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Donors Celebrated at Leadership Society Reception

Donors Celebrated at Leadership Society Reception

The annual Leadership Reception was held on Thursday, September 23. Hosted online last year because of the pandemic, more than 150 parents, alumni, parents of alumni and grandparents were thrilled to be reunited in person under a tent on the West Campus fields to celebrate the tremendous generosity and support of our Leadership donors.  An unexpected and exciting start to the evening was watching the Arrows soccer team win against Nobles!

Fr. John Arens started the program with a prayer and was followed by Board President, Jim Elcock '77, P'08. Jim spoke in celebration of the completed Spirit & People Campaign, a five-year effort to build the West Campus and grow the School’s endowment. This state-of-the-art, newly built space has made it possible for St. Sebastian’s to remain open during a historic pandemic. As a reminder that things don’t stand still at St. Sebastian’s, Jim described three new projects on the horizon: updated HVAC in the Birmingham Academic Building; the Headmaster’s Initiative, a $5 million endowment fund; and improvements and renovations to the Henry T. Lane Rink.

Trustee and Parent of Alumni Chair, Cathy Daniel P’15 '18 ’20, spoke next about how grateful the School was to reach so many record fundraising milestones in a year that was as uncertain as uncertain can be. She mentioned that as a trustee, she has a newfound appreciation for just how much work is involved in getting this many people to come together and say “yes, count me in as a Leader”! Headmaster Burke thanked those in attendance for their leadership and noted how much they were missed during the months of COVID and what important roles they play in the everyday lives of our young Arrows. As always, he reminded those gathered before him, “The school exists for the glory of God and our students and their families. The rest of us are just here to serve and what a joy and an honor it is to do so.”

Thank you to everyone for supporting St. Sebastian's School!