ABOVE BOARD

Family First

Gary Rappaport credits this guiding philosophy for the indelible mark he’s made as a devoted family man, commercial real estate developer, and contributing member of the greater DC community.

While his passion for business and commitment to philanthropy has shaped Gary’s career, his dedication to family is clearly what drives him. Of the two dozen or so photographs displayed in his office, almost every one is a sweet salute to his large family, which includes his wife, five daughters, and eight grandchildren. Gary’s learned that being consistently present for them takes prioritization. “We can always find the time if we wish to,” he affirms.

Gary started his real estate company, Rappaport, in 1984 when he raised $35,000 to buy a shopping center in Baltimore — a property he still owns today, along with several dozen other commercial properties. While he’s been amassing square footage for five decades — over 14 million — he’s also been earning admiration and respect. “My reputation is what is most important to me,” Gary says of the importance of being regarded well by his tenants, employees, and peers.

He was raised to value hard work. At 12, he began shadowing his father who worked as a tie manufacturer in New York City. Along with learning about darts and loop labels, he also learned the intrinsic value of taking pride in the work you do, whatever that may be. “There was a man whose only job was to press the ties,” Gary recalls. “I’ll never forget how seriously he took that job.”

While he has echoed his father’s work ethic, Gary adopted a different approach as to risk. “My father grew up with the fear that comes from living through the Depression,” Gary explains. “I was privileged. I never had to worry about a roof over my head or food on the table. I was willing to take great risk for great return.”

His risk-tolerant real estate strategy is detailed in his book, Investing in Retail Properties, which he wrote with young entrepreneurs in mind. The third edition of the book is presently available for purchase with all proceeds going to the ICSC Foundation – the retail trade association educational foundation. “You don’t make money on business books,” he says. “I wrote the book to help others reach their dreams.” He also brings those lessons into the classroom as a frequent guest lecturer at universities like Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, American, and George Mason. “If I can help one to reach their dreams sooner than they otherwise could have done,” he says, “the hope is that one day they will do the same for someone else.”

The responsibility to pass it on is what led Gary to Flint Hill’s Board of Trustees in 2013. At one point, Gary had two daughters and three grandchildren at the school at the same time. He wanted to give back in recognition of how they benefited from a Flint Hill education - particularly for his daughter Jessica ’17, who burgeoned into a talented artist during her time as a Husky and is now an accomplished glass blower and ceramicist.

“I was asked to join the Board because of my financial expertise, but there is a time to leave,” Gary says about his decision to roll off the Board. “Young, dynamic, intelligent people need to see a place on the Board and I want to make sure there’s a seat for them.”

He’s most proud to have overseen a growth in financial stability during his time as Chair of the Finance Committee. “Without Gary’s steady hand and visionary partnership, we would not be in the strong position we are today,” notes Head of School Patrick McHonett. “Knowing when to be aggressive as we were in building the Peterson Middle School and when to be prudent — in growing our endowment — is equal parts art and science. Gary helped steer us in the right direction at every turn.”

Gary will conclude his 10-year Board service with the unwavering respect of his fellow trustees, immense gratitude from the Flint Hill community, and hopefully, a little more time to spend with his family.

Since 2001, Jody Patrick has served Flint Hill as a coach, teacher, advocate, mentor, and friend to both students and colleagues alike. This year, the School surprised her with a special honor in recognition of her already immeasurable legacy.

During the annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day luncheon held at the Upper School on February 1, Director of Athletics Dewayne Robinson announced the creation of the Jody Patrick Spirit Award. The award recognizes a female student-athlete, coach, or faculty member who has had an immense impact on student-athletes and sports at Flint Hill.

“It’s about time Jody got an award named after her,” remarked one of Jody’s colleagues, Stephanie Batbouta.

For Stephanie, an Upper School Learning Specialist, the former Head Varsity Girls’ Soccer Coach, and a college athlete herself, working alongside Jody has been a privilege. “You want your daughter to be coached by a Jody Patrick,” Stephanie said. “She paved the way for so many of us as a pioneer in the Title IX movement.”

As both the namesake and inaugural recipient of the award, Jody accepted the honor by reflecting on the ways her life has been transformed by Title IX, the federal law that barred discrimination against women and girls in sports.

“My generation’s female student-athletes were the beneficiaries of the hard work of Patsy Mink, Edith Green, and Birch Bayh. Through their determination on Capitol Hill, previously locked doors have been opened for millions of girls and women in sports, education, law, medicine, engineering, politics, journalism — the list goes on.”

Jody grew up the youngest of nine siblings in the suburbs of New York City, as well as in the Finger Lakes area of Upstate New York. She admired watching her older brothers compete in team sports and developed an athletic prowess that rivaled theirs, especially on the basketball court.

When she got to high school, there wasn’t a girls’ basketball team so she tried out for the boys’ team. After making the first cut, she learned that the school had decided to offer a girls’ team. “As a Catholic school, the administration wasn’t beholden to Title IX’s federal mandate,” Jody points out, “but they realized that offering a girls’ team was the right thing to do.” Jody had the choice to continue with the boys or go over to play with the girls. “In the end, I wanted to be with my friends, girls who also dreamed of playing the sport that they loved,” she recalls.

Following a stellar high school career, Jody entered the world of collegiate sports, scoring more than 2,000 points for the University of Rochester and setting 14 school records. She went on to coach with UMass/Amherst, Georgetown, and Cornell before landing at the helm of Flint Hill’s Girls’ Basketball program. After 21 years, she left that post as the winningest and longest-tenured girls’ varsity basketball coach in the school’s history, leading her players to five state tournament finals.

These days she supplements her role as the Director of Physical Education and Lower School PE teacher by coaching multiple