3 minute read
Bronco Express
Summer 2023
Dear Alumni, Parents and Friends,
It is certainly a very bittersweet moment for me as I sit down and I write my last President’s Message to you. For the last 26 years, I have been honored and blessed to be part of the Montini Catholic High School faculty and staff. It has been an exciting and rewarding 26 year experience and I have had a wonderful 46 year career in Catholic education.
Cubs Rooftop Event | July 16
Bronco Classic Golf Outing | August 11
Drive-in Movie Night | September 16
Homecoming | October 6
Harvest Moon Howl | October 21
Memorial Mass | November 12
Fashion Show | December 3
Track & Field Reunion | December 16
Class Reunions - Complete listing on page 15
have a story?
Our Bronco Express editors are always looking for great stories about our students and alumni. If you have a story or update that you would like to share, we’d love to hear from you.
For student stories please contact Barbara Dawson, Editor and PR Director at: bdawson@montini.org
For alumni updates please email us at: alumni@montini.org
Upcoming Events Contact Us
Barbara Dawson, Editor bdawson@montini.org
19W070 16th Street Lombard, IL 60148
630-627-6930
@MontiniCatholic. #WeAreMontini facebook.com/montinicatholic instagram.com/montinicatholic
To receive your Bronco Express digitally please contact Michelle Ptak O’Connor ‘88 at: moconnor@montini.org
The support and generosity that you have provided our school community and me over the past 26 years has been sincerely appreciated. I am truly grateful to all of you for helping us continue to move our Lasallian mission of education forward by supporting our Annual Fund, Scholarship Fund, Capital Campaigns, Fund-A-Need, and development events – including the Maroon & Gold Gala and the Bronco Classic Golf Outing. You have also provided loyalty and support by participating in Career Days, Lunch and Learns, raffles and other events and reunions. Your support and generosity truly “make a difference” in the Lasallian, college preparatory experience that we provide.
I also want to express my gratitude to the Lasallian Brothers, the Montini Catholic Board of Directors, school administrators and our faculty and staff, past and present, for their support and dedication. I am very grateful to the Lasallian Brothers and the Board of Directors for the trust and confidence they have bestowed upon me, first as Principal (1997-2004) and as president (2004-2023) - especially Brother Thomas Harding, FSC and Jim Van De Velde ’70 who were the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors who hired me as the school’s first lay principal and then recommended me to be the school’s first lay President.
I have been very blessed and lucky to have been able to work with three outstanding Board ChairsJim Van De Velde ’70, Wally Weisenburger ’75 and Dr. Janis Orlowski ’74, two extremely talented, hardworking and dedicated principals, Maryann O’Neill and Kevin Beirne, several talented, hardworking and dedicated assistant principals and department managers, a talented, hardworking faculty and staff who are second to none in secondary education, and a talented, hardworking and dedicated Development Team. All of these individuals embrace the Lasallian mission of education and “touch the hearts” of our students every day.
We enter our 58th school year with Kevin Beirne as our 3rd president and Chris Tiritilli as our school’s 10th principal (page 6). After a very extensive, national search, our Board of Directors selected Kevin to lead our school. I could not be happier with their selection. He has my complete endorsement and confidence as does Chris. The two of them, along with Sarah Lhotka, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction, our Management Council and Board of Directors, will do a great job leading our school community into the 2023-24 school year.
They will have much to live up to as our 57th year of education was once again, a very successful school year. We are very proud of our graduates . They were great leaders and, as a class, have earned over $17 million dollars in academic scholarships and grants. We wish each of them success as they move on to the next chapter in their young lives. We also welcome the newest members into the Montini Catholic school community, the class 140+ members of the Class of 2027!
Again, thank you so much for all your support, generosity and friendship over the past 26 years. It has been truly an honor and pleasure. I hope that I made a difference in some way and that I touched hearts. I will always be grateful for God leading me to Montini Catholic back in 1997 and I will always be a BRONCO. All my best to all of you and, “May Jesus Live In Your Hearts…Forever.”
Sincerely,
Jim Segredo, President
In all issues of Bronco Express, an asterisk (*) follows the names of our legacy students (students of alumni).