By Betty Schoenbaechler

Special to the Bulletin

ATLANTA—The Monday after Marist School officially kicked off its $22 million Second Century Campaign, a new parent walked into the president's office to present him with a pledge card signed for $1 million. On Tuesday, the same thing happened. Marist School president, Father James L. Hartnett, SM, said he stayed in his office on Wednesday, just in case.

"This is the biggest thing we've ever attempted, dollar-wise, since the school opened in 1901," said Father Hartnett. "At that time, who would have opened a Catholic school for boys in Atlanta, Georgia? And then 60 years later, who would have relocated that same school to what was then the extreme suburbs?"

While the capital campaign's targeted goal is considerable, Father Hartnett and others involved in the fund-raising effort are confident it is attainable, and that once again, a monumental decision by the school will prove to be the right one.

Marist is off to a good start. The campaign officially began with an Oct. 11 kick-off event attended by approximately 900 parents and alumni. Pledges already exceed $16.1 million.

A successful Second Century Campaign will fill the school's needs for a new assembly center, an aquatic center, new offices for Alumni and Development, and renovations of the science building, Kuhrt Gymnasium and the Marist residence. The campaign will also increase the endowment for tuition assistance, faculty and staff enrichment and plant maintenance. All new construction is expected to be completed for Marist's centennial on Oct. 2, 2001.

This is the school's second capital campaign in its nearly 100-year history. The first, a $5.2 million drive in 1990, resulted in a new library and computer center, a fine arts center, and renovations to existing classrooms to allow for increased enrollment.

Marist is a private, nonprofit, college-prepatory school for 1,025 students in grades seven through 12. It is operated by the Society of Mary (Marists) and has a unique mission—to form the whole person in the image of Christ by blending three distinct traditions: the pursuit of academic excellence, the heritage of Catholic education and the spirit of the Society of Mary.

The need for a second capital campaign became evident after a study by the school's long-range planning committee identified several substantial projects necessary to prepare future generations of students for the challenges of the next century.

"The largest item and the one that convinced us of the need for a capital campaign was the assembly center," said Michael W. Trapp, campaign chairman. "There is no place on this campus where the entire Marist family can gather indoors. The school's one assembly area, the gymnasium, is not air conditioned and it cannot accommodate enough people."

In order to have an assembly of the entire Marist family, the school now has to rent a facility, such as Symphony Hall or Perimeter Church, or split the event into separate sessions. The proposed $8.6 million assembly center will house athletic events, assemblies and meetings of students, parents and alumni, Baccalaureate Mass and graduation, award assemblies and extracurricular activities.

The second largest project is an aquatic center, estimated to cost $3.4 million. This center will house an Olympic-sized pool and allow Marist to offer swimming and diving courses and will bring a variety of aquatic competitions to campus.

Another key project is renovation of the science labs, a $1.2 million effort completed this past summer thanks to a gift from the Guy Millner family. The newly renovated science building, "The Millner Family Science Labs," was toured by those attending the kick-off event. The facilities are now accessible to the handicapped, are equipped with Smartboards and new computers in each room, have white boards in place of chalk boards, workstations powered to handle laboratory experiments, and other modernization.

Also included in the Second Century Campaign are renovations to the Rectory and Kuhrt Gym and construction of the Alumni and Development Office, which is being displaced by the assembly center. Modernization of the rectory will help meet the needs of the Marists and the renovated Kuhrt Gym will be used for intramural sports, enhanced programs for seventh through ninth grade athletes and open play for the entire student body.

Through the capital campaign, Marist also seeks to enlarge its endowment for tuition assistance ($1 million), faculty enrichment ($1 million) and funds to offset increased operating and maintenance costs resulting from the new construction ($3 million). Additionally, the school's Annual Fund, which provides 10 percent of the school's annual operating budget, will continue. Ninety percent of Marist parents contributed to the Annual Fund.

"When we entered into this, it was with a great deal of faith," said Trapp. "Could we reach to that level? Could we make that much money? There was a lot of apprehension, but we had some early successes. I feel very good about our making this goal. The enthusiasm is running very high and we just came through a few years of a good economy. A lot of wealth was created over the past six years and people are willing to share that wealth when it's for something they believe in."

"We began this process about 18 months ago when we hired a consultant and began forming the quiet phase of the campaign," he said. "You expect to have 50 percent of your targeted goal raised before you make an official announcement. These are your lead gifts, and we've received quite a few of those. We still have a tremendous amount of work to do, however. In order to make our goals, we need an average pledge of $10,000 per current family."

To date, the school has received gifts of $3.4 million from 20 foundations, and five gifts of $1 million each. They received $150,000 from Goizueta Foundation for tuition assistance and $500,000 from Roberto Goizueta's will. The Marist priests and brothers have given $300,000 for the endowment for faculty and staff enrichment.

At an Oct. 12 school assembly, students surprised Father Hartnett with a gift of $10,000 raised from several years of magazine subscription sales. The classes of 1997 and 1998 also made a $5,000 contribution and 100 percent of the faculty and staff have pledged to the campaign.

"Our first million dollar gift came from a family whose youngest child graduated from Marist in 1995," said Sally Dunn, director of development. "They wanted their gift to be designated for the tuition assistance endowment."

The couple, Bill and Sue Buehler, were among those asked to participate in the kick-off event. Because they were out of town, the Buehlers spoke on video tape. "During the 15 years we were fortunate enough to have children attending Marist, we came to understand that Marist is a very special place. We could see the impact, beyond academic learning, Marist had on our children," said Bill Buehler. "We couldn't think of anything more rewarding than to help young people who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend Marist realize how special the Marist experience is."

As a result of the family's generous gift, six students—one in each grade level—will be able to attend Marist.

The capital campaign moves now from the quiet phase into full swing. Approximately 700 volunteers are involved in the fund-raising effort and many will be making personal calls to alumni and to parents of current and former students. Campaign materials and video tapes will be presented to Marist families in their homes. Like campaign chairman Trapp, as many as a third of the volunteers are parents of alumni who are committed to their support of Marist School.

"I am very confident about this capital campaign," said Father Hartnett. "I fully believe we will exceed the $22 million goal."