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THE MAGAZINE OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERS HIGH SCHOOL • 2023

PURPLE&GOLD How the school's aviation program and its partnership with FedEx could transform the industry as we know it

Class of '96 Alumni Anthony Glenn, Richard Smith, and Clay Tidwell

below: The Alumni Band came together again this year to complement the 150th anniversary of the Christian Brothers Band. The group performed the three marchs dedicated to the school (612 Adams, 650 East Parkway, and 5900 Walnut Grove) and two works by Ralph Hale, including “Reflections” remembering the band graduates who passed away over the last 5 years.

Brad Clasgens '66 was inducted into the CBHS Band Hall of Fame, and along with the Concert Band, an Alumni Jazz Band was assembled for the first time ever under the direction of former director Bill McKee. It was great to see our alumni return to support the Oldest High School Band in America!

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Thank you, Monsignor

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Annual Report of Gifts

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Donor Profile: The Morans

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Hall of Fame, Class of '23

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A Taste of CBHS

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Brothers Open Golf Tournament

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Brothers Wingmen

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Tourism Tag Team

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Family Profile: The Velasquezes

KEEP UP WITH YOUR CLASSMATES AT BROTHERSBOYS.COM Have an update or news to share with your classmates and our community? Email us at alumni@cbhs.org.

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The Magazine of Christian Brothers High School 62-0726402 5900 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, TN 38120 (901) 261-4900 • www.cbhs.org

ADMINISTRATION PRESIDENT Brother David Poos, FSC VICE PRESIDENT John Goode ’07 - jgoode@cbhs.org PRINCIPAL Jamie Brummer, PhD ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALS Jeff Blancett, EdD Dean of Academics Christopher Bunkley ’10 Dean of Students

OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Carrie Roberts - croberts@cbhs.org DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS Lauren Volpe - lvolpe@cbhs.org ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS Natasha Sublette - nsublette@cbhs.org ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR Thomas McDaniel - tmcdaniel@cbhs.org

above: Congratulations to this year's A Taste of CBHS honorees, Clark Ortkiese '98 and Will Goodwin '99 of Crosstown Brewing Company! See more, page 16.

Join us back on campus for A Taste of CBHS on Sunday, March 3, 2024!

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Jamie Elkington - jelkington@cbhs.org ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Connor Stevens - costevens@cbhs.org DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE, ALUMNI RELATIONS Laura Hughes - lhughes@cbhs.org DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE, PARENT PROGRAMS Tish Montesi - tmontesi@cbhs.org

above: Monsignor John McArthur '66 imposes ashes during Ash Wednesday Mass

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“I grew up loving the priests, the Brothers, and baseball,” said Monsignor John McArthur '66 on what happened to be his 49th anniversary of being ordained on May 25. “Priests and baseball players were my role models and heroes."

“And his homilies are so to the heart,” Brother Joel said. “You just feel like he’s right there with you. We need that so desperately in the Church today. When he preaches, he’s preaching to us. That’s the spirit you need.”

“Everybody wanted to be a Christian Brother, even if just for two or three minutes,” he continued. “They had such an influence on so many of us. I loved serving Mass and being around the priests. They were, to me, like the Apostles—men’s men. I just admired their life and the dignity that they brought to the world. I was always kind of caught up in that, and I always say I just couldn’t hit a curveball.

That’s why I didn’t become a baseball player."

Indeed, during his years as school chaplain, Monsignor took great care in crafting each homily for Masses with the Brothers and school Masses. “I love a big school Mass,” he said. “You've got 700-plus kids that you have an opportunity to touch with faith and what you’re going through in life and what’s happened in politics or what’s happening in Memphis and what’s happening in the Church. We’ve got to teach them about faith, responsibility, and service. Christian Brothers is really big on not just faith and values; it’s about social justice and about concern for the poor and neglected.”

Growing up on Reese Street, though, Monsignor McArthur was known as the baseball player—at least that’s the memory his childhood neighbor Brother Joel McGraw recalled. “I was the worst,” Brother Joel said. “But John always— always—let me play on his team and he never made fun of me. You never forget that, never forget.”

The two would both end up attending Christian Brothers High School three years apart. Decades later, in 2017, the lifelong friends once again found themselves back at Christian Brothers after Monsignor accepted the position as school chaplain, a position from which he retired after six years of service.

“I was happy as a clam,” Brother Joel, who was a teacher at the school at the time, said of Monsignor McArthur's arrival.

“John, he has not changed one bit. He is as honest as they come. There's no put-on about him. He is genuinely interested in people. He loves people and is very selfeffacing. There’s not a stitch of pride, no ascendancy in him whatsoever. Monsignor defines humility, and he is geniune. He still gets up at 4 in the morning. That’s the time when he prays and does his planning of homilies.”

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At the core of each homily for the students, Monsignor strove to connect with the teenagers, often reflecting on his own days studying under the Brothers.

The Lasallian prayer he remembers most from those days is, “Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God,” of course.

Such a simple sentiment, he said, has helped him so many times in life, and since returning to Christian Brothers, he uses the prayer much more prolifically, whether that’s in Mass or at the start of a football game. “We all have choices and problems and temptations every day in our lives and struggles, and God is here with us,” he said.

“And kids today have the same problems and aches and pains and yearnings that we did then.”

“I try to talk to them the way I want to be talked to if somebody was preaching to me, or maybe talk about something I needed to hear when I was their age,” Monsignor continued. “I would never say I was a great student, and as kids—me included—you just try to get by in a class.

But I want them to expand their horizons, and I challenge them to learn from my

• thank you, monsignor • mistakes and seize the moment. Don’t miss opportunities that come by.”

sports. It's pretty remarkable that kids at this age would want to do that.”

One such opportunity is the sacrament of Reconciliation offered on the first Friday of every month. At the start of his tenure as school chaplain, Reconciliation was offered once a week during lunch, and the turnout was about what you’d expect from hungry teenage boys counting down the minutes until their next meal.

"For our Catholic students, what Monsignor McArthur provided through Confession was a kind of therapy," said Brother David Poos, CBHS President, whose office is adjacent to the board room where confession was held during the pandemic. "His spiritual guidance left them lighter, uplifted. It came to be a sight I looked forward to month after month, and his interactions with them inspired me in my role here."

“I was a kid, too,” Monsignor said. “I know I’d rather have lunch than go to Confession.”

So, instead of lunchtime, school leadership suggested moving Confession to religion class on first Fridays, where they could also participate in Eucharistic Adoration.

“I would sometimes hear 50 or 70 Confessions on First Fridays,” Monsignor said. “That was really worthwhile. The kids who came in, some were really formal and others would want to talk about life or what they’re going through, a problem they’re having, or sports—I loved talking

Without exception, Monsignor has served as counselor to so many across the city in his near-50 years in the priesthood.

“He’s my confessor,” Brother Joel said.

“Some people say, ‘Oh, I couldn't go to confess to my childhood friend.’ I do. I don’t worry about those things. He’s loving in Confession and lets you know God still loves you, that we’re lucky that there’s mercy. And, oh gosh, I needed that. I will always need it.”

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More than that, Brother Joel added, the Catholic Church needs more priests like Monsignor. “He has a ministry of presence,” he said. “Pope Francis would admire him because he’s always saying the shepherd should smell like the sheep. John is that way with people. The Church is so desperate for that today— to have priests who can relate to their parishioners, who will bring Christ to them in the sacraments, but also bring Christ in his very person.”

To Brother David, simply having a priestly presence is such a boon to Christian Brothers, and having one so dedicated to his role is even more priceless. Even as Monsignor embraces his retirement, he knows that he’ll be back at the school and with the Brothers to celebrate Mass, to lend a helping hand or ear. “I love Christian Brothers,” he said. “So whenever they need me, I am available.”

HALL OF FAME • CLASS OF 2023

Congratulations to our newest Hall of Fame members! (Front Row) Joseph Baker, Philip Smith '76, Chris Perkins, Sr. '82, Richard Bursi '78, (Back Row) Spencer McDaniel '99, David Midlick '87, Tim Walsh '79, Chris Pratt '91, and William Gossett, Jr. '89

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BROTHERS WINGMEN above: An aviation student gives a prospective student a turn to pilot a simulated flight over the city of Memphis during Open House

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Captain Tony Desantis made his first solo flight when he was 16. “I grew up in a small town. We had an airport there, and I literally would mow lawns—or shovel snow because I was up north—and I would take that money to go to the airport and get flying lessons.”

Desantis went on to a long career as an airline pilot. He retired from Northwest Airlines shortly before the company, which had a major hub in Memphis, merged with Delta. “I enjoy flying airplanes immensely,” he said. “Many people have offices with windows, with great views, but there is no better view than the window of an airliner. The thrill of having a couplehundred-thousand-pound airplane is unmatched. You're pushing the throttles forward, making an approach in minimum conditions, or navigating thunderstorms on a dark and stormy night, and you get through there without a ripple for your passengers—all those things were rewarding. I just enjoyed the work.”

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His retirement was a busy one, as he practiced entrepreneurship by opening a chain of photography studios and kept his piloting skills sharp by teaching. Last year, a new opportunity opened up. “I was happy doing what I was doing,” he recalled.

“I was retired, mentoring a couple kids at the time over at the local airport here. I would take students who wanted to go to the airlines or the military, those who were looking to do it professionally, because I thought as a retired airline pilot, I could give them something they weren't going to get from a young guy teaching them, which is the typical way it works.”

Administrators at CBHS caught wind of Desantis’ work while searching for an instructor to pilot their budding aviation program. They wanted someone with an airline or military background who could handle both the academics and the realworld application.

Captain Desantis’ squadron consists of 14 Redbird TD2 desktop flight simulators

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clockwise from top: Richard Smith and Clay Tidwell, Class of '96, tour McEniry Hall and the flight simulators now offered to students interested in careers in aviation through the STEMM department; Capt. Tony Desantis helped launch the aviation program and serves as its lead instructor.

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COVER STORY • 2023 and a much larger, full-motion simulator, which looks like something out of a NASA facility. Here, CBHS students learn the basics of flight. “I started here last August, but I began helping develop the program probably six months before that,” he said.

The equipment is state of the art.

“Redbird is a simulator company, but they have created a real niche in the education market,” Desantis said. “It’s more than just a simulator.”

Flight simulators are almost as old as airplanes themselves, but in the digital era, they have been transformed from niche military hardware to desktop ubiquity.

You may have seen an aviation-obsessed friend posting his Microsoft Flight Simulator videos on social media. The ones Desantis’ students fly are far more advanced than your standard weekend aviator’s rig. “They mimic a Cessna 172 or 182, probably the most common planes you’ll find in flight schools,” Desantis said.

The simulators’ advanced artificial intelligence can grade the students’ performance based on predetermined parameters. ”It's good to have one person flying and one person observing so they can work as teams on these things,” Desantis said.

Outside the combination classroom and lab is what Desantis affectionately calls “Big Boy.” The simulator is an immersive motion device that moves on three axes to simulate the feel of real flight.

Wraparound screens provide realistic views from the cockpit. It’s the next best thing to taking to the air yourself.

In modern aircraft, many of the gauges, indicators, and switches have been replaced with screens that more accurately display a wide variety of information for the pilots. Desantis’ student pilots are trained in both. “We can mimic different airplanes besides the 172, which are set up here in either a glass or an analog type display.” But, while this new program has been a significant investment for the school, Desantis said hardware isn’t everything. “I think CBHS is focusing on the right thing: Get the right people. Anybody can buy the equipment.

It takes more than equipment to educate.

It takes the right instructors to help the program take flight.”

Now in its second full year, Desantis says the aviation program is a hit with the students. “It’s so popular that we've had to expand it. We’ve brought on another instructor, and we've hosted professors from the University of Memphis, home to another successful aviation program, which has garnered much support from FedEx.”

aviation alums “I graduated from Christian Brothers High School in 1996,” said Captain Anthony Glenn. “My flying career really got started at a young age. My father Albert was a pilot here at FedEx. That’s where I got the bug for flying, and I was flying the summer after I graduated from CBHS.” Glenn got a job at a regional airline six months after he graduated from college.

“It was Great Lakes Airlines. I was flying out of Denver in a 19-passenger aircraft with no bathrooms,” he recalled. “I did that for about three years and married my wife.

Not long after that, I was hired by FedEx. I’ve been with the company 19 years as of this August. I've been an instructor, I’ve had the opportunity to fly all over the world, and I’ve got three amazing kids, one of whom may follow in my footsteps, she says, to fly.”

Glenn’s class at CBHS was a big year for aviation careers. Two of Glenn’s friends and classmates from that year are now fixtures at FedEx. Clay Tidwell joined FedEx in 2002. “I screened and hired handlers to work in the hub,” he said. “I jumped over to the air operation side in 2007, and I spent eight years in the material organization, where I planned and forecasted for aircraft parts purchasing.

Then I did a couple of years in our quality driven management office.”

For the last four years, Tidwell has been a quality assurance manager in the aircraft maintenance division. “I have four boys.

My oldest is a junior at CBHS now, and I've got another who joined the Brotherhood this year.”

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Another ’96 grad is Richard Smith, son of FedEx founder Fred Smith. “I grew up with FedEx because Richard was in our class,” said Tidwell. “I have a picture of the two of us in a simulator from a field trip in fourth grade.”

For his part, Smith did not expect to end up at FedEx. “It was never a lifelong ambition of mine to work for the company," he said.

“In fact, when people asked me growing up, if that's what I was going to do, my answer was always no, definitely not.”

But after graduating from law school and starting a family of his own, he knew he wanted to stay in the area. FedEx offered stability and growth, and he joined the company in 2005.

“Ahead of our 50th anniversary this past April, we announced that we are becoming one FedEx, meaning we're consolidating our operating companies into one organization in terms of how we operate. With that change, the company I once led, FedEx Logistics, came back under me in my new role as president and CEO of Airline and International at FedEx Express.”

Smith has never regretted the choice to remain in Memphis. “The things I love most about FedEx are the people and our mission to connect people and possibilities every single day. We do that in 220 countries and territories around the world by delivering our Purple Promise, which states, 'I will make every FedEx experience outstanding.'”

“The third thing I love about the company is that it is so dynamic. You’re at the center of global trade, and you never know what the day may bring. From shipping a panda to China to answering the call to one of the most profound missions, certainly in my lifetime, the delivery of highly temperature-sensitive COVID-19 vaccines as part of Operation Warp Speed in 2020. On any given day here, you are in the thick of everything.”

The backbone of the FedEx logistics machine is perhaps the largest private air force ever assembled. “We deliver an average of 14.5 million shipments daily while connecting 99% of the world's

PURPLE & GOLD MAGAZINE gross domestic product. We have 250 flights into Memphis alone every day— 250!” said Smith.

This means that Captain Desantis’ students at CBHS will graduate into a job market that needs the skills they have acquired. “Pilots are in high demand with an impending shortage, and it's a very lucrative career path," said Smith. “I think these students will enter a healthy job market for not just pilots, but any interest in the field of aviation. If you want to be on the business side, like my classmate Clay, in the planning, materials and parts, and managing the supply chain aspect of it, or if you want to be an aircraft mechanic, those are very satisfying and longlasting careers.”

“When I look back, and even by the time I graduated, I realized that school probably had the most influential impact in my life at that point,” he said.

“Teachers cared about me, and they made an indelible impression. It was a transformation for me from my sophomore year to my senior year. And you know, we still see our classmates.

We're still friends. I’m thinking at some point my son will be there also.”

Captain Desantis believes the sky is the limit for his students. He keeps a poster of the Concorde, the world’s first supersonic airliner, on his classroom wall for inspiration. “The successors to the Concorde are already on the drawing board,” he said. “Even if you fly airliners and you don't join the military, you're going to fly on the edge of space. You're going to do things that I only dreamed of being able to do!”

Smith, Glenn, and Tidwell all agree on one thing: they wish CBHS had had Captain Desantis on staff when they were there.

“That's one of the things I always wish I had done,” said Smith. “My father was a naval aviator in the Marines. I wish I had gotten my pilot's license. So if they had had a program like that, I would've absolutely availed myself of it.”

For Glenn, the CBHS experience was more than just a regular high school experience.

above: Smith catches up with Brother Joel, CBHS President Brother David, and Captain Tony Desantis (top right) while touring campus.

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Permit No. 247 Memphis, TN Purple & Gold: The Magazine of Christian Brothers High School 5900 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, TN 38120 (901) 261-4900 • www.cbhs.org

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PARENTS OF ALUMNI: If this publication is addressed to your son, but he no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Advancement Office of his new address at (901) 261-4930 or lhughes@cbhs.org.

In its second year, our Men for Tomorrow series affords us the opportunity to reach our student body on a deeper level. Every month, a speaker dives into a topic that helps form our young men into better versions of themselves.

Brad Luckett '08 kicked off this school year encouraging students to represent the very best of themselves — doing right by one another to lift each other up — as is expected of a Brothers' Boy.