Man of the year 1977

Henry A. Polanski was born on April 18th, 1916, in College Point, New York, the son of the Late Joseph and Rozalja Przestrzelski Polański.

He attended the City College of New York and after World War II graduated from Pratt Institute of Technology.

Henry served with the U. S. Army during World War II from 1941 to 1946 as Captain, Field Artillery. He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre and his campaigns included Leyte in the Philippines and Okinawa.

Henry is a licensed Professional Engineer, registered in New York State, and is employed by the Curtiss-Wright Corp., Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. He is a key engineer in the plant's Internal Operations and has engineered many test facilities for the Company's varied power systems products. He worked on the Jet Air Compressor used for making artificial snow, which is now being used at the Great Gorge ski area near the Playboy Club in New Jersey. Currently, he is working on a $ 27.5 million contract awarded to his company by the United States Energy Research and Development Administration, to design a power plant for use by utilities. The new technique used in this power plant will enable utility companies to take advantage of the nation's abundant supply of high sulphur coal to produce low-cost electric power in an environmentally acceptable manner.

Prior to working at Curtiss-Wright, Henry was employed as Assistant Chief Engineer by Greer Hydraulics, Inc. now located in Los Angeles, California. While at Greer he invented the machine for testing gear or shaft systems in a regenerative or closed loop configuration permitting variable torque loading within the loop. The driving horsepower is that required to overcome gear system losses. A patent was issued to cover the invention and the machine was installed at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Columbus, Ohio.

He is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, New York State Society of Professional Engineers, Kings County Chapter, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is also a member of the American Defense Preparedness Association, (formerly American Ordinance Association) dedicated to armament preparedness for the national defense of the United States.

Henry is past President of the Pulaski Association of Business and Professional Men, and serves on the Board of Directors of the organization. He served as Chairman of the Banquet honoring Mr. Al Bartosiewicz, Man of the Year, 1971 as Toastmaster at the Banquet in honor of Mr. Ed Cichon, Man of the Year, 1976.

Henry is a member of the Board of Directors White Eagle Hall Company (Prospect Hall), the Polish Community Center of South Brooklyn. In 1968 he served on the Renovation Committee of Prospect Hall at which time major changes were made to encourage the potential of the catering business. Henry is also a past President of Ellok Amusement Corp., the management arm of the Polish Community Center, and is a Director of the Atlas Savings and Loan Association, Brooklyn, New York.

Henry is an alumnus of the Henryk Sienkiewicz Polish Supplementary School, which was organized in 1928. He is past President of the Polish Youth Circle and a member of the first graduating class of the Polish Supplementary School, which organized the Polish Youth Circle. He is a member of the Henryk Sienkiewicz Educational Society, which operates the Polish Supplementary School. Henry has served as Treasurer of the Bazaar Committee for many years. The Bazaar is the primary source of income for operating the School.

Henry is a member of the Kosciuszko Foundation and the Pulaski Republican League of Kings County. The Pulaski Parade committee of the United Polish Societies of South Brooklyn has chosen Henry as the 1977 Marshall of South Brooklyn. He led the South Brooklyn Division in the 41st Annual Pulaski Day Parade on Sunday, October 2nd, 1977.

Henry is a sportsman, loves the outdoors, is athletically inclined, hunts and plays golf. He is an avid boatman and the proud owner of a 30-foot, twin-engine cabin cruiser with a flying bridge. He is a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 12-5 and is on the Flotilla staff as Chart Corrections Officer. In his spare time, he finds opportunities for photography with his 35mm and sound movie cameras.

Henry is married to the former Martha Dombrowski. They were married in Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Brooklyn and will be celebrating their 35th Wedding Anniversary in October this year. They have two married children, Richard and Diane, and two grandchildren, Renee Diana Krzewinski and Daniel Richard Polanski. Henry has two brothers, Stephan in California, Edmund in Brooklyn. Henry and Martha reside at 602 76th Street, Brooklyn, New York.

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