Reunion 2016: Celebrating FVS’s 86th year

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Celebrating FVS’s 86 th year

Mingling in the Hacienda Courtyard before dinner under the Big White Tent

Fountain Valley School of Colorado Class of 2011. Left to right, Lucia Nuñez, Trace Tomme, Kelly Stoinski, Jose Garcia, Davis Tutt, Avery Schiff, Cody Tyler, Logan Ford, Dempsey Simonis, Bob Bernhart, Nora Dillon, Cannon Grandison, Baylee McIntyre, Ellie Schaack, Sarah Vukelich, TJ Knecht, Jonathan Redmond, Sam Olvera, Steven Owen

Former trustee Peter Packard ’66 takes a turn on the dance floor with and Donnie Fanshawe, wife of Paul Fanshawe ’66.

Class of 1956. Hugh Knapp, left, and Mike Collins

Left to right, Chris Bellios ’89, Ben Howe ’89, Glenn Sugden ’87, Chris Sanchez ’90, Robin Arwood ’88, Chuck Ridgway ’89

Class of 1981. Left to right, Lily Osborne, daughter of Greg Osborne; Anne Green P ’04, ’06 and her daughter, arts faculty Addie Green ’06

Class of 2001. Back row, left to right, Taylor Meyer, Andy Wilz, Andy Dudley, Ariel Sugar. Front, Cynthia Walton, Starr Densford, Caightlain Richmond, Katy VonNostrand 17

Fountain Valley School of Colorado The biggest turnout to date for the alumni hockey game! Back row: Jaques VanZyl ’19, Paul Graney P ’18, Waltteri Niittula ’16, Garrett Van Wyhe ’15, Trevor Shott ’13, Travis Hinton (co-op ’14), Ryan Harrison ’12, faculty Tommy Manning, Brenden Wood (co-op ’12), Tyler Martin ’15, coach Mike Payne, P.J. Hollenbeck ’96. Front row: Soren Bredeson ’18, William Alling Graney ’18, Derrek Shoup (co-op ’12), Kyle Eichenberger ’12, Logan Ford ’11, Kamren Shoup (co-op ’13), faculty David Racine, Tim Boddington ’68, Mark Seelye ’70

Class of 1976. Left to right, Doug Eberhart, John Moore, Denis DuBois, Jacqueline Rogers P ’13, Jim Kuhns and Al Rogers P ’13

Class of 1991. Justin Mason, left, and Jake Waples

Alumni headed out on Saturday morning for an eco-tour of the prairie, led by ranch manager Tyson Phillips.

Class of 1961. Left to right, Bill Norman, Milena Canonero, Bill Andres, Marshall Bell, Bill Griffiths, Shari Griffiths and Tom Price

Class of 2006. Left to right, Hannah Duff, Addie Green, Brittney Moore Stroh, Stephanie Gardner, Kimberly Murray, Sarah Figgins, Chia-Chi Hsu, Tzu-San Hung, Alan Longhini

Class of 1961, take two: Back row left to right, Bill Griffiths, Bill Norman, Tom Price and Tom Poor. Front row, Mike Moore, Bill Andres and David Street

Class of 1996. Back row, left to right, James Fontenot, Matt Busenhart, Phil Weidner, Rob Matthews, PJ Hollenbeck, Alex Slater, Signe Gabrielson, Jason Friedes, Laurie Peterson. Middle, Josh Boone, Joe Hoverstock, Ryan Stevens, Jacqui Trombly Duba, Ariane Balizet. Front, Randy Parella, Jason Halprin, Manabu Ishikawa, Melissa Wittwer, Jayson Hopmayer, Collin Coburn, Alden Faust, Sabina Mehta Scott

AND THE AWARD GOES TO…

ALUMNI AWARDS

Congrats!

Brittney Moore Stroh ’06 is the inaugural recipient of the Young Alumni Award. She is executive director and chief operating officer for Atlas Preparatory School in Colorado Springs. The charter school’s goal is to provide economically disadvantaged students with educational opportunities similar to those at private schools. “We want to help take students from survival mode to successful, stable lives,” Stroh says. Atlas was founded in 2009 and now has 800 students in grades 5-12. Previously, Stroh was a fellow at El Pomar Foundation upon graduating from Colorado College.

This year’s Elizabeth Froelicher Smith Distinguished Service Award honors former trustee Peter Packard ’66 for his support of Fountain Valley that centers on stewardship, conservation and preservation. The School’s land and architecture speak to Packard. His is a hands-on approach, as evidenced by hundreds of hours spent overseeing the renovation of the Mountain Campus. Packard has also worked with the School on an energy audit, and he helped restore the Perry residence halls to their original functionality as passive solar buildings.

The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes extraordinary professional achievement and community service. Will Nicholson ’46 was one of the most influential figures in golf. He served as president of the U.S. Golf Association in 1980- 81 after 11 years on the USGA Executive Committee. He played a key role in the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club. Nicholson was responsible for setting up the course for the Masters, and was chairman of the Masters rules committee for 17 years. He was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. The Lewis Perry Jr. Alumni Award recognizes outstanding leadership by an alumnus in the previous year. Duncan Alexander ’64 identified a need at Fountain Valley School and directed a gift to the Advancement Office. This has helped immensely in Fountain Valley School’s development and communication efforts, giving the School resources that allowed the office to clean up and refine the database, as well as secure the training necessary to use the database to its full potential.

2016 ARTS GUILD INDUCTEES

2016 ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Left to right, artist-in-residence Mark Dillon P ’08, ’10, ’11, Mark Wong ’86, Mike Collins ’56, Gerald Peters ’66 and Head of School Will Webb.

Left to right, Mike Collins ’56, Abdillahi Haji ’66, Morgan Smith ’56, Bill Fraser ’66 and former faculty Mike Cronk. Collins presented the award to Smith, and Cronk presented to Haji and Fraser.

Mike Collins ’56 has made an indelible imprint on Fountain Valley School, and his significant architecture talents are evident across campus: The Hacienda addition, Art Barn renovation, Lewis Perry Jr. Chapel expansion, Performing Arts Center, Dining Room renovation, Welcome Center and the triplex for faculty housing. His love of Fountain Valley is obvious in the painstaking job he has done maintaining the architectural integrity of the School. He is also well known for his architectural projects throughout the Pikes Peak Region. His restoration of Colorado College’s Cutler Hall won an award from the Historic Preservation Alliance.

Gerald Peters ’66 is an art dealer with a worldwide reputation among galleries, museums and collectors. He has art galleries in Santa Fe and New York City. Peters has been involved in the art business for more than 40 years and is known as one of the foremost authorities on American 19th century and early 20th century works, the art of the American West and American modernism. He is also a historic preservationist who has restored four structures in New Mexico that are on the National Historic Register.

Mark Wong ’86 is a renowned ceramicist in the Pikes Peak region whose expertly thrown vessels can be found at many galleries across the Front Range. Wong has developed his own glazes, clays and kilns to experiment and control the various reactions between heat and materials. The thin walls of his vessels radiate the heat more rapidly after firing, which allows him a range of color and luminescence rarely seen in raku. Wong is generous with his time and talent at FVS, regularly guestteaching in ceramics classes and holding a Clay and Play class on Alumni Weekends. Morgan Smith ’56 competed in five sports while at FVS and was successful in all of them. As a three-year letter winner in hockey, he was an all-league selection as a defenseman and the first recipient of the Doc Romnes Award for hockey MVP. In football, he earned the Dwinnell Award as MVP and collected the Wayne MacVeagh Award for gymkhana. He twice won the annual FVS Ski Race, and his leadership was evident as he was co-captain for football, gymkhana and hockey. He also played soocer.

Bill Fraser ’66 made his mark on four sports–basketball, football, skiing and track. His accomplishments were numerous: leading halfback in rushing as a senior; FVS Ski Race champion, and Colorado state high hurdles champion as a senior (breaking the state record in the process). He was the football team captain and track co-captain, and was selected to the Varsity Club. In his final year, he was given the Varsity Award as the top athlete.

Abdillahi Haji ’66, P ’09 amazed the School, and indeed the city, with his stellar soccer skills. He was the leading scorer both years he played and the MVP as a senior. He helped the team to two league championships and one undefeated season, and led the Danes to their first-ever victory over the Air Force Academy.

Reflections of an Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee

by Morgan Smith ’56

I was stunned when my classmate Mike Collins called me several years ago to say that he was going to nominate me for the Fountain Valley Athletic Hall of Fame. What I had as an athlete was energy and determination but no special skills, no scoring records, no participation on championship teams. Mike persisted, however, and in March of this year, I got word that I was to be inducted. The drive from Santa Fe on May 27 was bittersweet. Julie, my wife of 50 years, had been astonished at my nomination.

“You were one of the biggest troublemakers in the School’s history. I can’t believe you’re getting this award,” she had said. Sadly, she died suddenly on April 3 so she could not be with me. Instead, my daughter, Lee, came with me, as well as her two children, Chet and Elke. My two sons, Jay and Nelson, drove down from Denver.

Lee and I got lost en route and ended up driving in the back way. Just before turning into the back gate, we came up a road that was the site of an adventure with Mike Collins. Our junior year, he had received permission to bring an engine on campus that he could work on; he has always been a genius with cars. Little did the School know, however, that he also brought a car into which he placed the motor. We could slip out of our dorm at night and go cruising around.

One night, however, the car stalled on the dirt roads north of the school. So I got my horse, Moonbeam, tied my rope to the bumper and towed the car to this little hill that has now been paved. The car started rolling down, Mike popped the clutch and roared off. The problem was that my rope was tied to the saddle horn so I rode after him as fast as I could in the dark, afraid that he would hit the end of the rope and knock Moonbeam and me down.

My years at FVS were full of those little adventures, and arriving on campus after a long absence brought many of them back.

As for the wonderful award ceremony, several thoughts:

First, a highlight was seeing the wonderful video about today’s athletics at FVS—the variety of sports available now for both girls and boys, and the success that these various teams have had.

As for my award, which was mostly about hockey, I want first to thank all those who made my athletic days at FVS possible, starting with our long-suffering coaches, Doc Romnes, who went from an outstanding career in the NHL to coaching one of the worst high school teams in hockey history; Bruce Haertl from Dartmouth who was only with us briefly; Lew Palmer who didn’t know much about hockey but remained a good friend for many years after FVS; and to Doug Silverberg, two-time All-American defenseman at Colorado College who coached us our senior year when we finally won four games. Thanks also to my teammates who never gave up despite our many losses.

I want to say three quick things about sports at FVS and how they helped shape my life. First, the NFL draft has taken place, and we’re seeing many young men receive huge contracts to play a sport. Why these staggering figures? Because so many people are willing to pay so much just to watch them.

Smith’s keepsake program from the 1953-54 hockey season.

What I learned at FVS, however, was very different. The key is not to watch but to participate. What matters is not being a great athlete or a wealthy one, but being a participant.

Second, sports are very often the best way to measure a person. I’ve been involved in politics, government, business and the practice of law, and so often the merits of those I’ve worked with have been blurred by all sorts of other factors—favoritism, luck, special privileges or connections. In sports, it’s much more clear. It is easy to see who is putting in the effort. Last, my first experience as part of a team occurred at FVS, first in soccer and football, and then, most important, hockey. That was a vitally important life lesson. Our lives and our successes are based on being able to work with others and as part of teams whether, in my case, as a member of the many hockey teams I played on, or mountain climbs I organized, or family Thanksgiving soccer games, or the teams I built in various job experiences, or simply, the team that my wife and I were.

Sports at FVS had an enormous influence on my life. For that, I am deeply grateful.

Elizabeth Sage Hare: Celestial Disturbance

Elizabeth Sage Hare: Celestial Disturbance

Former trustee Sara Ware Howsam P ’06, ’09 was one of the artists included in the All New Women exhibit at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center last summer, showing with John Singer Sargent, Cindy Sherman and Lyle Ashton Harris.

One of her portraits was of Elizabeth Sage Hare who founded Fountain Valley School in 1930. Hare was also one of the founders of the Fine Arts Center. A local newspaper reporter back in the day described her as a “celestial disturbance.” This description informs the Hare portrait. Also included in Howsam’s exhibit was a portrait titled Debutantes Dreaming, shown here, featuring her daughters Tess ’06, left, and Becky ’09.

Howsam is a Colorado Springsbased artist trained as a fine artist at Tufts University and at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, Austria. The influence of Viennese artist Gustav Klimt is evident in much of her work, especially in this series of acrylic and mixed media portraits created for the All New Women exhibit.

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