Fom the Dir or r

Dear Members of the Benet Family, Tose who attended our 19th

ect

Annual Auction Dinner, Tere’s No Place Like Benet,

followed the yellow brick road into the Land of Oz to enjoy an enchanted evening, graced with fellowship, fine dining and the opportunity to provide critical monetary support to the Academy. Te call for cash to assist those students in financial need yielded a robust $72,000. Proceeds from auction and raffle activities produced a most generous $255,000, which will be used this summer to improve and enhance our campus facilities. Tus, our 2009 evening over the rainbow generated a total of $327,000.

To help quantify the significant impact that the auction has on Benet’s service to our students, what follows are but a few of the many improvements and enhancements that the 2008 Auction made possible: new signage throughout the campus to provide better directions, and identification of all external exits for emergency responders; total renovation of the multimedia computer lab producing an additional classroom/ computer room adjacent to the library; construction of restrooms within the library; renovation of two religion classrooms; creation of two large classrooms in areas formerly occupied by Chem labs (now located in the St. Jude science hall). We are most grateful to our auction participants without whose support such improvements and enhancements would not be possible.

Allow me to switch gears. As we go to press, Benet’s Annual Appeal –Making a Difference – stands at $400,000 in funds received (Goal: $675,000). Tanks to each of you who has already made your investment in Benet’s mission to send into the world competent, confident, God-centered young women and men, ready to embrace life’s challenges and opportunities – determined to Making a Difference that matters.

Tis academic year, the cost of educating a Benet student totals $10,000. Tuition and fees alone do not cover that cost, leaving a shortfall of $1,200 per student. It is through your contribution to the Annual Appeal that we reduce the shortfall. We ask for your participation in this effort. If you haven’t already done so, please prayerfully consider today, a gift from your substance, secure in the knowledge that God our Benevolent Father will never be outdone by your generosity. You will find on the back cover of this issue the various ways in which you can contribute. Kindly keep in mind that many companies will match their employees’ gifts. Please check with the human resources department to see if your company has such a program.

Now I invite you to enjoy this winter edition of Benet Connections, to experience a sampling of the many ways in which we embrace life here at the Academy, so that “in all things God may be glorified!”

Joe Cannizzaro

Director of Development

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Joe Cannizzaro

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT ALUMNI

Jill Keogh

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AUCTION/SPECIAL EVENTS

Lynn Mertz

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT PR/PRINT COMMUNICATIONS

Patricia Peterson, Editor

CONTRIBUTORS

Br. Guy Jelinek, O.S.B. Kevin Lobkovich '12 Bill Myers '97

SG Human Relations Committee

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Lynn Mertz William Myers Lindsey Rohan John Taska Deb Wehrli HR Imaging

Benet Academy 2200 Maple Avenue Lisle, Illinois 60532 Tel (630) 969-6550 Fax (630) 719-0929

E-mail: newsletter@benet.org Alumni E-mail: alumni@benet.org

Benet Connections is published four times a year by the Development Office for the alumni, parents, and friends of Benet Academy.

Many thanks to those anonymous contributors who supplied various photographs and information.

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