Classes of ’61 & ’71 Invite Competition

Classes of ’61 & ’71

Encourage Every Class to Start a Scholarship Fund

MAGAZINE ALUMNI COLLEGE HILL SPRING THE

Jack Gleeson ’61, above and left. Below, Brian Donaldson ’71 enjoys catching up with others at Spring Hill College’s 59th Reunion. Left to right: Brian Donaldson, Suzanne and Alfred Montgomery, Jerry Carmody.

THE CLASS OF 1961 STARTED IT. THE CLASS OF 1971 PICKED

UP THE IDEA. Now they’re both encouraging others to do what they did: launch a Spring Hill class scholarship fund. Jack Gleeson ’61 and his wife, Fran, organized the Class of 1961 Scholarship Fund at the 45th class reunion in 2006, along with Class President Joe Imorde ’61, wife Margie, John Brennan ’61 and wife Geri, and Mike Coughlan ’61 and wife Robin. In that first year, Gleeson said, the fund raised $75,000. Every year since has seen at least $35,000 in additional gifts from the class. The fund now sits at more than $638,000. It supplies $25,000 annually for five to 10 scholarships administered by Spring Hill. Brian Donaldson ’71 led the effort to launch a similar fund for his class’s Golden Reunion in 2021. “My understanding is that there are donations and pledges of somewhere around $54,000 to start,” he said.

He and Gleeson spoke of the lifelong friendships forged among classmates. “Our class is a very proud class that has stayed together very closely,” Gleeson said. “We have an email list of about 75 classmates.”

Donaldson said, “I have friends that I met on my first day at Spring Hill that are still fast friends today.” Both said they hoped for a flurry of other classes following their examples. “The school needs every dollar it can get,” Gleeson said. He had a message for all who heed the call: “Jack Gleeson’s rooting for them.”

CALLING ALL CLASSES

To explore the possibility of setting up a fund in the name of your own class, email Racheal Banks, Vice President for Advancement, at RBanks@SHC.EDU.

WINTER 2022