“I believed I was part of something great. It was for me to decide how to measure up to the La Salle legacy,” said Craig Bennett ’85, in describing his years at La Salle Academy in the 1980s.  “The excellence, the enthusiasm was all around and each of us had a responsibility to take advantage of the privilege of being a La Salle student.”

Now a Vice President and Associate General Counsel of Recycled Energy Development, LLC of Westmont, Illinois, Craig spoke fondly of the person who had the “most lasting  effect on me at La Salle, Carl Toti – a legend at La Salle even back when my father was there in the 1950s.”

“Mr. Toti taught me the priorities of excellence – God, Family, Academics and Athletics,” said Craig on a phone interview from his office.  “He told me to follow those priorities every day and I would never fail.  That admonition echoed what my parents taught at home and it has guided me ever since.”

“I was in ROTC while at Bryant College and we trained with the Providence College ROTC unit, a unit that included my brother Dan, a 1983 La Salle grad who sparked my interest in the military,” he continued.  “I was commissioned a Second Lieutenant upon graduating, but I wanted to go to law school and got an active duty delay for three years.”

Upon graduation from the Delaware School of Law, Craig was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant and served six years on active duty as an Army lawyer stationed in Germany, South Korea and the U.S.  He also recently attended the U.S. Army War College and earned a masters degree in strategic studies.  He will have 21 years in service this May having spent time in the Active component, the Reserves and the National Guard.

On February 9 of this year, Craig was promoted to the position of Commander of the New Hampshire Army National Guard, a position that will demand as much as three months or more of his time away from his family and civilian job annually.    “Luckily, my boss is a Marine and he recognized the unique opportunity that this presented and gave me his blessing,” said Craig.  “My other boss, my wife Kathleen, has also given her blessing.  Kathleen’s support is what allows me to take on such a huge commitment – she’s wonderful.  At the end of the day, the sacrifice for soldiering rests largely on our spouses and our children – it’s not easy.”

Craig and Kathleen met on a train ride from Connecticut to Boston a month after 9/11.  They are the parents of a four-year-old daughter, Meghan and a two-year-old son, Garrity.

Craig currently holds the rank of Colonel in the Army National Guard and is due be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in the next two or three months following Congressional approval.  He says that his military service has been a very important part of his life and the lives of his father and brothers.

 “My father Eric is a 1956 graduate of La Salle who served in the Marine Corps.  My brothers Dan and Neil ’92 are also La Salle grads and Army officers who have been in combat.”  Dan, an Infantry officer and Army Ranger was in Operation Just Cause and Neil, an Artillery officer, spent a year in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Craig, who also spent a year in Iraq, said “Dan and Neil have been a great inspiration for me.  If it weren’t for having Dan as a role model, I would not have joined ROTC, gone to Airborne school and embraced the Army they way I have.”

Turning back to his years at La Salle, asked about classmates, Craig said he stays in touch with a few.  “My best man at my wedding was Dave Simas ’85.  Dave is a successful Health Care executive in Charlotte, NC.  He and his wife Caroline have four children. I also stay in touch with Ted Brennan ’85 who is a Navy and commercial airline pilot.  Ted, his wife Jennifer and their three children live in Allentown, PA.  Dave, Ted and I were all on the Swim team that was coached by Jim Quinn, whom I also stay in touch with.”  Craig regrets losing touch with Tom Balcom ’85 over the years and intends to track him down one of these days.

“I cannot overstate the positive influence that La Salle had had on me.  The seriousness that La Salle places on faith, academics and athletics have served as building blocks in my life ever since.   It is a great institution – a privilege to be a part of.”