Francie and Tom Hiltz Ne Ultra Award

By Nancy Berlier

Francie and Tom Hiltz have lived their lives in service to Greater Cincinnati and, in particular, The Summit Country Day School.

The number of Cincinnati institutions benefiting from their stewardship is both notable and lengthy. Their efforts have garnered many accolades. Mrs. Hiltz was named Enquirer Woman of the Year in 2001. Both of them received the Cincinnati National Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee and both were honored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

But it was the Hiltzes’ significant impact on The Summit over decades of time that earned them the Ne Ultra Award during Founders Day celebrations earlier this school year. The award is given to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the future of progress at The Summit.

M r. Hiltz is chair of the Harold C. Schott Foundation, and the foundation has given many gifts to The Summit over the years. In 1990, the foundation contributed $250,000 to the Centennial Campaign. In 2004, the foundation gifted $1 million to the Middle School, which bears its name, and the school’s programs. In 2014, $500,000 was given to the Aiming Higher campaign. Most recently, $2.3 million to the Leading the Way campaign helped fund the Upper School resources program for 10 years.

“At The Summit, we like to emphasize our culture of philanthropy,” says board chair Tom Neyer. “Cultures are built over years, decades, generations, and nobody in The Summit family personifies that better than the Hiltz family and the Harold C. Schott Foundation. Part of the reason they are so effective at that is because they too are stewards of a great legacy. They understand the legacy that is The Summit. They are regarded in this community as being intelligent, engaged, thoughtful contributors. They have insights that help the institution become more durable, more competitive and more long lived.”

The Hiltzes also imbued their children – Allison (Hiltz) Kropp ’93, Peter ’98 and Andrew – with the notion that service to their community was expected. Mrs. Hiltz served on the board of trustees from 1992-1997.

Mrs. Kropp followed in her mother’s footsteps, serving on the board from 2012 to 2022 and chairing it for the last four years of her term.

“I learned early on from my parents that giving of our time, talent and treasure is something that we do,” Mrs. Kropp says. “It’s part of giving back and paying it forward. All their lives they’ve worked hard to improve the lives of other people.”

Head of School Kelley Schiess credits Mr. and Mrs. Hiltz with staying true to the mission set for the school by the founders, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

“ Valuing and building community are central to Catholic life,” she says. “We are called to care about the various communities of which we are a part and to be proactive about helping those communities achieve their purpose, maintain their stability and ensure their sustainability.

“ We are a blessed community because of the talent, the time and the treasure Francie and Tom have so generously provided us.”