Mission Accomplished!

respect to supply chain issues. Nevertheless, in spite of it all, they managed to find a way to get the job done, and I am massively grateful for them.

“To that extent, they –and I say they, I mean our donors, our contractors, our architects – have gone shoulder-to-shoulder to create a campus that is so beneficial to our students and their learning,”

Ziemkiewicz continued.

The wildly successful capital campaign is the largest project in the 121-year history of the school, and its mission has been accomplished without incurring long-term debt. This doesn’t include the annual Benedictine Fund (for operating expenses) which has grown 105% during the campaign.

The Forward, Always Forward Capital Campaign, which articulated a bold vision to strengthen every dimension of the school, was driven by the leadership of Benedictine Military School Headmaster Fr. Frank Ziemkiewicz, O.S.B., and fueled by the financial support of the BC family. That combination has resulted in the transformation of our campus.

“I can’t say enough for the support that we have received to make so many of these changes possible in such a relatively short amount of time,” Ziemkiewicz said. “And I have our stakeholders, our alums, our parents, our benefactors, to

Markiton ’92 said Ziemkiewicz’s vision and the incredibly generous support of the BC family made dreams become reality at 6502 Seawright Drive.

“The success of this campaign boiled down to two things: 1. Vision and 2. The incredible dedication and belief that the members of the BC family had in that vision,” Markiton said. “It was Fr. Frank who, in his early days at BC, began to ask us the question, ‘What is Benedictine Military School going to look like in 2020?’ And if we’re not asking that question, and thinking about that, then the school is not going to change. We’re not going to ultimately fulfill our mission the way God has designed us to be here.

“And then, secondly, I truly believe that the Benedictine Military School family, our alumni, our parents, our parents of alumni, our board, they were hungry to see BC succeed in this way,” Markiton continued. “They were so these transformational gifts. Over a thousand donors coming together, collectively, locked arm-in-arm, hand-in-hand, with a common purpose, and a common direction, and a common vision, to make Benedictine a better version of itself. All of these projects are finished and will not leave any long-term debt with the school.”

“I am grateful for the great competency that our architect, Pat Shay, and his firm, Thomas and Hutton, and their engineering expertise have brought into this picture,” Ziemkiewicz said. “Again, so much of this just wouldn’t have happened without them. They were efficient. They were diligent in controlling costs, and in terms of their relationship with our contractors, in particular Vince Ferraro and Mahany Construction, Danny Pinyan from The Pinyan Company; these people were just incredibly cooperative and competent. And they were working under considerable difficulties, particularly these last several years with respect to COVID and with

“And the results show for themselves. For example, our academics, because we have been able to provide for the facilities thanks to so many donors, we have been able to gain our students admission to our highest universities. These students have graduated with pride and stand to be strong contributors to the Savannah, Georgia, and national communities in the future. So many of our students have gained admission to our military academies, and we take considerable pride in our contribution to our national defense, not only in the near future, but in years to come. The fact that this Catholic school has been able to attract the support of our archabbey allows us to fulfill that commitment, that charge that we were given, to spread the word. I’d like to think that this school with a soul continues on a mission.”

Markiton said he remembers a meeting early on in the campaign where “Fr. Frank and I, and a loyal board member, met with a loyal donor here at BC who has given to the school, generously, for the last several decades. He’s been a loyal annual fund donor. And that gentleman, at that meeting, made a commitment of $100,000 Article continued on page 2.