“Thanks to the Board of Trustees’ ‘Step Up’ challenge, the 201112 Annual Fund had a record-breaking year, featuring an increase of 8.5% in overall participation (5,100 alumni) and a best-ever year of $4.8 million in total contributions.” –Daniel J. Courcey ’86
Daniel J. Courcey ’86 E x ecuti v e Directo r o f Develo pment and A lumni R e lati o ns
The Choate Rosemary Hall Development and Alumni Relations Office had a good year. Thanks to the Board of Trustees’ "Step Up" challenge, the 2011-12 Annual Fund had a record-breaking year, featuring an increase of 8.5% in overall participation (5,100 alumni) and a best-ever year of $4.8 million in total contributions. Together, these gifts provide more than 10% of the School’s budget. Annual and capital gifts together totaled more than $26 million, one of the best ever in School history. A priority this year was to provide opportunities for the Headmaster to meet with alumni and parents, starting with a summer spectacular at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port and ending with a gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition, Dr. Curtis met with alumni and parents at most of our active alumni clubs, including those in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Connecticut, and at informal gatherings in Boca Raton and Hobe Sound, Fla. The Alumni Association elected a new President, Chris Hodgson ’78, succeeding Susan Barclay ’85, who ably led that volunteer
organization for the past three years. The School’s Annual Fund is now chaired by Chris Vlasto ’84 and David Hang ’94, who took the reins from longtime Chair Jim Lebovitz ’75. The Parents Fund Council is now led by Jan and Cynthia Van Eck P ’14, whose co-chairs include Allain and Kat Bellemare P ’14, Michael and Maja McGuire P ’14, and Jose and Trisha Suarez P ’15. The Alumni Office and the Alumni Association explored new ways to connect with graduates, including live streaming video of athletic events; more than 500 alumni logged in to watch the Deerfield football and volleyball games. We also jointly sponsored simulcast events for Deerfield and Choate alumni in New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and London. Social media outlets are increasingly playing a major outreach role for the School; we uploaded significantly more content and videos on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Events featuring Choate alumni continue to be a staple of our Alumni Office work. One of the most highly attended sessions last year was an "Inside the Actors Studio"-like interview that featured former Dean of Faculty Ed Maddox and acclaimed actor Paul Giamatti '85.