50 People for 50 Years: Ralph E. Tursini
Mane Stream lost a member of our family, Ralph E. Tursini, Trustee Emeritus, on October 3, 2022. Ralph joined Mane Stream (then Somerset Hills Handicapped Riding Center) over 20 years ago and quickly became a dedicated program volunteer. His love of horses may have been the reason he came to the farm, but it was the participants and the mission that kept him involved for so many years. Ralph served on the Board from 2003 – 2019, many of those years as the Treasurer.
Executive Director, Trish Hegeman stated, “Kind, generous, dedicated, funny, passionate, and smart are a few of the words that come to mind when I think about Ralph. He was the Board Treasurer when I joined Mane Stream as Executive Director and was committed to ensuring that Mane Stream's finances were in good shape. His love of riding and horses was obvious and he was thrilled when his granddaughter started riding. I consider myself very lucky to have been able to know him and work with him.”
Another staff member who worked closely with Ralph for many years, Jeanne Schroder, Business Manager noted, “He was known for his financial reporting knowledge and attention to detail, which provided a welcome confidence in the accuracy and health of the organization’s financial picture. Ralph was always willing to answer and was especially good at asking questions. He had an eye for detail which served the organization very well during his tenure as Treasurer and set us up for success when he retired from the position.”
Current Board member and former Board President, Linda Dietz, recalled, “Ralph is the person responsible for bringing me to Mane Stream and inviting me to join the board. He was absolutely devoted to the organization and he was a dear friend. He rode my horses and we often rode together. I have wonderful memories of flying through the woods on hunter paces jumping things we had no business even thinking about. He was fun, courageous, brilliant, and loving.”
Mary Dickey, Board Assistant Secretary, shared, “I have such happy memories of this lovely gentleman. When I joined the Mane Stream Board, he was so gracious and so welcoming to me. I felt as though I had found a mentor in my new role.” Current Board Secretary, Jeanne Rogalin, remembered, “In my short time of knowing Ralph a few things were certain...his smile was infectious, kindness contagious and his love for his family and Mane Stream always apparent.” Fellow Board member Kathy Kamine commented “What a kind and smart man Ralph was. He was so welcoming to me when I first became active in Mane Stream.”
Karen Kaufhold, Board President stated, “Ralph was a wonderful Board member of Mane Stream and I remember him holding the position of Treasurer. He was always hard-working, concerned, and conscientious about Mane Stream’s financial well-being. I also remember Ralph always being there to lend a helping hand setting up for Equus. He was a very kind, sweet, and wonderful man who truly loved Mane Stream and will be greatly missed.”
As a program volunteer, Ralph brought his passion for our population along with his extensive equestrian experience to years of volunteer shifts in weekly program and many annual Horse Shows. He dearly loved sharing his love of horses with our participants and developed strong friendships with many of the Mane Stream volunteers.
One such friend is Cynthia Barkman, Vice President of the Board of Directors. Cynthia was eager to share, “Many people have mentioned how kind, fun, and smart Ralph was and that is certainly true. I have all those same memories of Ralph but there are two others that I am blessed to have in my memories. As many know, there are very few men who volunteer in program. At the time Ralph was volunteering, it was just Ralph and a Board Member named Russ. Ralph had a wonderful connection with all the riders and was definitely the favorite of our little boys. During adaptive lessons, I can’t tell you how many times I would hear a little guy look around and say, ‘where’s Ralph?’ And it wasn’t just the little guys, there were tons of little girls who were smitten as well. Ralph projected warmth and safety and our youngest riders were drawn to him like a bee to the hive.”
Cynthia continues, “And not long after I was asked to join the Board, I was approached about being Assistant Treasurer – Ralph was the Treasurer. Easily, there were members of the Board with a deeper financial background than me and I expressed my reluctance to Ralph. He immediately put me at ease, and coached me through the analysis of a P&L and Balance Sheet and I happily served as his assistant for as long as he was Treasurer. But I only felt confident taking that position because I knew there would be no question too dumb to ask Ralph and he had the patience of a saint. Once Ralph retired from the Board, my husband, Ron and I looked forward to seeing Ralph and Bonnie at fundraising events and I’m so glad to have those memories as well.”
That brings us to Ralph’s support of all the fundraising events over the years, from golf outings to spring events to Equus galas. Board Member multi-year Event Committee Chair Marianne Saladino remembers Ralph as a consistent fixture at them all. “I particularly remember that he would always help hang up any artwork we received for the (Equus) silent auctions.”
And though we have many more memories of Ralph, current Board Treasurer, Steve Bezer has summed it up concisely, “Ralph had a heart of gold and was such a pleasure to work with, and he loved Mane Stream so much! We’ll miss him a ton.”
