VOLUME 22, NUMBER 3 FALL 2012 today.yesterday.tomorrow visionsSACRED HEART ACADEMY CATHEDRAL BOYS GRIFFIN SACRED HEART-GRIFFIN 1999 grad’s work takes him to the Olympics Chris Jeffers earns spot in London with McDonald’s hris Jeffers, class of 1999, didn’t compete in the C Olympics as an athlete, but competition and hard work did land him in London this summer. Beginning in the summer of 2011, Jeffers participated in a na- One of four McDonald’s in Olympic Village. tional McDonald’s contest called the Super Summer Series, which fers was able to get accreditation was an incentive-based program to attend the press conference af- that encouraged owner-operators ter Bryant and her partner, Abigail to increase their store’s transac- Johnston, won the silver medal. tions over that year. Once the When Jeffers wasn’t working qualifying franchises were identi- or spending time with the Bryant fied, McDonald’s chose a repre- family, he was busy meeting peo- sentative from the central, eastern ple from 40 different countries. and western regions as well as Jeffers was also selected to from their corporate offices. appear in a commercial. Jeffers was selected as the “I was selected as one of six central candidate. That distinc- people in the world to partici- tion earned him an all-expense pate in a promotional video for paid trip to London to work at McDonald’s. They did five the McDonald’s restaurant in videos total. I did a video called Olympic Village during the 2012 Friendship. Cameramen followed Summer Olympics. Chris Jeffers poses with Kelci Bryant and Abigail Johnston after their press me around Olympic Park and got There were four McDonald’s conference for winning the silver medal in syncronized diving. people to sign waivers,” Jeffers restaurants in the village. Two said. “We did 11 hours of filming restaurants were open to the pub- the public served 17,000 people already knew. for two minutes of commercial.” lic, one was for the press and one a day. In comparison, he says, a Olympic synchronized diver Jeffers is no stranger to hard was for the athletes. Jeffers was high-volume store in Springfield and area athlete Kelci Bryant is work, in fact, it’s his family’s placed at the athletes’ restaurant. sees about 14,000 customers in a the sister of Jeffers’ good friend, business. Jeffers’ parents bought “My days were spent serving seven-day week. Kevin Bryant. Jeffers spent a lot the local McDonald’s on North Olympic Athletes only,” Jeffers Jeffers’ trip to London was not of time with the Bryant family Grand and South Grand in 1999. said. “We served 4,600 athletes all work and no play. When he who made the trip to London, too. And the family is in the process a day.” was off the clock he got to spend “That was my favorite part, of building two new restaurants According to Jeffers, the big- time meeting many athletes hands down,” Jeffers said. on Wabash Avenue and Archer gest restaurant that was open to and spending time with one he Thanks to Bryant’s mom, Jef- Elevator Road. n STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Scholar Seniors Maria Mosley and Samuel Mounce have been named semifinalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program. Some 16,000 of the high scorers, representing less than 1 percent of the nation’s high school graduating seniors, qualify as semifinalists in each annual National Merit Pro- gram. Also, seniors Matthew Mannion, Glen K. McClain, Meredith A. McClain and Joseph Mocharnuk have been named Commended Students. Dear Friends, Fine Arts The GENERATIONS Campaign is nearing completion and we would like to thank Congratulations to the fol- everyone who contributed to this most successful fund raising campaign! To date, lowing 18 Choral and Band $8,082,570 has been raised in gifts and pledges. In 2013, we will create a final campaign students who were selected report and acknowledge all of our campaign donors at that time. A beautiful donor recog- for the 2012 IMEA District Honors Groups: Choral Mem- nition center will be installed in the foyer of the West Campus building, acknowledging bers – Chris Bretscher, Julie all of our contributors. Conrad, Ian Davis, Missy De- Marco, Ashley Eastman, David The popular GENERATIONS Walkway at West Campus is installed, and the East Cam- Evanich, Nicholas Gab, Kevin pus walkway will be installed this fall. We will add more bricks to the walkway next Hart, Emma Hylin, Nathan Ihlenfeldt, Ted Luker, Caroline summer so please contact the Advancement Office if you would like to purchase an McKenna, Riley McManus, engraved brick. For our friends who have a love for the arts, sponsoring an auditorium Joseph Mocharnuk, Pat Regan, chair in Dominican Hall is also available. Ariel Rhodes, and Luke Schulz; and Band member Emily We hope you are gratified to know that you have played an important role in this cam- Scheufele on flute. paign, and an important role in shaping the future of Sacred Heart-Griffin High School. Thank you for doing your part to make this campaign the most successful fund raising Athletics The girls golf team took third effort in the history of Sacred Heart-Griffin High School! place in the Class AA State Tournament. The girls shot 34- Sincerely, over par 322 in the first round, good for third after the final round was canceled due to rain. Senior Maggie Ambrose tied for 13th. Junior Hayley Reed Beverly Neisler, CFRE tied for 23rd. Vice President for Advancement 2 • Visions • Fall 2012 Annual Report 2011 3 Sacred Heart-Griffin High School ANNUAL REPORT 2011-2012 Fall 2012 MEMBER BOARD Dear Friends, Sister Rose Marie Riley, O.P. “Without a vision the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 Sister Barbara Blesse, O.P. Sister Rebecca Ann Gemma, O.P. Sister Kathleen Cour, O.P. Sacred Heart-Griffin has long had a vision of upgrading facilities to match the stellar Sister Kathlyn Mulcahey, O.P. academic, athletic, and fine arts programs that are our legacy. Through the grace of God and your generosity the vision has become a reality and SHG is strong for present and future generations. 2011-2012 BOARD OF DIRECTORS The renovation and construction has provided us with state-of-the-art facilities. Cyclone *Mrs. Katie Ambrose ’82, spirit permeated the City Tournament when we took home the coveted City Spirit and Board Chair Sportsmanship award and the Spirit of Giving award in partnership with Southeast High *Mr. Tom Bayer School. Student attendance at our spring baseball, soccer and softball games was at an all- Sister Mary Dominica Brennan, O.P. ‘55 time high; and our spring musical played to near sell-out crowds. Cyclone pride is bursting Mr. Kevin Burke ‘89 out all over! Mrs. Lisa Coakley Mrs. Vicki Compton ’79 Academic excellence and our community of faith continue to be our core mission. Mr. Terry Farmer ’77 Consistently, 98% of our seniors are college bound. Last year’s seniors, due to their high Sister Judith Anne Haase, O.P. ‘60 academic achievements, were offered $9 million in merit based scholarships from colleges Mr. Jim Hillestad all across the country. Our ACT scores continue to rank higher than the state and national Mr. John Jordan averages. The Class of 2012 produced 28 Illinois State Scholars and 36 All Academic Mr. Leroy Jordan Conference athletes. Thirty students from the Class of 2012 were members of the Mrs. Jennifer Ludwig National Honor Society. There were 191 students in the Class of 2012. Sister Kathlyn Mulcahy, O.P. Sr. Katherine O’Connor, O.P., President Living our Catholic, Christian faith is an integral part of life at SHG. All students take *Mrs. Michele Reavy ‘80 theology classes and participate in our quarterly prayer services and all-school Masses by Sister Mary Alan planning them, providing music, and serving as lectors and Eucharistic ministers. Mass Russell, O.P. ’49 is offered before school each Friday. Putting faith into action is essential and last year’s Mr. Richard J. Tapia *Mr. Jeff Tatarek ‘82 seniors performed 31,500 hours of service during their four years of high school. Mrs. Mary Jo Wasser ’67 Your faithfulness, by your prayers and gifts, make SHG an outstanding Catholic, Dominican High School. On behalf of the students, faculty, parents and staff, I thank EXECUTIVE TEAM you for your generosity. With your ongoing support, we continue to live our mission of Sr. Margaret Joanne Grueter, O.P. Academic Excellence in a Community of Faith. We pray regularly for you, asking God to Mr. Tom Fiaush ‘89 bless you. Mrs. Beverly Neisler, CFRE With much gratitude, *denotes having children I am sincerely yours, enrolled at SHG Sister Katherine O’Connor, O.P. President 2011-2012 Annual Fund Dear Alumni, Parents, Past Parents, Grandparents, Faculty, Staff & Friends of SHG, Thank you for supporting the 2011-2012 SHG Annual Fund! It is with much gratitude that Sacred Heart-Griffin High School acknowledges over 1,200 donors who contributed last year. Very soon, a brand new Annual Giving Donor Wall will be placed in the SHG Commons. It has been established to recognize those donors who sustain SHG from year to year by making a gift to the Annual Fund or Scholarship Fund. Each year, the wall will be updated to reflect the previous fiscal year. This wall symbolizes the sacrifice and generosity of many who believe in the importance of Catholic education. It is an ever-present reminder to our students that they have a wide-spread support system of alumni, friends, parents, grandparents, faculty and staff, and it is our hope that someday their names will appear on this wall in support of the next generation of SHG students.