. To help remedy this we are taking a few new steps. Next year we will move the Blast to April 20, 2016 at Tir Na Nog. This will free up accountants from the tax preparing season. This will hopefully allow the warm weather crowd to come back so they can attend. This date will also free up the spring break parents who will not be tied up with that. The weather should be nicer as well.

Most importantly, some blasters volunteered to actively recruit certain groups. Thanks to the volunteers. 100 Blasters will be perfect for Tir Na Nog. We will "Rock That Joint". We are always looking to improve so I welcome any and all suggections in that regard.

So overall it was great!!! Thanks for your help recruiting and at the Blast. I also had a great workout! We will be in touch. Hopefully other guys will join us - WE WANT YOU! Good Health! Mark it down!! April 20, 2016!!!

If you need a doctor's note to get out of work, call me. Doctor Martin is ready to get you excused. Thanks for helping us to have such a GREAT TIME! 

Pete the Master Blaster and the Blast Committee.