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AlumNEWS
2012 Through their company, Benevolenza Fundraising, MADISON ASHER and KENNEDY RICCI organized a Color Run, which raised more than $23,000 for University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital … JESSICA LONCAR was a marketing intern at the Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio … JOHN MOORE was a quality assurance intern at Explorys, Inc., a company that provides a secure software platform that allows healthcare systems to aggregate, analyze and manage their big data to provide better patient care at a
lower price … CONNOR MORIARTY, a student at Miami University, is a writer at The Miami Student and also co-founder/coordinator of MU student organization Trail Mix … As a result of her article on government debate, which appeared on the front page of The Miami Student, Miami University student LAUREN OLIVER was invited to be a member of the newspaper staff … SARAH SPECH, a student at the University of Dayton, is also a photography assistant for Most Imaging … ANNA SOUKENIK, a student at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., is a fitness specialist at the school’s Bennett Center.
Making Memories Calling all alums! The Alumni Office is in the process of expanding its collection of Gilmour archives. Whether you are spring cleaning or downsizing your collection of Gilmour memorabilia, please consider sharing your collection with the Alumni Office. Pictures, papers, copies of The Tower, The Lance, The Prep, playbills, etc. will all be carefully organized by Gilmour archivist Br. Ken Kane, C.S.C. Please mail these items to:
Gilmour Academy Attn: Br. Ken Kane, C.S.C. Making Memories 34001 Cedar Road Gates Mills, Ohio 44040
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FALL 2014
2013 MONICA FLOCKEN was a summer intern
for the U.S. House of Representatives … ELIZABETH HAYNES, a student at the University of Miami in Florida, was selected for the prestigious Fulbright Summer Institute. She studied at Durham University in the United Kingdom … AUDREY SHEEHAN collaborated with her mother, Sara Booker, in publishing a book, “Quotes about Boats, Lakes, Seas & the Shore.” A book launch was held June 26 at Barnes & Noble in Cleveland and the book is available on Amazon.com.
Ties That Bind Through the Gilmour Academy Alumni Parents Association, past parents can keep their friendships alive long after the children graduate. Whether their kids are playing football at Weber stadium, acting in a school play or going wall-to-wall at a swim meet, Gilmour parents always are there to cheer them on. Along the way, they form close bonds with the moms and dads sitting alongside them week after week and year after year.
youngest son, Dan, graduated from Gilmour in 1996 it was tough to separate from the school. “After spending years of making lifelong friendships through Gilmour, we didn't want it to end, nor did our friends,” he says. “Having been heavily involved in GA since 1985, when our oldest son, John, started high school, it came as quite a shock when the phone stopped ringing and the mail from school ended.” So in 1998, Fagan and his wife, Kathie, formed a steering committee to create the Gilmour Academy Alumni Parents Association.
“The idea is to have parents stay engaged in Gilmour in a social way,” says Mary Kate Farrar Vega ’93 Assistant Head of School for Advancement. “By being part of the association, parents still have a Gilmour connection, but it’s mostly about camaraderie among parents.” John Fagan, one of the group’s founding members, says when his
GAAPA provides everything fans need at their tailgates.
The multigenerational aspect of the group makes it all the more appealing, Fagan says, and the committee actively seeks out younger members to ensure the group stays dynamic and vibrant.
Rich Greco, Don Link, Mary Beth Link and Karen Greco at a GAAPA clambake
Then their children graduate and all the camaraderie comes to an abrupt halt…at other schools, maybe. But for Gilmour moms and dads, the Gilmour Academy Alumni Parents Association (GAAPA) keeps friendships alive.
With few exceptions, everything is complimentary but for a $20 annual membership fee. And for parents of newly graduated students, the first year’s fee is waived.
John and Kathie Fagan at a GAAPA clambake
Backed by Jim Farrar ’59 and Br. Robert Lavelle, C.S.C., the association became official in January 2002.“Our intention was to be a ‘fun’ raising club, not a fund raising club,” Fagan says. From Blossom concerts to brewery tours, Oktoberfest to St. Patrick’s Day, the association stays true to its mission by hosting about five primary gatherings a year. The group also has held tailgate parties at Gilmour games and is always invited to the Head of School’s Christmas party.
Longtime association committee member Mary Beth Link put her four kids through Gilmour over a period of 14 years. She and her husband, Don, went to a lot of football games in that time. “We were knee deep in Gilmour for a long time, and then all of a sudden to have nothing was like quitting cold turkey,” she says. “This gives us an opportunity not only to come back and reconnect with old friends, but also to make new friends from other generations.” If you would like to get involved in GAAPA, contact Megan Schlickmann ’90 at (440) 473-8073 or schlickmannm@gilmour.org.
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