Salute to Catholic School Alumni 2-9-12

‘Salute’ honors Catholic school grads

By GLENN RUTHERFORD

Record Editor

Michael B. McCallister, chairman and chief executive officer of Humana, Inc., is the winner of this year’s Community Service Award.
Richard A. Lechleiter is chairman of the Catholic Education Foundation and executive vice president and chief financial officer of Kindred Healthcare, Inc.

Last year’s Salute to Catholic School Alumni raised more than $355,000 — which was a record for the 22-year-old event.

But Richard A. Lechleiter, chairman of the Catholic Education Foundation (CEF), says last year’s significant fund-raising total represents a record destined to fall.

“This year’s goal is $600,000,” said Lechleiter, who is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Kin-dred Healthcare, Inc. “That’s a remarkable number, and it represents support we’re receiving that’s just unbelievable.”

Lechleiter said the $600,000 goal is dramatic “and perhaps might be just out of our reach.”

“But we’re clearly going to hit $500,000 this year, and 
that means that the 22nd annual Salute to Catholic Education will be the biggest one this community has ever seen,” he added.

That increased support in 
no way represents an upper limit, or top, to the Catholic 
Education Foundation’s efforts, he was quick to note.

“In no way, shape or form have we capped this thing out,” he said. “We said we’re going 
to grow the foundation, and we’re doing what we said we’d do. We’re growing in a very 
dramatic way.”

The goal of the CEF, according to its executive director, Rosemary Bisig Smith, is to raise $5 million over the next five years. By the year 2016, 
the foundation hopes to begin awarding $3 million annually 
in tuition assistance and grants.

And that, said Lechleiter, is the bottom line to the efforts of the CEF and the support it
receives from the Salute.

“Everything we do is for the benefit of these kids in (Catholic) elementary and high schools,” he said. “And it’s a growing obligation. We have to raise more money; we really don’t have an option if we expect our schools to sustain themselves.”

The efforts of the CEF — and the Salute — have always enjoyed broad support within the area’s Catholic community. And Lechleiter noted that the broader business community is joining that support — and that, he said, “is propelling our growth.”

“Employers clearly understand the value of Catholic education; they see it in their own workforce,” he explained.

This year’s Salute will be held at 7 p.m. March 14 at the Galt House Hotel & Suites in downtown Louisville.

The keynote speaker will be Louisville’s own David A. Jones, founder and chairman emeritus of Humana, Inc.

In addition to the Catholic school alumni to be recognized at the Salute, two other awards will be presented — the Community Service Award will be given to Michael B. McCallister, chairman and chief executive officer of Humana, Inc., and the Father Joseph McGee Award, given each year to an outstanding Catholic educator. This year’s winner is Mary Jane Spaulding of St. Dominic School in Springfield, Ky. She will be the subject of an article in an upcoming issue of The Record.

The seven Catholic school graduates to be honored this year are:

Mary Carmel Borders, president of the Tapestry Foundation of Austin, Tx. She is a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy and has been president of the Tapestry Foundation — a private family foundation that supports literacy-based projects — since 1992. She is active in dozens of literacy organizations and has worked to improve early childhood education in day care centers.
The former Mary Carmel Mudd attended Holy Spirit School and Sacred Heart Academy. She entered Ursuline College and later transferred to the University of Michigan, earning a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education. She then taught English and was women’s varsity basketball head coach at St. Thomas High School in Ann Arbor. In 1974, Borders returned to the University of Michigan as head coach of women’s varsity basketball. After three seasons, she resumed high school teaching and raised her family. Her community involvement is extensive, and she has served as chair of the National Institute for Literacy.
Borders and her husband, Tom, have three children and seven grandchildren and live in Austin.

Laura A. Dills, a graduate of Presentation Academy and Spalding University, has for more than eight years worked with Catholic Relief Services — the U.S. Catholic community’s international humanitarian agency. Her work with CRS helps the organization in its mission to assist impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas and also promotes the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. Dills’ CRS service has included working with some of the world’s most disadvantaged people in nations such as Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, the Congo, Haiti, Rwanda and India. She is now the “country representative” for Catholic Relief Services in Madagascar.
She graduated from St. Aloysius School in Shepherdsville, Ky., and holds a bachelor’s degree in English and psychology from Spalding. She also has a master’s in development management from American University’s School of International Service and earned an M.B.A. from Regis University while working at CRS.

Charles J. Kane is a partner in 2nd Generation Capital. He attended St. Raphael School before graduating from Our Lady of Lourdes School, Trinity High School and Indiana University, where he earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He has spent his professional life in the investment field and for the last 11 years has been a partner in 2nd Generation Capital in Louisville.
Kane has volunteered in a variety of community organizations. At IU, Kane was a member of the university’s Big Ten Conference championship tennis team in 1964. He has served as vice chairman of the Trinity High School Foundation and has also been chairman of the foundation’s investment committee. He is a member of the Financial Advisory Committee of the Archdiocese of Louisville and serves on the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Louisville. He is married to the former Robyn Carsten and has two daughters, Laurie and Audrey.

Bishop William F. Medley of the Diocese of Owensboro, Ky., was pastor of St. Bernadette Church in Louisville when he was called to serve the church in Western Kentucky. He was ordained the fourth bishop of Owensboro on Feb. 10, 2010, and now leads a diocese of 51,780 Catholics in 32 counties. He was born in 1952 and attended elementary school at St. Francis of Assisi School in Marion County.
Bishop Medley was ordained a priest in 1982 by the late Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly. As a young priest, he served as chaplain at Assumption High School and became associate pastor at St. Pius X Church and then held the same post at the Cathedral of the Assumption. In 1993, Bishop Medley was appointed pastor of the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral and administrator of St. Monica Church, both in Bardstown. When he returned to the Louisville area, he became pastor of Mother of Good Counsel and Transfiguration churches and guided their merger into the current St. Bernadette parish.
While serving as a priest of the Archdiocese of Louis-ville, Bishop Medley served in the College of Consultors, the Priests’ Council and the Priests’ Personnel Board. He is also a past board member of the Catholic Education Foundation.

David H. Miles is chief executive officer of Process Machinery, Inc., and is a graduate of DeSales High School. Process Machinery is a supplier of mineral processing systems and support services to the crushed stone, sand and gravel, asphalt, concrete and coal industries. Miles has served his Shelbyville-based firm’s customers for 32 years, and his involvement in community and civic affairs has been extensive.
During his years at St. Rita School and at DeSales, he said, he learned to value commitment, dedication, tradition and mentoring more than money, recognition and glory. Miles holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Louisville.
His volunteer activities are numerous and include various posts at his parish, St. Michael Church, and at the Board of Directors and the Finance Committee of DeSales High School, Shelby County Metro United Way, Shelby County Red Cross, Boys’ Haven and the Boy Scouts of America/Lincoln Heritage Council. Miles and his wife Linda have three children, Jennifer, Laura and Daniel, and live in Finchville, Ky.

James W. Stuckert, former chairman and chief executive officer of J.J.B. Hilliard, W. L. Lyons LLC, is a graduate of St. Xavier High School, and his Catholic education is extensive. He attended Mount Mercy Academy in Pewee Valley, Ky., and St. Aloysius School there, too. He also attended St. Joe Prep in Bardstown before graduating from St. Xavier. Stuckert is now a member of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees. He chaired the university’s recent capital campaign, which raised more than $1 billion. Stuckert is a UK Fellow and a 1960 graduate of UK with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in business administration. He joined W. L. Lyons & Company in 1961, and after its merger with J.J.B. Hilliard, he became a partner and rose to be chairman of the board of the corporation. Stuckert and his wife, the former Diane Vittitow of Owensboro, along with their three children — Steve, Susie and Scott — are all graduates of UK.

Scott Wiegandt is in his seventh year as director of athletics at Bellarmine University and is a graduate of Holy Cross High School, where his wife, Danielle, is now principal. During his tenure at Bellarmine, the school’s athletic teams have risen to national prominence, with the Knights winning the Division II title in men’s basketball last year. The university has also hosted multiple national championships. Wiegandt attended St. Polycarp School, Holy Cross High School and Bellarmine University.
Wiegandt was a talented baseball player and began his affiliation with Bellarmine as a student and a pitcher for the Knights. He was an NCAA Division II All-American in 1989, the same year he earned his degree in biology. Selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1989 draft, he began a 10-year professional baseball career. Danielle and Scott Wiegandt have three children — Caleb, Callie and Cole.

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