Letter from the Chairman of the Foundation

As alumni of Saint Gertrude and Benedictine and current board members, we are incredibly honored to play a small part in the future of these two incredible schools.

When Scott was asked to chair the Benedictine Schools Educational Foundation Board of Directors, he accepted with a resounding “YES!”. Likewise, I am honored to serve on the schools’ Board of Trustees and on the committee that researched the implementation of a coordinate program that we now enjoy with both schools on campus. Saint Gertrude and Benedictine played important roles in our lives. Our family’s connection to these two schools’ dates back to the 1930s when Scott’s grandfather first walked the halls of Benedictine. On September 7, 1980, at the beginning of my sophomore year at Saint Gertrude, my father died suddenly due to complications from Acromegaly. My brother was a senior at Benedictine when this happened, and both schools worked closely with my mother so nothing would change during these formative years.

I have always credited the community of the two schools with getting me through one of the most difficult periods of my life. Scott and I credit the foundation we were given in Catholic Education for the people we are today, and the success we have had in our business, Automatic Leasing Service. We have had parents, cousins, siblings, nieces, and nephews graduate from the schools, and we are now able to pass on the gift of a Benedictine education to our sons (Phillip ’19 and John ’21).

We are proud alumni who are even more proud of this incredible community for its faithfulness, support, and dedication to our alma maters, most recently in the very successful Campaign for Benedictine. The success of this campaign now benefits both of our schools and all Catholic education in Central Virginia. While athletics have looked different in 2020, current Saint Gertrude and Benedictine students are enjoying the fruits of this campaign by playing basketball and volleyball in the new gymnasium. Furthermore, school masses, military ceremonies, prayer services, and other special events have also taken place in the new pavilion. We are certain the McMurtrieReynolds Pavilion will one day soon host city-wide and state tournaments and special events for the Gators and Cadets for years to come. It is because of you, our loyal supporters, that all of it is possible. Thank you all for your selfless generosity.

As we look toward the future, we are overwhelmed with excitement about our growing campus and the evolution of the brotherhood and sisterhood between Benedictine and Saint Gertrude. While the current Cadets have graciously shared their school building with the Gators, we eagerly anticipate Saint Gertrude’s new building, which is expected to be completed in 2022. The unification of our two beloved alma maters not only makes our expansion possible but ensures single-sex Catholic education in the Richmond area for years to come. We enthusiastically await the day for construction crews to bring the girls’ new facility out of the ground, but we will need this incredible community of supporters on board to help it all come to fruition.

We are confident in the future of Benedictine and Saint Gertrude and look forward to the day we see two bell towers along route 288. We can see it now…can you?

Maria Loehr Carreras SGHS ’83 and J. Scott Carreras BHS ’88