Closing Remarks

Karen Firestone '73, chair of the Board of Trustees

I thought I was supposed to be welcoming you to this event. Now I'm a little late, but I'm sure you've had a great time; it's been overwhelming to me that we have so many people here and it's so fantastic. Who has been to such an incredible birthday party? I would have felt a little better if it turned out I was slightly younger than Commonwealth, rather than older, but I've decided that I look younger because the school is in that older building.

We have come here tonight to honor this institution that we love—its legacy as well as its future. One of my roles as chairman of the board is to help insure that we carry on our mission for the next generation of Commonwealth students. To that end, we have undertaken a capital campaign entitled Engaging Minds, Changing Lives. Our goal, which was ambitious for this school, was to raise $9 million. The focus of this campaign was to insure that we maintain our high financial aid budget and to support our faculty and staff. Tuition alone only covers 80 percent of the cost of education at Commonwealth. The rest must come from annual giving and our endowment, which, by the way, has performed dramatically better than the S&P 500 because we have had an allocation of 60 percent in cash and very high quality fixed income since the beginning of the year.

One month ago we had pledges for $8.1 million but needed to raise another $150,000 to trigger a gift of $250,000 from one our most generous donors. I am so pleased to announce here tonight that we have reached that $8.25 million level and that Michael Pucker, class of 1979, and Gigi Pritzker Pucker are donating an additional $250,000 to Commonwealth, to bring the campaign to $8.5 million.

We plan to attain our goal of $9 million within 6 weeks. With your help, we can do that. If you would like to contribute, please talk to Janetta Stringfellow, either here, at the school, or you can email her at jstringfellow@commschool.org.

I would like to say on a personal note, that it is a great honor for me to serve Commonwealth. I want to thank all of the fantastic Board members, who donate their time and energy and their financial support to the School. They are a pleasure to work with and they have been a great inspiration for me.Also, I would like to acknowledge te past chairs, from whom I have learned. Bill Sherden; Polly Chatfield, my great advisor and friend; Gerald Gillerman; and the incomparable Casimir de Rham. They have been such a wonderful part of this school.

 Thanks very much for all of you here who have been part of this great celebration and our great school.

William D. Wharton, headmaster

Thank you, Karen.

It's hard speak about fundraising in times like this without feeling a bit nervous, but having management such as Karen, and Alicia Manning, and Bob Murchison give to our endowment makes us a whole lot less nervous. Our work is important, and we need all of the support you can give. In addition to the campaign, which Karen spoke about, in the coming weeks you will be hearing about our Annual Fund, which, since it covers 10 percent of our operating expenses, remains vitally important to the school. It funds programs and projects that constitute the difference between our being a good school and a great one.

If you have given regularly to the Annual Fund, thank you, and please continue to do so. If you have not yet given but are able to do so, please consider a gift. Your willingness to help will ensure that we—or others—will still have plenty to celebrate fifty years from now at Commonwealth’s centennial.

And that is our program for the evening. Enjoy the desserts and coffee that are available around the perimiter of the room. We are bringing out the great mermaid cake here, you can come and get some of that. And enjoy the artwork. The artwork is for sale, and there are other matierials in the back, posters and the like. You are welcome to stick around and have a great time untill 11. Then we have to go. So please enjoy the wonderful artwork, the displays, and the company, and thank you for coming. Good night.