Alumni Association Awards
Paul Mecray ’56 (middle) with his son Christopher Mecray and wife Nell Mecray
Alice Paul Merit Award: Paul Mecray ’56 At the Dinner Among Friends, Paul “Terry” Mecray ’56 was named the 2016 Alice Paul Merit Award recipient in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the fields of business and international geopolitics, and dedication to MFS. For 52 years, Paul has worked as a petroleum geologist, businessman, and diplomat without portfolio in the Middle East. He currently serves as a Managing Director with Tower Bridge Advisors in Conshohocken, PA, responsible for equity analysis and portfolio management. Prior to joining Tower Bridge, Paul spent 36 years at Wellington Management Company in global energy research, traveling to all of the world’s oil producing regions and engaging in back channel contacts to help mediate international disputes. Coupled with his successes in the business world, Paul’s generosity to MFS, in particular the beautification of the campus, underscores his commitment to “doing well and doing good.” “Paul decided to make Moorestown Friends a philanthropic priority upon reflecting that, even after studying at academically elite institutions such as Princeton and Wharton, that MFS Social Studies Teacher G. MacCulloch ‘Cully’ Miller was the best teacher he ever had and that he and his classmates would make a bigger difference by supporting MFS than they could in their already well endowed colleges,” said Head of School Larry Van Meter, in his presentation of the award. “Paul shared that every time he sat down with someone whose views were diametrically the opposite of his own, Cully’s smiling face would always pop up in his mind, quietly whispering to listen to the other viewpoint, to try to find some FALL 2016
Paul Mecray ’56 • Managing Director, Tower Bridge Advisors • M.B.A. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania • B.A. Princeton University middle ground where both parties might find room to negotiate.” In his remarks, Paul expanded on his affection for his teachers at MFS: “When I arrived at Moorestown Friends in September 1950, I became very good friends with Jim Matlack. We would argue about the pros and cons of American involvement in world affairs and along comes Cully Miller seeing two 12-year-olds who were devoted friends arguing about The Philadelphia Bulletin. He encouraged us to engage in respectful discourse, which certainly worked for me, having spent my career in the oil industry. I owe so much to Cully Miller and Chester Reagan who taught me the MFS tradition of proper respect for another person’s point of view.” Paul led efforts in 2006 during his Class’s 50th reunion year to support the G. MacCulloch “Cully” Miller Social Studies Endowment Fund and the West Building Conversation Garden. Paul and his wife Nell donated funds to create the Mecray Courtyard, located outside the Field House near the tennis courts, in memory of Paul’s parents and grandparents. Additionally, Paul was an inaugural member of the Head’s Council. Paul and Nell have included MFS in their estate plans and are members of the Legacy Society.
AMONG FRIENDS
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