Distinguished Alumni Awards Night
|
|
|
Pictured from left to right Dr. Bradley Mathis '87, MiMi Chamberlin '79, Sr. Jeannie Masterson '61, and Jim Hay '77
|
Archbishop McNicholas High School honored four of its outstanding alumni at the Distinguished Alumni Celebration on October 10. The awards are presented annually to coincide with the ordination anniversary of Archbishop John T. McNicholas on October 10.
The Full Stature Special Achievement Award
is presented to an alumnus who exemplifies the ideals and mission of Archbishop McNicholas High School and the Sisters of St. Joseph. It is presented to an individual in recognition of his or her accomplishments which bring honor to self and school and whose service, leadership, and concern for McNicholas support, strengthen, and exemplify the school's mission. This award is bestowed as a lifetime recognition and will not necessarily be presented annually. This year's recipient is Sr Jeannie Masterson '61.
Jeannie Masterson
graduated from McNicholas in 1961. Over the course of her professional career, Sr. Jean has also served McNicholas High School as a teacher, administrator, school board member for 20 years, and President of the Board of Trustees from 1983-90. While she has been active over the years in the McNicholas community which is comfortable and recognizable to her, she has been equally involved in other professional and service endeavors that have put her in places of need.
She was needed by her fellow Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille, and by women in general, to advocate for growth and change within her Order and within society. She was the first professional woman hired within the Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1974. For almost 20 years, she planned and conducted religious retreats for women seeking closer relationships with God through service to Him within the Order. She has held various positions within the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, including Provincial/General Councilor for the Sisters throughout the 1980s. She founded the CSJ Initiatives Board in 2014 and has been a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph Leadership Team since 2007.
She was needed by the underserved of our community to advocate for better living conditions in their neighborhoods, more opportunities within their communities, and more hopeful futures for their children. Sr. Jean has served on various boards such as the Social Action and World Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, to name very few.
The following day Sr. Jeannie spoke to the McNicholas student body and related the story of her life's path and challenges. Sr. Jeannie told the students
"I pray that each of you...will live fully, conscious of whatever values your God, your family, and your education have instilled in you. We're all in this together-your success contributes to the well-being of all."
The Distinguished Alumni Award
is presented annually to one male and one female graduate who have honored Archbishop McNicholas High School by their outstanding professional achievements, volunteer activities, and community organization advocacy. These alumni have shared their affection for McNicholas and its community and have been shining examples of high moral and ethical standards and values learned at McNicholas. This year's recipients are Dr. Bradley Mathis '87 and MiMi Chamberlin '79.
Bradley Mathis
graduated from McNicholas in 1987. Upon graduation he attended the University of Dayton, graduating magna cum laude in pre-med in 1991. He was then accepted into the University of Cincinnati Medical School and graduated second in the class of 1995. He trained as a resident in Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center from 1995-1998 and accepted a position as Chief Medical Resident from 1998-1999. After his chief residency, he joined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Associate Professor of Medicine and Primary Care Physician. He practices in an academic primary care group and has been recognized as a leader in quality care delivery for the past 15 years. As an Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency program, he mentored trainees in the delivery of quality patient care and in knowledge acquisition. His team designed a review and testing program that achieved improvement in standardized testing and has published this work in peer-reviewed journals. The residency has enjoyed a 100% Board pass rate for 3 consecutive years in part due to the work of his team. He has received several awards for teaching excellence in the residency program and at the medical school. In 2009, he became Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Internal medicine where he worked to improve access to high quality care for the complex medically ill residents of the tristate area. In 2017, he became one of the UC Health Associate Chief Medical Officers where he specializes in Quality and Process Improvement within the UC Health System.
Bradley had the crowd laughing when he related the story that only someone from Cincinnati can appreciate. While working at the hospital someone asked him where he graduated from, he replied "McNick." Of course they were asking about college.
MiMi Chamberlin
graduated from McNicholas in 1979, ending a high school career that landed her in McNick's Athletic Hall of Fame. After McNicholas, she moved on to Xavier University where she earned a degree in communications. MiMi's professional life has been about service to the various communities of which she has been a part, especially the community of Northside. Her various ministries have included peace and justice outreach, care for victims of violence, crisis intervention and assistance, and food provision. Indicative of her work within the Northside community is the "Miracle on Delaney Street" that she spearheaded in 1993. When Christmas presents intended for many of Northside's children were stolen, her Crisis Assistance Ministry kicked into gear by alerting the media and rallying the community - in one day, her Ministry raised $6000 in cash and thousands in toys to make sure that those children had gifts at Christmas.
Since June of 2000, MiMi has served the Northside community as the Executive Director of CAIN (Churches Active in Northside), managing more than a dozen churches and multiple community entities who work collaboratively in programming, capital improvements and community engagement. In 2015, the United Way described CAIN as "a good model for an emergency assistance program incorporating best practices of choice pantry, partnering with local farmer's markets for fresh produce, EBT usage, and public benefits assistance through Ohio Benefit Bank. The program is well integrated in the community with a number of strong community partners." Since the inception of the award in 2009, CAIN has earned a spot on "GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Non-profits" list. MiMi was named a 2015 Medical Mutual Pillar Award for Community Service Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year. Perhaps even more telling of her commitment to and respect from the community, MiMi was the 2013 Grand Marshall of the Northside 4th of July parade in honor of her twenty years of service.
MiMi had us all thinking back to her friend, and classmate Polly Powers Sandmann. She took a moment to thank Polly for everything that they meant to each other, and for the help that Polly had always been to her.
The Archbishop McNicholas Outstanding Service Award
is presented to a member of the community who has made, through years of tireless effort, significant contributions of time, talent, and treasure to the growth of Archbishop McNicholas High School. This year's recipient is Jim Hay '77.
Jim Hay graduated in 1977 from McNicholas from which he entered the United States Marine Corps and served his country proudly until 1981. After returning to the Mt. Washington area after his service, he attended the University of Cincinnati and worked two jobs, one of which was as store security at Elder-Beerman in the old Beechmont Mall. It was at Elder-Beerman that he met Connie Knight '79. They began dating and, according to Jim, "in a moment of weakness," Connie agree to marry him. Together the Hays have been blessed with 5 children - Adam, Aaron, Alex, Andrew, and Abbie - all of whom graduated from McNick between 2005 and 2017.
Jim was recognized becasue of his outstanding contribution to the McNicholas community over the course of his time as an alumnus. The most significant of his many contributions has been his spearheading the efforts to establish, create, and maintain the McNicholas Military Memorial and the connected Scholarship Fund as the Chair of the Military Memorial Committee. In 2008, Jim formed a committee of folks who had expressed interest and began planning, designing and fundraising for the Memorial. In May 2009, our Military Memorial was dedicated. A rededication was held in 2014, and another is in the works for the 10th year anniversary this coming spring. First and foremost, the names of five McNicholas Rockets who gave all in service to their country will forever be remembered and honored by our community. Equally significant, Jim and the Committee continue a dance that started as a fundraiser for the monument, that has now become a fundraiser where the proceeds provide scholarship funds, giving 4-5 scholarships of $1500 each. All incoming 8th grade students are eligible, provided they apply and respond to an essay.
One of the most awesome aspects of Jim Hay's service to the McNicholas Community is that he contributes with his presence. If you have been at a football game at any point over the last 15 years or so, you have seen and heard Jim Hay - seen him selling "split-the-pot" chances in the stands as a member of the Boosters and heard him through a rally cry that began as a cheer, but has now become a notice that Jim Hay is in the house. He wants us always to know that WE ARE THE ROCKETS!
Jim was proud that he, his wife, and his kids all attended a high school where if you needed to get down on your knees and pray for a classmate you could do that. He felt that sending his kids to McNicholas was worth every penny.
|
|
Connecting the Dots with Shawn Young
|
|
| Class of '82 at the 36th year reunion |
In this edition of Connecting the Dots, we are going to continue with a feature that we started back in May. Many of our graduates have opened restaurants in our community, and we would like to celebrate that fact. In May, we went down to Urban Grill and met with Betsy Wass Eicher from the Class of '75. I enjoyed the bacon and macaroni so much, that I asked Betsy if she would be kind enough to set up a booth for our Light Up McNick event. Well, it seems like everyone liked it a lot. They sold out very quickly!
Now that the rush of Light Up McNick has passed, I decided that I needed to take a little break, and go out and visit another Rocket who decided to open a restaurant. Tom Zins is a graduate of the Class of '81. Since I graduated in '82, I have known Tom for a pretty long time. Since I helped plan the Class of '82 reunion, we went down to Grove Park Grille for our 35th reunion last year. We liked it so much that this year we held a 36th year reunion! That's right, a 36-year reunion. It was on a Thursday night, and we had nearly 50 classmates show up to listen to one of our own, Marco Bianchi put on a concert that night. Maybe you can recognize some of the Class of '82 in the picture at the top of this story. As the alumni manager, I have made it my business to hold meetings at these restaurants, and have suggested that others hold class reunions there as well. With the Class of '78, who held their reunion this fall, Grove Park Grille has now hosted 7 McNicholas reunions!
If you have never been to Grove Park Grille, you are really missing out. The location is right down by the Belterra Racino. Some of you might remember it as the site of its predecessor, AJ's Roadhouse. Well the motel has been taken down, but according to Tom, he still hears the occasional story from the motel's hey-days (Names always left out). The restaurant's outdoor porch is one of my favorite places to go in the summer. I have seen many of you down there, so you know how great it is. I have come to discover something that, not in my wildest dreams, I ever thought possible... brussels sprouts are amazing! I actually tried them on a
dare and fell in love. In fact, that's what I ordered for lunch as I sat down with Tom. I have been on the Atkins diet for over 4 months now, and brussels sprouts are a perfect fit. Don't believe me? Give them a try!
|
|
Events in the news at McNicholas High School
To learn more about what has been happening on campus this past month, click on any of the stories listed below.
|
|
Alumni trip to Keeneland
The McNicholas Alumni Association is hosting the fourth annual bus trip to Keeneland. The trip will take place on Saturday, October 20. The bus will leave McNicholas at 9:00 a.m. and return after the last race. The cost for this event is only $45 per person and includes the bus ride to and from Lexington, tickets to the races, light appetizers, and beverages for the ride! You can also purchase a $60 ticket, that includes everything above as well as a seat in the Grandstand! Once there, we will set up a tailgate area as well.
We only have 6 tickets left for the bus ride package. However, we do have extra tickets for the Grandstand if you would like to drive down and meet up with us. You can either pay with credit card by
clicking here ,or you can simply contact
Shawn Young and mail your check into McNicholas High School.
|
|
Rocket Nation Event coming up on November 15
If you want to become a member of a great team become a member of Rocket Nation. Over 120 members strong at present, Rocket Nation is a group of alumni, current and past parents, and friends of McNick who are contributing to a Tuition Assistance Program for current and future Rocket families. We want as many students as possible to enjoy the friendships, experience a coed environment and receive a faith-based education.
As a member of Rocket Nation you will receive and invitation to be a part of three great events this school year:
1.
November 15, 2018 - A Night with our Principal - Dave Mueller. You will have the chance to join us for cocktails and appetizers and hear from our new principal, Dave Mueller. Dave has over 15 years as a principal at St. Xavier and Mercy High School before becoming the leader of our school in July 2018. Dave will share his vision and plans for McNicholas High School and open the session to questions.
2.
February 1, 2019 - Rocket Nation Night at the McNicholas versus Roger Bacon Basketball Game. You will join fellow Rocket Nation members for a pre-game party followed by a great GCL Basketball Game.
3.
Last week of April, 2019 - As a member of Rocket Nation, you will have the opportunity to hear from the prize-winning author Paul Daugherty. As many of you know, Paul has been a sports writer and commentator for The Enquirer, but has also written many essays and books about areas of his life. You will truly enjoy the evening.
Membership fees for Rocket Nation are $100 per and include an invitation for the member and a guest to the exclusive events.
You can join Rocket Nation by
clicking here or you can mail a check, payable to McNicholas High School and mention Rocket Nation on the memo line. You can mail the check to:
McNicholas High School
Attn: Development Office
6536 Beechmont Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45230
Should you have any questions, please contact
Mark Doran or at (513).231.3500 Ext 5141.
|
|
3rd Annual Alumni Blood Drive
Thank you for all of those who have supported the Dennis family (Bridget (Liette) and Bret class of '98) with your love, prayers, and support for their
now 4
-year-old son, Ryan. In June 2014, Ryan was born without the ability to create any T-cells, a vital cell needed in the immune system to fight off any type of infection. Ryan was diagnosed with SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency), a rare, life-threatening genetic condition, and the only known cure
was
a bone marrow transplant.
Throughout Ryan's health journey, he has received many different blood products from kind strangers who donated through Hoxworth. Starting at just three weeks old, he received IVIG (antibodies collected from the plasma of over one thousand donors) to give him extra protection against viruses. He also received numerous blood and platelet transfusions after his transplant. Ryan's transplant recovery would not have been as successful without these donations. Now, Ryan and his family would like to help other children and adults in need of these life saving blood, platelet, and plasma donations.
Please save the date of October 29,
2018
, from
5-7 pm
at McNicholas High School for the Hoxworth Blood Donation in honor of Ryan Dennis and his family.
|
|
Help us to honor our veterans
The McNicholas Military Memorial Committee would like to invite you to join us for the seventh annual Veterans Day breakfast. This event will take place o
n Friday, November 9. The breakfast will be in the Café and Student Union. To reserve parking spaces, please RSVP
Shawn Young
by November 7.
We are in need of some volunteers to help us put these programs together. If you would be interested in joining our Military Committee, please contact Jim Hay at 513-236-7609 or jhay279786@aol.com.
The committee does a lot of great work here at McNicholas. They host the breakfast on Veterans Day, organize a ceremony at McNicholas on Memorial Day, and host a dance in February. The dance helps raise funds for the upkeep of our military memorial and to raise funds for scholarships for deserving students. In the past
11 years, the Military Committee has raised over $80,000 for scholarships.
Five scholarships were offered last year at $1500 each. We would love to see you at the dance this year! More details will be coming as we get closer.
Over the past couple of years, we have been able to grow our military list to over 300 people who decided to serve our country. To check on our McNicholas Military list, or to see if we need to add someone to the list please click here . If you find we are missing someone, please email Shawn Young.
|
|
Annual Fund Drive is underway
The Annual Fund is, without a doubt, the most important campaign during which we ask for financial support. We are very grateful that McNicholas Alumni have greatly increased their financial gifts for our school over the last few years. Even though the Alumni have built great momentum in supporting McNicholas, we still need your new and continuing support to keep us growing.
We need your help for three reasons:
* Tuition revenues do not cover the entire cost of providing a quality faith-based education to our students.
* We compete for students with many public schools that have tremendous tax-funded facilities and programs.
* We also compete for students with private schools that have very large endowments.
The Annual Fund mailer you received provided you with the instructions on the many ways you can make a gift to McNicholas High School. Your gift will help us maintain the financial health of McNicholas High School for our current and future Rockets.
If you have questions or need additional information about the 2018-2019 Annual Fund, please contact
Mark Doran, Director of Development or (513)-231.3500 Ext. 5141.
|
|
Ski Club is open to alumni
Were you a member of Ski Club when you were a student? Have you always wanted to learn to ski? IF this sounds like something of interest to you, then Rocket High has a deal for you! The McNicholas Ski Club is open to current students, alumni, and family of current and past Rockets. Ski club happens on Monday evenings at Perfect North Slopes. To register online please go to www.perfectnorth.com. The club name is McNicholas High School. The password is - downhill. The deadline to register is November 14. If you have any questions please contact Mel Gaskins.
|
|
14th Annual Nick Erdy Foundation Dinner, Dance and Auction
|
|
Reunions for 2018 wrapping up;Time to start planning for 2019!
|
|
2nd Annual St. Nick at McNick Alumni Project
Time flies and Christmas will be here before we know it. The Alumni Association, led by the St. Nick crew from the Class of '66, is busy preparing for the 2nd annual St. Nick at McNick project to gift the needy at Christmas.
Last year, we raised nearly $3,000. It was a great first year effort and allowed St. Nick to gift 130 people. This year, we hope to surpass that amount in rather significant fashion by getting the St. Nick word out early and gaining support and involvement from a greater number of alumni.
To that end, we are asking for alumni support of our St. Nick at McNick effort. St. Nick's mission is to raise funds to gift and provide a little support to people in need during the holiday season. For some, St. Nick will provide gifts for Christmas. For others, the program will provide more basic necessities such as warm gloves and scarves, clothing, food and household items.
The number of people we will be able to help depends on the amount of money we can raise. We hope that many of you will consider a contribution to the St. Nick at McNick effort. As McNick alumni, we are many in number, and even small contributions will add up..so give a little or give a lot. Together, we can be a mighty force.
As St. Nick plans evolve, more details will be posted/released (agencies we will be supporting, dates, times, help needed, etc.), so stay tuned.
There will be many ways to contribute. We will need shoppers and a small army of people to help wrap and organize the gifts at the wrapping party.
We will be collecting contributions until December 6th (St. Nicholas Day).
Financial contributions can be made in two ways...
You can pay online by
clicking here or you can pay by check - which can be sent to...
McNicholas High School
Attn: St. Nick/Shawn Young
6536 Beechmont Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45230
Make check payable to: McNicholas High School
NOTE: Be sure to make note on the check that the contribution is for St. Nick.
Thank you for considering the St. Nick at McNick effort. St. Nick was a doer of good deeds. Help us carry on his tradition.
|
|
Alumni Updates
McNick Minute Podcast
If you are interested in what is going on at McNicholas,
check out
The McNick Minute the official student-run podcast of Archbishop McNicholas High School. Several of the segments contain interviews with Alumni.
Click here
to listen to these Rockets share their story.
Career Connector Program
If you are interested in getting involved at McNicholas, as a mentor, class room speaker, career day speaker, or many other opportunities- please know that we will appreciate any help that you can give us in this mission. We have a lot of great alumni already on board. To get started you can click on
this link.
Any news?
Do you have news to share? Let us know what you've been doing since graduation! Update your information by completing our alumni update form on the
McNicholas webpage or call the Alumni Office at 513.231.3500. ext. 5850
Ken Serger '69
is part of a folk/oldies music group known as
"Silver Strings" . After a successful first concert at
Sis' On Monmouth (Newport, KY)
, they have been invited back to play on Sunday, October 28. The show will run from 5-8 pm. It is never too early to make reservations. The previous show at Sis' back in August was attended by many McN alumni from the classes of 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969 and 2002. More info at https://www.sisonmonmouth.com.
Thomas Pfeiffer '70 Happily retired from USPS and living "back home," after living in Dallas for 25 years. Go Cowboys!!
Susan Rusche Ames '71 has spent most of her life travelling and living in over ten countries which gave her a great career in advertising. She now lives in Vietnam teaching at an International school.
Fr. Dave Sunberg '82 was named Director of Formation of the Permanent Diaconate for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, while still remaining Spiritual Director for the Seminary.
Jonathan Norman '98 is a lawyer for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. The Children's Attorneys Project (CAP) has 23 dedicated staff attorneys who are passionate about their work representing children. These children have been removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect. Along with 350 specially trained volunteer attorneys, we represent 85% of the 3,400 children in the foster care system. To hear him tell his story please
click here.
Two former students showed their work in this year's Hyde Park Art Show.
Natalie Corbett Chrystal 07 and
Bridget Miller '13 presented
their works in this years Hyde Park Art Show. This was the 52nd year for the art show. According to dad( Art teacher - Mr. Willy Corbett) "
Natalie has a love for painting with a touch of humor and fantasy. She wants to give it a go as a painter and would love to someday illustrate Children's books."
Alissa Huston '09 received her Master of Public Health degree from George Washington University in September 2018. She works at the Immune Deficiency Foundation in Towson, Maryland, as the Program Manager for a new and soon-to-be-developed Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) Screening and Education program.
Cheyenne Meyer '11 is a detective for the Jacksonville Sheriff's office. On Sept. 4, she was commended for her work. "These exemplary cases are a reflection of Detective Meyer's commitment to victims' of violent crime: her passion, dedication, and persistence has led to the arrests of numerous violent sexual offenders, unquestionable preventing the victimization of countless others. Detective Meyer's action deserves commendation and are a reflection of the Jacksonville Office Core Values of Worthy of Trust, Always Improving, Respect for Each Other, and Community Focused. "
Salvatore Marino '16 completed the Ohio-to-Erie trail, a 271 mile bike ride from Cleveland to Cincinnati. The trip was completed in three days spanning the entire state of Ohio. The Ohio-to-Erie trail bike ride was an idea first sparked from a conversation with friends when he was a senior at McNicholas.
|
|
In Memoriam
This list is generated from local obituaries and information received from the family and friends of our alumni and current students. Please contact the alumni office
if there is incorrect or missing information.
Alumni
Sr. Patricia Ann Corbett '53; Sister of the late Tom '56, Katie Corbett Machenheimer '59, and Daniel '61.
Charlotte Anne Kipp Shanahan '54; Sister of Mary Judith Kipp Pater '57.
Raymond W. Seibert '55; Brother of Betty Seibert Busemeyer '60, Nancy Seibert Feck '64, and Father of John (attended).
Howard H. Copfer Jr '61; Brother of Robert '62, and Barbara '66.
Thomas P. Hannon '63; Brother of Joseph (attended), and the late Sue (attended).
Patricia Rae Lucas Berg '66; Sister of Sharon McKiernan Schlueter '64, Nancy McKiernan O'Connell '65, Roseanne Lucas Klahm '65, and Mark '76.
Distinguished Family and Friends
William A. Findlow; Father of Michael '83, and David '86.
Robert Harmon; Father of Robert II '82, Steve '83, and Lisa '86.
Albert Havlis; Father of Thomas '72, Suzette Havlis Doll '76, Paul '80, and Mary Havlis Rogers '83.
Rosalind Lea McCafferty; Mother of Katie '93, Mary
McCafferty Dietrich '95, Charles '97, John '99, Dennis '01, James '02, Theresa
McCafferty Gregory '05, and Michael '08.
Jacquelyn A. Roma; Mother of Mike '65, Linda
Roma Fucito '68, Cheryl
Roma Klug '73, the late Dennis '74, and Angie
Roma Stevlingson '76.
William J. Shannon; Father of Sandy
'91, Lisa
Shannon Ahrens '93, Sarah
Shannon Comer '00.
Joseph L. Zistler; Husband of the late Mary '50, Father of Jerry '85, the late Mary '75, and the late Robin '82.
|
 |
|
