Gilmour Academy Names Man, Woman Of The Year

From Gilmour Academy: Two loyal Gilmour Academy alumni were feted at the school’s annual Christmas at the Academy holiday party held on Saturday, December 16. During a special presentation, Neal Lavelle ’53, of Cleveland Heights, and Mary Kate Farrar Vega ’93, of Rocky River, were awarded the 2017 Alumni Man and Woman of the Year Awards.

Head of School Kathy Kenny spoke about the impact that both of these devoted alumni have had on Gilmour.

She described Lavelle as a steadfast supporter of Gilmour, noting that he was one of the founding members of the school’s Blue & Gray Society, which is the society created to recognize the school’s most generous donors, and has been a loyal supporter since its inception.

Lavelle’s son, David Lavelle ’89, accepted the award for his father and said that “Gilmour significantly impacted his intellect as well as his life and empowered him to develop his writing.” He explained that his father is passionate about supporting the schools that impacted him as he believes it is important to “give back a little of what he received.” He closed by thanking Gilmour for recognizing this “extraordinary, gentle and unassuming man” and shared that he hopes to instill his father’s lessons about generosity, loyalty, hard work and love of family in his own children.

In describing Farrar Vega’s tenure at Gilmour, Kenny discussed the deep ties of the Farrar family at Gilmour. Farrar Vega’s father and three siblings all graduated from the Academy as well, and her father served as director of development before passing the torch to her.

During her nine years at Gilmour, from 2007-2016, Farrar Vega served as the director of annual fund and constituent relations and then as the assistant head of school for advancement. Under her leadership, the department grew the annual fund from $500,000 annually to $850,000 during her last year at the helm. They increased membership in the Blue & Gray Society, built a new Athletic Center, hosted large school fundraising events, and worked to create a strong parent and alumni presence.

In accepting her award, Farrar Vega thanked her parents for the many sacrifices they made to send her siblings and her to Gilmour and shared the impact of the classes, clubs and organizations in which she was involved during her school years at Gilmour. She explained that it was her love for the school that made her want to return there to work, which required a commute from Rocky River each day. She said she loved the “classy, dedicated, wonderful people” with whom she got to work each day at Gilmour. She concluded by thanking her husband and her two young daughters for supporting her passion for Gilmour during her nine years there.

Image via Gilmour Academy