This fund was established in memory of GSE Dynamics’ founder, Daniel J. Shybunko.
Dan had a passion for business and a desire to help others reach their entrepreneurial goals. The GSE Shybunko Memorial Fund’s mission is to provide resources to entrepreneurs and small business owners to assist in the start-up, management and growth of their business. The organization’s activities will include creating scholarships for students and new entrepreneurs to start their own businesses, providing workshops and continuing business related education, and exploring grant opportunities to entrepreneurs and small business owners to grow their businesses.
We love it. We have a passion for it. You can’t do anything unless you have a passion for what you’re doing. I’ll never retire, this is my life.
Dan Shybunko, 1933-2019
Employees of GSE Dynamics Inc. knew the military parts manufacturer had won a new contract when founder Daniel J. Shybunko played the William Tell Overture over the public address system in the Hauppauge factory.
“Any time a contract would come in, he’d be the first one to get it and he would play this song from an Army tank [children’s toy] over the loudspeaker so everyone knew,” said Shybunko’s daughter, Anne Shybunko-Moore, now owner and CEO of GSE. “Everyone would ask, ‘What are we going to make, what are the contract details?’ ”
My dad loved making stuff,” said Shybunko-Moore, of Setauket. “He loved seeing a drawing and being able to produce the part.”
Dan Shybunko was born on June 25, 1933 in Hempstead Town to Stephen and Helen (Lotocka) Shybunko. He attended Jackson Elementary School and Hempstead High School, where he graduated in 1951 after serving as class president.
Dan worked for Grumman in the summers while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. His summer work assignments including riveting, wiring and drafting. His father was foreman of the Grumman paint shop.
A couple of months before receiving his college diploma, Dan married his high school sweetheart, Laura Swanson, in April 1955. Together they raised five children.
While at Grumman, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, rising to the rank of first lieutenant before being discharged in 1964. He earned his professional engineering license during this period.
At Grumman, Shybunko worked as a structural engineer on aircraft design, ground support equipment and people movers, according to the video. He eventually was tapped to help Grumman’s subcontractors to better produce parts, which led him to found GSE with the blessing of Grumman.
Dan retired from Grumman in 1978 to start his own company. He enjoyed the environment of the small manufacturing companies he worked with at Grumman. There was an ad in Newsday for a company for sale – a sheet metal shop in Farmingdale. He did not have the money to buy the company outright, so he rented the facility, hired the people and the owner, and built it into GSE Dynamics.
GSE Dynamics developed into a critical niche supplier for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army. GSE would expand in the early 2000’s into composites and continue to build business in advanced mechanical and structural assemblies. Dan’s legacy is now a company with two manufacturing facilities, over 85,000 sq ft, in Hauppauge employing over 80 Long Islanders.
Dan Shybunko passed away on October 30, 2019 at age 86. He leaves a legacy of integrity, passion, tremendous work ethic, and patriotism through his service in and support for the U.S. military.