The Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to The Park School
Established in 1999, the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service is presented annually at Graduation to an alumna or alumnus of The Park School for dedicated service to the Park community. Board Chair Suzie Tapson presented the award in absentia to Lanny on behalf of the Alumni Committee.
Alexander “Lanny” Thorndike CL ASS OF 1981
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lexander “Lanny” Thorndike ’81 attended Park for eight years, starting in Pre-Kindergarten and staying through Grade VI. Now a current parent at Park, Lanny has been a member of the Board of Trustees for the past five years, where he has served as both Chair and a member of the Investment Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Trustees. In 2012, Lanny was asked to serve as the Chair of the Search Committee for the process to select Michael Robinson, Park’s 12th Head of School. As Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Century Funds and Managing Partner of Century Capital Management, Lanny stepped into the role of Investment Committee Chair in the fall of 2007 and served in that position for four years. Lanny embarked on this position during a turbulent time for the financial markets; his strategy to stay the course and wait out the downturn, while always being open to collaboration, was extremely effective and Park’s endowment greatly benefited as a result. Most recently, as Head of the Search Committee, Lanny directed the head of school search process from start to finish. He helped choose the School’s search consultant, coordinated input from Park’s varied constituencies, organized and conducted over one hundred interviews and kept the Park community informed and engaged throughout the process. This was a volunteer role that Lanny took on with a strong work ethic, humor, and grace. Even during the busiest and most complicated parts of the process, Lanny always had a smile on his face. His calm and
The Park Bulletin | Fall 2013
balanced leadership was critical as the Park community embarked on this leadership transition. Lanny was deeply dedicated to supporting alumni involvement throughout the search process. Lanny connected with varying groups of alumni, communicating important details about the search and advocating for continued alumni involvement as the search progressed. Under Lanny’s leadership, a selection of alumni volunteers had the opportunity to meet with both the search consultants at the |initial stage of the process, as well as the final three candidates at the later stage of the process. Lanny’s leadership enabled hundreds of alumni to be involved, be it through focus groups, an online survey or town hall-style meetings. The depth of alumni involvement in the search was a wonderful opportunity for the alumni community to play an important role in the future of Park School. Park has always been a big part of Lanny’s life. His children, Jamie ’11 and Anna ’13, are Park graduates, and his son Russell is a current student in the Class of 2017. His brother Will Thorndike is a member of the Class of 1979, and Lanny’s nieces and nephews are also Park graduates. The alumni community thanks Lanny for his inclusion and dedication and is deeply grateful for his leadership, time, passion, and commitment to Park.