Class Notes Tom Fullmer '73 Named Executive Director of The Grotto Fullmer brings event management experience to The Grotto. Working with Peter Jacobsen Productions, Fullmer was tournament director of many large-scale events, including the PGA JELD-WEN Tradition Golf Tournament and the USGA’s 2003 U.S Women’s Open at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course. Fullmer and his family are parishners at St. Pius X in Portland. He is a graduate of Jesuit High School and the University of Oregon. “My parents brought me and my brothers and sisters to The Grotto frequently back in the 60s and 70s. It was my Mom’s favorite place. I am humbled to have been selected to carry on the 90-year tradition of The Grotto,” said Fullmer. The Grotto, formally The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, is a ministry of the Servite Friars. In 1991, a few short years after his ordination in Chicago as a Servite priest, Fr. Topper was named Executive Director of The Grotto. In a letter to the Archbishop, The Very Reverend Fr. John Fontana, OSM, Prior Provincial for the Servite USA Province, said: “[Fr. Topper's] ministry there has been stellar, in terms of the hospitality and ministry he has provided. He has been the public face and voice of The Grotto, representing the Servites and this place of solitude, peace, and prayer, to the Church and to the city of Portland. He has also reached out in a spirit of multiculturalism and ecumenism to a broad variety of people, while also maintaining our Catholic identity and Servite charism.” "Throughout my years here at The Grotto, I’ve often thought that my ministry was a ministry in reverse: I so frequently felt that I received as many or more blessings from those who came to The Grotto than what I offered them," said Fr. Topper, reflecting on his 23 years at The Grotto. The Grotto will celebrate its 90th Anniversary on September 20 with a dinner and auction at the Multnomah Athletic Club; the following day, September 21, the Most Reverend Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, Archbishop of Portland, Oregon, will preside at an anniversary Mass at noon in The Grotto Plaza. “I invite people of all faiths and cultures to visit this Portland treasure and I encourage those who have visited in the past to return with family, friends and out-of-town visitors throughout the year. It is one of Portland’s best-kept secrets and summer and fall is a beautiful time of year to visit,” said Fullmer. [Information courtesy of The Grotto.]
Tom Fullmer '73, new Executive Director, and Fr. Jack Topper, Executive Director since 1991, who will remain at The Grotto serving as Rector.
The Grotto recently welcomed Thomas Fullmer as the new Executive Director of The Grotto. Servite Fr. Jack Topper, Executive Director since 1991, will remain at The Grotto serving as Rector. While Fullmer will become the administrative leader of The Grotto, Fr. Topper will be the spiritual leader, and will continue to lead the sacramental and religious ministries of The Grotto. Fullmer is a Portland native who has been a frequent visitor to The Grotto all his life. He has always been involved, to some extent, in non-profit organizations, including serving as board president of Michael Allen Harrison’s Snowman Foundation, and as director of business development for the Total Development Center, a non-profit center working with youth. Among his many involvements are working with the Blanchet House of Hospitality and serving on the executive committee of the Portland Good Friday Breakfast.
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