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HONORING AVON’S NINTH CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD: Martin I. Cole H’16, P’04 Retires
Marty and Terri Cole have been integral parts of the Avon Old Farms School community since 1999, when their youngest son, Sam, became an Avonian. More than two decades later, they are ready to embrace the next stage in their lives and step away from formal titles tying them to Avon but with assurances that the school will always remain in their hearts.
“We knew from the very beginning that Avon was a special place,” Marty Cole recalls. “Certainly Mrs. Riddle’s campus had physical beauty, but as we toured campus for the first time with Sam, we learned how special it was through the community and family-friendly environment, the caring and nurturing faculty, the great staff, and, really, the brotherhood.”
When Sam decided to join the Avon Old Farms community, Marty and Terri did too. Residents of Farmington, Conn., at the time, they were regulars at school functions. They watched as their son matured in the Avon environment, academically and athletically, and grew to be a team player and leader.
Welcomed by the Avon Old Farms community, Terri joined the Avon Parents Association and served as the group’s president for two years. She recalls how wonderful it felt to bond with fellow Avon parents and to be a part of something that was doing such good for her son—and for the sons of so many others.
“Avon was a wonderful place for Sam,” she recalls. “It is a place where boys can be boys. We knew that Sam was safe, looked after, and being mentored by the best. Avon is a warm and cozy village for a boy to grow up in, a place where someone always has your back.”
Born and raised in Chicago, Marty was the product of the city’s public school system all the way until he attended Dartmouth College with scholarship support. Though he did well in the public school system, he knows there were things he did not have access to. Reflecting on that, he was driven to offer opportunities to those who would welcome the chance to earn a private secondary school education but could not afford one.
Over the years, the Coles have been extremely generous to and supportive of Avon Old Farms, both with their time and their donations. They’ve contributed to various fund-raising initiatives to create the Cole Family Scholarship and support the building of Cole Court. Inspired by the impact of an Avon education, Terri put her heart and soul into the Parents of Avon’s Blue Blazer Ball, which raised thousands of dollars through its live and silent auctions. She did such a wonderful job as part of the association that Avon honored her in 2004 with the Paul and Louise Adams Medal for extraordinary contributions to Avon Old Farms School by a parent. After Sam graduated in 2004, she was invited to continue her work through a role in the Office of Alumni & Development leading the Parents Annual Fund.
“Terri Cole has been a friend and supporter of Avon Old Farms,” comments former Headmaster Ken LaRocque H’19, P’01, ’10. “Since the time Sam became an Avonian, she has advocated strongly for Avon and has contributed generously to our school with her time and treasure. Terri stands tall among the women of Avon who have shaped our school over the years.”
“I had worked so closely with the office over the previous years that it was an easy transition for me,” she says. “I was able to focus on the parent engagement side of things, which kept me connected to the school and the parent community. It felt wonderful knowing that our goal was to support fund-raising activities to help give the gift of an Avon education to deserving young men.”
In early 2005, Ken approached Marty with the idea of joining Avon’s Board of Directors. It was an exciting time for Avon but also a bit scary: it was the era of erecting new buildings all over campus, from the Ordway Science Center to the Brown Student Center to the Beatson Performing Arts Center. It was the first time that Avon had borrowed money for construction projects, and Marty’s background in business and finance was a valuable perspective to have during such pivotal years.
“I said yes, of course,” says Marty. “I had been impressed with Ken’s leadership of the school and extremely impressed with Avon’s mission, even if it wasn’t as well defined in the 2000s as it is now. I had seen firsthand how effective Avon’s notion of a single-sex program is at helping young men develop and mature through the combination of strong academic, artistic, and athletic programs. It was absolutely something I wanted to contribute to.”
During his tenure on the board, Marty served as chair of the finance committee and as treasurer of the board. He also served as a vice-chairman of the board, a member of the executive committee, and chairman of the development committee. In the fall of 2014, he stepped in as the acting chairman when Brian Conroy '82 needed to step back from those duties as he took on a new international role at Fidelity.
“In the beginning, I was so grateful for Terri’s insight,” Marty says. “She knew the faculty and staff, was familiar with the culture, and knew things about Avon that would take a while to uncover otherwise. Throughout my time as a member of the board, she has remained a strong partner— we attended board meeting weekends together and other special events, and it was always great to have someone at home who understood the work I was doing and a partner whom I could talk with. Her support through the years has been great.”
Terri enjoyed Marty's time on the board because she connected with faculty and friends at Avon Old Farms, and she and Marty enjoyed getting back for sporting events and experiencing the changing seasons on campus. They also loved hosting two weddings on campus, including the marriage of their daughter, Elizabeth, to Jake Bourgault ’09.
In 2015, Marty was elected chairman of the Board of Directors and has led Avon Old Farms in a positive direction the entire time.
“As board chair, Marty led our governance team ethically, always maintaining a laser focus on its fiduciary responsibility and never crossing into the operations of our school,” says Ken LaRocque. “He generously shared his time and counsel whenever I reached out in need of assistance as headmaster.”
At the time, Marty promised to lead from the front with energy and passion to enable Avon to be the best. He sought to generate greater engagement from the board, the National Council, alumni, and parents—both past and present. He knew he had a full agenda for the next three to five years but was excited about the opportunity to help Avon move forward.
“I was fortunate to start with a very solid foundation, built by the great chairmen who had just preceded me, including Dean Graham ’84 and Brian Conroy ’82, P’20, and the wonderful work of Mr. LaRocque. It was our ambition to go from great to greater,” he says. “We wanted to go from an environment where we were doing many things well to a position of really becoming and sustaining our position as the best college preparatory school for boys in the nation.”
Mission accomplished. Looking back on all the things Avon Old Farms achieved in the last six years gives Marty much to be proud of, including two very significant milestones in our school’s history: the successful completion of the Inspiring Boys, Building Men capital campaign and the seamless transition in leadership from Ken LaRocque to Jim Detora.
In January of 2020, Avon Old Farms School, with great joy and gratitude, shared the close of its record-breaking fund-raising
campaign Inspiring Boys, Building Men. The campaign surpassed the target of $50 million announced at its public launch in September 2018. It featured gifts from more than 4,200 donors, including alumni, parents, grandparents, friends, directors, faculty and staff, foundations, and students. Forty-eight percent of campaign gifts were made by Avonians. Twenty-three individuals made gifts of $500,000 or more. The Cole family was the largest contributor of all. In addition to providing physical upgrades to Mrs. Riddle’s nearly 100-year-old campus, many gifts to the campaign supported less-visible initiatives, such as scholarships, faculty compensation, and the school’s endowment.
“Every gift matters—$1.00 or $1,000,000—participation has always been what counts at Avon,” says Marty. “Money is important, but it’s not the end game; it’s a means to an end. And my focus as chairman of the board was to let all Avonians know that what they can contribute matters, whether that is financial, time, or in-kind donations. We needed everyone’s help to make this campaign a success, and our community answered the call.”
Through the final years of the campaign and its success, Marty was able to focus his attention on ensuring that Jim Detora had all the support he needed as he prepared to lead the school beginning July 1, 2019. Marty explains that the primary role of the board is not to meddle in day-to-day operations but to hire and support the head of school. With Jim appointed, it was time to help ensure he would be able do the job well.
“Before Jim officially began his role as head of school, I talked with him about the unique challenges he would no doubt face in the coming years,” Marty shares. “I said, ‘As qualified as you are, as successful as you have been, there will be things you’ve never prepared for, but you have to trust in your ability to keep a level head and find the best solution.’ I was thinking of financial problems, infrastructure issues, even lawsuits. What did we get only five months after Jim’s investiture? COVID. But, with Jim at the helm, armed with his experience in building an online summer program, previous roles as provost and director of development, and years of experience with Avonians, he had a clear and direct approach to ensuring Avon was prepared to offer a hybrid environment that offered the best opportunity to each of our students. We’ve gotten through it, and we’ve done exceptionally well. There can’t be a school out there that has done a better job of managing this pandemic than Avon.”
And with that, Marty feels confident that he is stepping away from the board at an optimal time. His goal was to leave Avon Old Farms a better institution of learning than when he first encountered it, and all signs point to that being true. The culture is strong. The brotherhood is unshakable. Enrollment is high. The faculty is best-in-class. We have a market-relevant curriculum and experience with diverse offerings. Athletics are highly competitive. Our endowment has grown. From all angles, Avon is aspiring, persevering, and excelling.
As to what comes next, Marty will let the next chairman decide. “I give my full blessing to my successor,” he says. “I am around if he or she needs me, but I will let the next chairman take the lead and have space to set forth next steps for Avon Old Farms, markedly the next five-year strategic plan. If they want my opinion or feedback, they know where to find me, and I’ll answer the call.”
