The Catholic Education Foundation’s 35th annual Salute to Catholic School Alumni Dinner set another record, netting $1.7 million for tuition assistance.
This is the 16th consecutive year the dinner has set a fundraising record, said Richard A. Lechleiter, the foundation’s president. Lechleiter emceed the event that drew about 1,600 people on March 18 to the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville.
Lechleiter also announced the public phase of “The Answer is Yes! For Everyone. Forever.” — a $100 million capital campaign. The campaign received $80 million in commitments from donors during a five-year silent phase, said Lechleiter.
Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre delivered opening remarks saying he is “deeply” grateful to the foundation and to all who support Catholic education. He told the gathering that Catholic education is the “largest ministry we undertake in the archdiocese.”
“It’s deserving of our support and prayers,” he said.
‘I wouldn’t be the coach, citizen or father I am today without the influence of Catholic education.’
— Jeff Brohm, head football coach for the University of Louisville
The sold-out event honored six alumni of Catholic schools — Bishop J. Mark Spalding, Gregory A. DeMuth, Jennifer Black Hans, William E. Mudd, Donna L. Heitzman and E. John Raque III. The foundation also presented the Community Service Award to Charles H. Leis, board chair of EdChoice Kentucky. Emily H. McCarty, a teacher at Holy Spirit School, received the Father Joseph McGee Outstanding Catholic Educator Award.
Keynote speaker Jeff Brohm, head football coach for the University of Louisville, had the packed ballroom laughing and applauding as he shared various stories from his football career. Brohm told his listeners the salute event is special to him because of the “impact Catholic education has had on me and my family.”
“I wouldn’t be the coach, citizen or father I am today without the influence of Catholic education,” he said.
He shared with those gathered that the “wisdom” of his teachers and coaches at St. Bernard School and Trinity High School guides his decisions even today. He coaches his team at the University of Louisville in the same way he was coached at St. Bernard and Trinity, he noted.
The “morals and principles” he learned while playing football at Trinity guide his team now, he said. When he faces a problem in his coaching career, he oftentimes asks “ ‘What did we do at Trinity?’ And that’s what we do,” he said.
Brohm said another benefit of Catholic education is the community that you become a part of. He noted that though there’s rivalry between teams, there is mutual respect and the teams root for each other off the field.
“It’s like brothers playing and fighting in the backyard,” he said. “It’s true friendly rivalry.”
The Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Louisville has supported him no matter where he was, he said. After graduating from the University of Louisville, Brohm played for seven seasons in the NFL. He later coached football teams at Western Kentucky University and Purdue University. He returned to Louisville in 2022.
“We felt the support. People had our backs no matter where we were,” he said.
During the dinner, nine high school students were presented with the Father John H. Morgan Scholarships during the dinner. They are: Caroline Pringle, Assumption High School; Christopher Spalding, Bethlehem High School; Garrett Lee Craig, DeSales High School; Breaze O’Neal, Holy Cross High School; Kyndal Wintergerst-Weston, Mercy Academy; Marie Laracy, Presentation Academy; Arabella Guerrero, Sacred Heart Academy; Henry Corbell, St. Xavier High School; and Jaiden Robinson, Trinity High School.
