Highlights A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNAE, PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF LAUREL SCHOOL
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WINTER 2 018 | Cover Story: Laurel School’s STEAM Inspiration • Annual Report
Dream. Dare. Do.
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LAUREL SCHOOL
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IN THIS ISSUE
The private school
Long-Term Impact, A message from Ann V. Klotz . . . . . . . . . . . .4
that knows girls best.
Portrait of an Alumna: Terry Horvitz Kovel ‘46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 STEAM Inspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Highlights | WINTER 2018
Sarah Lyman Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2016-2017 LAUREL SCHOOL ANNUAL REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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Dream. Dare. Do. MISSION STATEMENT
To inspire each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world. Highlights | WINTER 2018 HEAD OF SCHOOL Ann V. Klotz DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT Benjamin Light EDITOR Venta Cantwell ALUMNAE EDITOR Julie Donahue ’79 DESIGN AND LAYOUT Laurel School PHOTOGRAPHY Kimberly Dailey, Julie Donahue ’79, Downie Photography, Inc., Binnie Kurtzner Pappas ’87, Neal McDaniel, Renee Psiakis PRESIDENT, ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION Kathy Perris Torgerson ’65 CHAIR, BOARD OF TRUSTEES Beth Embrescia ’88 Highlights is published by Laurel School for alumnae, parents and friends. Submit address changes to the Advancement Office at 216.455.3096 or bGreen@LaurelSchool.org Laurel School is an independent day school for girls, Kindergarten through Grade 12, with coeducational programs for two-, three- and four-year-olds. We are proud to be an inclusive and equitable school community, and we actively seek a diverse student body and faculty without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, handicap or disability, or sexual orientation. LAUREL VALUES STATEMENT: Committed to building a just and inclusive world, Laurel girls are courageous, creative, ethical and compassionate. LAURELSCHOOL.ORG
Downie Photography
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A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL, ANN V. KLOTZ
LONG-TERM IMPACT
E
ducation is a long-term investment. While girls grow from year to year, trading jumpers for skirts and passing from one division into the next, the impact of a Laurel education lasts a lifetime. Each girl’s education is a collaboration among parents, school, and community. It is impossible to know the influence of every interaction in that girl’s life. Sometimes, a momentary exchange in the hall with a caring adult inspires a child; other times, a year spent in the company of a demanding teacher helps a girl realize she is more capable than she had believed she was; a season with a coach teaches a young athlete to compete till the end, never to give in no matter the score; time spent with a buddy or a big sister reinforces deeply held values of empathy and kindness. Rituals and traditions in our school have significance as well, connecting generations across time.
I am grateful for Laurel’s powerful community: faculty, staff, students, parents, alumnae, trustees, parents of alumnae and friends of the School. Our girls benefit from the generosity and care of women who have gone before them, whose investment in the Laurel of today dates, in some cases, back decades.
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Schools change. We are not the school we were when Sarah Lyman, Edna Lake or Dan Jennings served as Heads. Our girls are as smart as girls were then, but the world has changed. Our pace is faster; the desire to curate an image through social media can be exhausting for girls. Colleges expect our girls to
be good at everything, and our girls expect themselves to be able to achieve effortlessly. These are pressures, but in response to those pressures we offer two secret weapons at Laurel School: Laurel’s Center for Research on Girls (LCRG) and the Butler Campus. LCRG gives girls, teachers and parents support and practical strategies to support and sustain girls and young women as they build strength and durability; Laurel girls practice resilience, learn from risk and failure and continue to produce throughout their lives. We know that tending to a girl’s social and emotional well-being helps her to achieve more academically and helps her to grow stronger. Happier children thrive in school. Research supports the importance of girls having time in the natural world; deep experiential learning at Butler allows girls time to make meaning by doing, permits time for observation, quiet reflection, risk-taking, athletics, listening and wonder. Great schools evolve, retaining those values that animate the mission. At Laurel, our work is to inspire each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world. We strive to be sure that our values— courage, creativity, ethical decisionmaking, and compassion—are lived each
“...their Laurel education shapes their learning and their lives long after they leave these dear walls. “ day in an inclusive environment where we welcome multiple points of view and do not shy away from conflict. We are intent on having a positive and enduring impact on the children in our care, and we take pride in our alumnae who share with us the ways in which their Laurel education shapes their learning and their lives long after they leave these dear walls. Jennie Prentiss had a dream about starting a school in which girls would be given access to an incomparable education. Sarah Lyman built on that vision and expected her girls to go out into the world and use their gifts for good. Almost 125 years later, the faculty and I stand on their shoulders. We are educating this generation of girls to use their voices, to advocate on behalf of those in need, to seek common ground and true paths forward, to lead lives of integrity. We hope they will invent solutions, listen closely to others, speak their truths, find passion and cultivate purpose. We encourage them to practice resilience when events do not unfold as they had hoped.
We have the great privilege of staying in touch with our girls long after they leave us—throughout college and graduate school and into their next chapters. Here, social media is a gift because it allows us to stay connected to these girls we cherish. All over the country, our alumnae give of themselves on Sarah Lyman Day; they mentor our Capstone and Protégé Internship students; they returned to school recently for STEAM Inspiration Day; they come swiftly when we call, and their lives and struggles and stories have resonance for girls of all ages growing up at Laurel School. The impact of alumnae on our institution is immeasurable. We urge our girls to put their gifts to use in a complicated world. It is my hope that their time at Laurel helps them to do so. We are fortunate to have such remarkable work to do, to spend our lives with girls who will change the world. L
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PORTRAIT OF AN ALUMNA
Terry Horvitz Kovel ’46
by Benjamin Light, Director of Advancement
S
ince 1953 the name Kovel has been associated with expertise in the area of antiques and collectibles. What began as a ten-page hand-written list of the marks found on pottery and porcelain has grown into an antiques empire. In spite of her ability to identify and value the rarest and most spectacular treasures, Terry Horvitz Kovel ’46 views antiques through the eyes of a mathematician, not an artist. “I see classification, not beauty.” When you know what brought her to Laurel School, her explanation makes perfect sense.
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Terry arrived at One Lyman Circle in the fall of 1939, in large part because of her skill in mathematics and a desire to learn. At the time, her public school did not provide a robust math curriculum and it was clear that Terry needed more. Headmistress Edna Lake recognized this and challenged Terry to achieve at a higher level. “Laurel changed my life,” she says. “Miss Lake challenged me to work harder and put me in a Latin class with other girls who had been studying the language for years.” Terry was equal to the challenge. In addition to challenging her in the classroom, Miss Lake identified another one of Terry’s hidden talents. Miss Lake administered an aptitude exam which revealed a small group of girls who were proficient with mechanical elements. Miss Lake took this group and taught them about cars. Terry was a member of this cohort and credits these skills to the building she did with her father when she was a young girl. When Terry married her husband, Ralph, in 1950, she was the one who knew how to change a tire, and she had Laurel School to thank. While at Laurel in the early- to mid-1940s, Terry was a goalie on the field hockey team, treasurer of the Junior Class and performed in the Senior production of A Midsummer Night’s
PORTRAIT OF AN ALUMNA
Dream. After graduation in June of 1946, she continued her education at Wellesley College where she majored in mathematics and philosophy. While she and Ralph were searching for furniture for their first apartment, they developed a curiosity about the markings on pottery and porcelain. This led them down a path they never would have imagined. In 1953, the day their daughter Kim (Class of ‘71) was born, their first book arrived from the printer. Dictionary of Marks, Pottery and Porcelain was reprinted 42 times and was the first of more than 100 books that Terry and Ralph published. After this book, they became known as experts. Ralph, whom Terry describes as a born salesman, pitched the idea of a weekly newspaper column about antiques and collecting to the Plain Dealer and the Cleveland Press. The Cleveland Press was enthusiastic about the idea and offered them a six-week trial in 1954. The column was a hit. It was written in question and answer format and offered people advice on what to do with their antiques and collectibles. At its peak, the weekly column entitled “Kovels: Antiques & Collecting” was syndicated nationally in over 250 newspapers. Over the years, Ralph and Terry appeared on radio, public television, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “The Martha Stewart Show”. In 1969 their own television show, “Know Your Antiques,” began airing on PBS nationally and preceded the British hit “Antiques Roadshow” by eight years. They ran their business out of their home in Shaker Heights, less than a mile from Laurel School. Ralph passed away in 2008 and today Terry runs Kovel Antiques in partnership with her daughter, Kim, who collaborates with her mother from her home in Florida. Terry still lives in the home where she and Ralph raised Kim and their son, Lee. Their home has been added onto multiple times and contains a library with over 18,000 books about antiques, an 1890s general store in the basement, and her own extensive collection of antiques. Terry is an active volunteer throughout Northeast Ohio. She is the chairperson of the Cleveland Euclid Beach Carousel Society and led the campaign to renovate the historic carousel on permanent display at the Western Reserve Historical Society. She is an honorary trustee at Hiram College, a board member at ideastream and WVIZ, and an advisor to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland Israel Arts Connection. Since 1970 she has served as the auctioneer, volunteer appraiser and expert for the WVIZ fundraising auction which has raised over $1 million through antique sales. She is also in her third term as a member of the Board of Trustees at Laurel School. When asked about the most popular questions that she gets from people trying to value their prized possessions, she says that people ask, “How can I sell all of the things I just inherited?”
“Laurel changed my life. Miss Lake challenged me to work harder and put me in a Latin class with other girls who had been studying the language for years.” or “Why is my treasured antique not worth $1 million?” To the second question, she reminds them that “condition is everything.” She warns people that everyone wants something in perfect condition and not to trust pictures they see on the Internet. “You always need to see something in person,” she notes. This year, Terry, Kim and their staff published the 50th anniversary edition of Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles Price Guide. For many collectors, this book is the bible for determining the value of what they own. The new edition features updated prices and a timeline highlighting 50 years of collecting. In addition to the price guide and many other publications, Kovel’s Antiques offers a monthly newsletter and a website (kovels.com) with over one million prices and reprints of over 350 newspaper columns. Terry Kovel, the 1984 Distinguished Alumna, is one of the unique treasures of Laurel School. L
Clockwise from left: Recovered church window in Terry’s office at home: Terry and Kim Kovel; postcard of “Laurel Institute.” Highlights
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PRIMARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL
STEAM Inspiration by Bella Patel, Associate Director of the Primary School and Director of Global Programming
“I WANT TO BE A CIVIL ENGINEER!” said
a Middle School student while learning about the problem solving involved in building roads. Walking into a Middle School science lab, I found a group of girls with surgical masks and caps. The girls were working with Monica Hoffman Shein ‘98, a nurse anesthetist, to learn about her career by practicing intubation on dolls. These hands-on experiences were just two of 26 different activities that engaged Primary and Middle School girls on the afternoon of October 11. The STEAM Inspiration afternoon was organized with the goal of encouraging girls to consider STEAM careers—science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics— and to mark the 10th International Day of the Girl. 8
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By putting 26 successful women from STEAM fields in front of our students, Laurel girls can connect with mentors and role models. Presenters also shared their experiences and career paths that led them to where they are today. Hearing that people come to their career paths and goals in many different ways, and that those paths can be straight, curved, or zig-zagged, helps our girls understand that they don’t have to know what they want to do right now. The idea is that they should keep their minds open to the wide-range of careers that are out there. The 26 role models, the majority of them alumnae, worked with Primary and Middle School faculty to plan activities related to their professions that would inspire our girls. Each girl participated in two activities. The activities ranged from creating a budget for a pet business to
designing flotation devices to learning about midwifery. A second goal of the event was to show girls how STEAM played a role in a variety of careers, from art to engineering to medicine and more. One presenter connected coding with teaching people to dance. Another presenter worked with cyanotype, a photographic printing process. While each girl did not sample every activity, she heard about other experiences from her classmates. In addition to participating in handson activities, a highlight of the day for the students was to explore new concepts with girls from other grades. Students were placed into multi-age groupings. Older girls enjoyed helping younger girls, while younger girls looked up to the older ones. Students also worked with teachers who were new to them.
LEARNING AT LAUREL
Collaboration was important in many of the activities, so learning how to work with new teammates was another benefit of the day. An unexpected outcome was the positive impact the day had on girls whose mothers were involved
as presenters. Those students were able to see their moms through their peers’ eyes and were able to appreciate their mothers’ professional sides. Not every girl gets to see her mom in the workplace, and this day gave some of our girls that opportunity.
As we want girls to aspire to any career in any field, female role models are vital to inspiring them to dream big as they find their place in the world. Thank you to the amazing women who made our first STEAM Inspiration Day a success! L
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As Laurel girls, we are all called to service.
THE
7T H
ANNUAL
SARAH LYMAN DAY OF COMMUNITY SERVICE In Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, NYC, Seattle and Washington, D.C. OCTOBER
7, 2017
Implicit in Laurel School’s mission is the expectation that each student take an active role in serving the community beyond Lyman Circle. Sarah Lyman Day, sponsored by the Laurel School Alumnae Association, builds on that long-standing commitment and encourages alumnae across the country to give back to their communities while meeting and connecting with other Laurel women of all ages. This year, an Alumna Big Sis met her Little Sis (young alumna currently in college) for the first time while volunteering! Named in honor of Laurel’s Headmistress from 1904-1931, the first Sarah Lyman Day took place in four cities in the fall of 2011. Since then, the event has doubled in the number of participating cities and the number of alumnae and volunteer hours has grown, as well. Over the last seven years, Laurel alumnae have sorted and packaged produce at food banks; prepared and served meals for the underserved; planted gardens; cleaned up beaches and public parks; wielded paintbrushes and hosted science fairs. This year, we volunteered with the following community partners: BOSTON – Community Servings CHICAGO – Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry CLEVELAND – Ronald McDonald House COLUMBUS – Friends of Goodale Park DENVER – Food Bank of the Rockies NEW YORK CITY – Part of the Solution (POTS) SEATTLE – Food Lifeline WASHINGTON, D.C. – Martha’s Table THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS AND TO SARAH LYMAN DAY COORDINATORS Trudi Gronbach Stevens ’55, Betsy Sweeney Backes ’78, Kathy Perris Torgerson ’65, Cindy Cohn Polster ’77, Donna Jeffries Cook ’89, Rose Babington ’04, Nicole Brown ’04, Margo Karipides ’91 and Heather Cargile Lakefish ’91. Interested in coordinating a Sarah Lyman Day Project for Fall 2018? Contact Megan Findling, Alumnae Engagement Associate, at mFindling@LaurelSchool.org. L
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A LETTER FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
2016-17 LAUREL ANNUAL REPORT Dear Laurel Alumnae, Parents & Friends, In this issue of Highlights we take the opportunity to thank our donors and volunteers for their generous support of Laurel School. I am grateful for and proud of the culture of philanthropy that permeates our School, from the 71 alumnae volunteers on Sarah Lyman Day, to the $3+ million donated to the School last year, to the 29 volunteer members of our Board of Trustees. A noteworthy example of the steadfast support of our community are the 175 names listed in our Evergreen Society, individuals who have given to the Laurel Fund every year for 25 (or more!) consecutive years. The impact of the involvement of our alumnae was immediately visible on the International Day of the Girl during our STEAM Inspiration afternoon, which you read about earlier in this issue. Laurel women answer the call to help with great frequency, whether to host events in their homes around the country, host groups of students visiting their cities, or to mentor Upper School students, young alumnae and each other at any point in their careers. Our parents and grandparents enrich the Laurel community by participating in events at the school, volunteering with the Laurel School Parents Association and partnering with us in our mission to inspire each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world. And, of course, every gift to the Laurel Fund has an immediate impact on elevating and transforming the Laurel experience for students, and gifts for capital projects or the endowment will continue to benefit Laurel girls for years to come. A milestone in this last fiscal year was the launch of the Strategic Roadmap: Illustrious Past, Innovative Future. I hope you’ve had an opportunity to review the strategic goals and follow the quarterly updates. They can be found at LaurelSchool.org/SRM. We are laying the groundwork for both an innovative and transformative future. Thank you for the care you show for Laurel School. Sincerely,
Elizabeth A. Embrescia ‘88 Chair, Board of Trustees
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LAUREL BOARD MEMBERS
Laurel Board Members 2016-2017 Laurel School Board of Trustees Members
Emeriti
Elizabeth A. Embrescia ’88, Chair v Lynnette Jackson ’93, Vice Chair v Daniel L. DeSantis, Treasurer v Mary Weatherhead Feldman ’84, Secretary v
John Batt Grace Grasselli Bowman ’49 Susan Walter Cargile ’60 Mary French Conway ’46 Christine Cowan-Gascoigne ’70 Louise Pomeroy Dempsey ’62 Sr. Maureen Doyle, O.S.U.
Victoria Anderson ’82 v Teresa Metcalf Beasley v Michael Bee Mark Biché Susan Collins Bosland ’76 Kristine Swails Bryan ’80 v Diane Downing v Marilyn Eisele Hubert Fernandez Lee M. Hoffman Pamela J. Isquick Carey Jaros ’96 Michael Anne Johnson ’64 Rachel Kirsh ’86 v Terry Horvitz Kovel ’46 Arnelle Martin ’84 Bruce V. Mavec Jacquelyn Nance v Melissa J. O’Dwyer John P. Reed Eliza Hatch Saada ’84 Nancy Phelps Seitz ’68 v John R. Sinnenberg David Fleshler Sandhia Varyani ’91 Richard Williams
Mary deConingh Emerson ’46 Heather Roulston Ettinger ’79 Ann Wible Gillespie Anne Conway Juster ’80 Frank Linsalata Catherine Dwyer LoPresti ’65 D Nancy Breckenridge McCormack ’48 Kenneth Moore Douglas Preiser Donna Reid Barbara Peterson Ruhlman ’50 George Sherwin Jeffrey Sinclair Frances Prindle Taft D
Ex-officio Ann V. Klotz, Head of School Katherine Perris Torgerson ’65, President, LSAA Susan Betchkal, President, LSPA
2016-2017 Alumnae Association Board Janet Abbey ’83 Susan Opatrny Althans ’80 Elizabeth Sweeney Backes ’78 Nicole Brown ’04 Gausia Chowdhury ’02 Donna Jeffries Cook ’89 Heather Cargile Lakefish ’91 Mhoire McGrath Cade ’83 Chaundra King Monday ’95 Rosemary Mudry ’02 Cynthia Cohn Polster ’77 Margo Karipides Richardson ’91 Maia Hunt-Ledford Rucker ’97 Nancy Wykoff Sharp ’43 Wendy Shaw ’69 Sydney Silverstein ’08 Katherine Perris Torgerson ’65, President
2016-2017 Laurel School Parent Association (LSPA) Executive Board Susan Betchkal, President Shari Brazile, President-Elect Kristin MacPhail, President-Elect Kristen Schulz, Treasurer John Malcolm, Treasurer-Elect Jenny Coyle, Recording Secretary Chastity Embrescia, Communications Coordinator Nicole Haas, Fundraising Coordinator Division Coordinators Janelle Dougherty, Pre-Primary Jamie Belding, Primary Cathy Richer, Middle School Nancy Mino, Upper School
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Executive Committee Member List of trustees as of 7/1/2016
D Deceased
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NEW TRUSTEE BIOGRAPHIES
New Laurel Trustee Board Members The Board of Trustees welcomes three new members for the 2017-18 year, whose biographies are below. This year, the Board is comprised of 29 members: 19 women and 10 men. Fourteen alumnae, many of whom are parents of Laurel girls as well, serve on the Board; the remainder are parents of current students, parents of alumnae and friends of the School connected in other ways. We thank them all for their willingness to give their time and talent in support of Laurel School.
Jack Koch A member of the finance committee, Jack earned his BA from Lafayette College and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. He is a Principal with The Townsend Group, a leading provider of global investment management and advisory services primarily focused on real estate and real assets. He and Holyn, president-elect of the Laurel School Parents Association, are the parents of two Laurel girls, Caroline ’28 and Mcgill ’23, and have been members of the Laurel community for nearly a decade.
Peter Richer A managing director for KeyBanc Capital Markets, Peter Richer joins the Board as a member of the finance committee, which he has served on for two years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. He and Cathy, a longtime Gator Bash volunteer, are the parents of Sloane ’24. Two nieces are current Laurel students and Peter’s sister, Cari Richer Ross ’85, is an alumna. The Richer family is very active with the Cleveland fundraiser they founded for St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
Laurence Talley Laurence and Stacey Talley, a banking and nonprofit professional, joined the Laurel community six years ago when their daughter, Hayden ’24, entered First Grade. A managing director in risk advisory services for BDO USA, LLP, a global accounting, audit and consulting service, Laurence is a member of the audit committee of the Laurel Board. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Mount Union, where he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees, and he earned his MBA from John Carroll University.
D Deceased
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Every gift to the Laurel fund directly impacts the Laurel educational experience, including: Faculty Compensation & Professional Development, Visual & Performing Arts, Athletics, Laurel’s Center for Research on Girls, STEAM Initiatives, Scholarships and Curricular Innovations
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CONTRIBUTED INCOME
2016-2017 Contributed Income UNRESTRICTED FOR CURRENT OPERATIONS $1,023,444 RESTRICTED FOR CURRENT OPERATIONS $134,221 CAPITAL GIFTS FOR BUILDINGS & EQUIPMENT $627,040 ENDOWMENT $347,593 SPECIAL PROJECTS $300,400 ____________________________________________________________________________________ TOTAL $2,432,698
2016-2017 Laurel Fund Breakdown CONSTITUENCY # OF DONORS AMOUNT ALUMNAE 862 $631,149 PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS 237 $202,099 PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS OF ALUMNAE 171 $140,598 FACULTY & STAFF 84 $12,239 FRIENDS, CORPORATIONS & FOUNDATIONS 15 $37,359 ____________________________________________________________________________________ TOTAL
1,369 $1,023,444
LAUREL FUND
6%
9% 9%
OTHER
OPERATING
37%
ENDOWMENT INCOME
76%
63% TOTAL EDUCATIONAL
2016-2017 REVENUES
SALARIES & BENEFITS
2016-2017 EXPENSES
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It would take over
$25 million
in additional endowment to replace the operating income provided by gifts to the Laurel Fund.
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438 Century Club Members contributed a total of $52,709 in gifts to the Laurel Fund
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Thanks and gratitude for your support of Laurel School. Highlights
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WAYS TO GIVE Thank you for exploring the opportunity to support Laurel School. We recognize that contributions come in many shapes and sizes. Your interest in supporting Laurel reflects a deep commitment to the educational excellence provided for more than 100 years. And, we couldn’t have done it without you! Every year the Laurel Fund increases the value added of a Laurel education. Classroom materials, faculty salaries, athletics, the arts, technology and more – all are enhanced through annual giving.
Benjamin Light Director of Advancement bLight@LaurelSchool.org 216.455.3027
Since the beginning, every dollar invested in Laurel’s $50 million endowment was a gift from someone who cared deeply about Laurel School. Thanks to an amazing investment team, the endowment continues to grow and grow!
Venta Cantwell Associate Director of Advancement vCantwell@LaurelSchool.org 216.455.3033
We appreciate the work of our volunteers each year; some serve as class agents and organize reunions; others volunteer through the Alumnae Association and work on committees; we recruit yet another group each year to assist with the work of the Laurel Fund. All are important and welcome; each one of our volunteers is an excellent ambassador for Laurel School. Over the years, gifts have touched every aspect of life at Laurel, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Don’t hesitate to call if you have questions or want to help!
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Maegan Ruhlman Cross ’03 Director of the Laurel Fund mRuhlman@LaurelSchool.org 216.455.3031 Beth Green Advancement Office Administrative Assistant bGreen@LaurelSchool.org 216.455.3096
LEGACY FOR LAUREL
MARY JANE DAVIS HARTWELL’46 Described by family as a “strong-willed force of nature,” Mary Jane Davis Hartwell ’46 was passionate about the people, places and institutions that she loved. Just months before she died, Mary Jane combined two loves when she traveled to Brazil, to cheer on a granddaughter on the US Olympics rowing team. In addition to her family and travel, especially to exotic places, she loved opera and Westerns. And, Mary Jane loved Laurel. As a student at Lyman Circle during the World-War-II-era, she was associate editor of Laurel Leaves, played Oberon in the Senior Class production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and co-chaired the recreation committee. After graduating from Wellesley College, she and her late husband, Shattuck, raised their family in Cleveland, where she continued to give back to the causes, organizations and nonprofits that mattered the most to her. She served for three consecutive years, including one as chair, on Laurel’s Distinguished Alumna Committee, and her pride in being a Laurel girl was something she shared with a daughter-in-law and three of her granddaughters. A Charter Member of Legacy for Laurel, Mary Jane not only established a Charitable Gift Annuity, but she also provided for Laurel with a generous bequest that will have a remarkable and lasting impact on the opportunities the School can provide Laurel girls of today and tomorrow. The School is immensely grateful for her care.
Membership in Legacy for Laurel is extended to all alumnae, parents, parents of alumnae, faculty and friends who make a provision in their estate plans to benefit the School. For more information about joining Legacy for Laurel contact Ben Light, Director of Advancement, at 216.455.3027 or bLight@LaurelSchool.org
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Laurel for a Lifetime LAUREL SCHOOL ALUMNAE WEEKEND 2018 | MAY 17 -20, 2018