LEADERSHIP & ADVANCEMENT
it should be. The Trustees focus on the strategic vision, but they really had no impact on my day-to-day life here. One thing I will say; obviously they did a good job, because we’re still here! ALICE In your first Board term (1993–2011), what were some of the more exciting initiatives the Board undertook? BRAD In that time, we built the Middle School, the Turf Field, the Gateway Building, and the Benson Building. They all contributed to school life differently, but when we put the Turf Field up, Derryfield became one of those schools that everyone started talking about. You drive by, and it has the logo in the middle, the maroon around the outside, and the way it’s positioned below the road—it really makes a statement. I don’t know that it was intentional, but it immediately became a talking point; everywhere I went, everyone wanted to talk about the Turf Field. ALICE What are you looking forward to in your term as Chair? Brad with wife, Linda, and sons, Christopher ’17 and Andrew ’15, at Andrew’s Derryfield graduation in June.
A conversation with new Board Chair Brad Benson ’78
D
erryfield is excited to welcome Brad Benson ’78 as the new Chair of our Board of Trustees. While he’s the 18 th Board Chair, he’s actually the first Derryfield alumnus to hold the position. The president of Benson’s Lumber Company in Derry and Londonderry, Brad is a Derryfield parent as well, with two sons, Andrew ’15 and Chris ’17. We were curious about the changes he’s seen at Derryfield since he was a student, and how his different perspectives, as alumnus, parent, and Trustee, will shape his tenure. Here’s what Alice Handwerk, Director of Alumni Development, found out. ALICE When you were a student, how much did you know about the Board of Trustees? BRAD Honestly, I didn’t know a thing about the Board. To me the School was about the Head of School, Ralph Scozzafava. The School now is about Dr. Carter, and that really is the way
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BRAD Well, most obviously, I’d like us to be successful in our first major capital campaign in twenty years. I’d like to see a better community—one of the things that Derryfield struggles with (this is my personal experience now, as a parent) is that we pull from a very big geographic area, and because of the world today, with technology and the way children live, there’s not as much community in all cases as I think there should be. I’m hoping that what we’re building will be a campus that works for more of our school population—students, faculty and alums. That’s ultimately the goal—to make the School stronger to build the sense of community. ALICE What advice would you give to other Derryfield alumni about getting involved in the School? BRAD Reach out, get involved. Try one thing. It can be little things, it can be regional events. But it’s nice to engage again; it’s nice to talk to your old friends, and to people you didn’t really know—everyone’s changed so much. You’ll feel really good about it—it’s a great place to allocate some time. ALICE Any words of wisdom that you shared with Andrew ’15 on his graduation day when he became an alumnus? BRAD Linda and I talk to the boys about this all the time. We say, you need to make a difference in the world you live in, you need to contribute. Each individual can make his/her mark. For some it means writing a big check, for others it involves cleaning up trash on the side of the highway. The importance is not the grandeur of the act, but rather the intent of contributing to the greater community. I want to make a difference, I want to be involved, I want to see the results. I am grateful to Derryfield for helping instill these values in me at a young age.