Art and Gaye Birtcher have been major benefactors to the Diocese of Orange. Mr. Birtcher co-chaired the campaign to build Santa Margarita Catholic High School and the couple later funded the renovation of the St. Margaret Mary Alacoque chapel at the school. Mr. and Mrs. Birtcher co-chaired the construction committee and served as benefactors for the new Mission San Juan Capistrano Parish elementary school.
Together they headed the capital campaign to construct the Sacred Heart Retreat Center, which is visited by 12,000 children each year. They were the founders and sole benefactors of two “Rely on Christ” conferences for the youth of the diocese.
Many of their philanthropic efforts have been directed to the Mission San Juan Capistrano, California’s most historic mission.
Gaye Birtcher is a founder of the Camino Health Center, an outreach ministry of the Mission Regional Hospital. The Birtchers also support Birth Choice, five antiabortion, full service health clinics and two homes for pregnant women in crisis.
Art Birtcher is chairman of Birtcher/Anderson Realty, a 70-year old national real estate, advisory and management company. He is a past member of the board of directors of the University of San Diego, Mount St. Mary College and the Orange Catholic Foundation.
Dean and Mary Calland
Dean and Mary Calland have an admirable track record of helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds graduate from high school and enter college. Mr. Calland is the president of the board of the Crossroads Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping at-risk inner-city youth in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Through the foundation, the Calland’s have made significant personal donations to provide 4 year scholarships for students of Catholic elementary schools to attend seven of the area’s Catholic high schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Calland also were the catalysts for the crossroads campaign to raise $6.5 million for the organization. They are delighted about the work that is being done by Crossroads. For a modest investment of $26,000 per child over four years, the organization achieves extraordinary educational and psychosocial outcomes. Dean notes, “We take teenagers with huge risk factors in their lives and get them to focus on academics; require them to volunteer in their communities; teach them to be leaders and set them on the pathway to college and careers.”
Dean Calland is a founding shareholder in the Environmental Health and Safety Services Group of Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir. The Callands have five children who are attending or have attended Catholic colleges and universities.
Jack and Eileen Connors
Jack and Eileen Connors are grateful for the impact that Catholic education had on their lives and they wanted to help others have their lives influenced in the same way. That’s why they accepted Cardinal Seán O’Malley’s invitation to head the Campaign for Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Boston.
The Connors have gathered leaders from different communities, businesses, academics and philanthropy to raise money to keep Catholic education affordable to all, especially for the poor and the newly arrived. The campaign is raising more than $90 million for projects leading to higher teaching and learning standards, increased enrollment and improved student achievement.
Many of the schools that are now thriving would have closed had the Connors not provided their leadership skills and resources to the campaign. Because of its success, the campaign now serves as an example for other Catholic dioceses facing similar challenges.
Jack is founding partner and chairman of Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, one of the leading advertising agencies in the United States. Eileen is co-chair of the advisory board of the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.
Both are graduates of Boston College. They recently gave a major gift to the college to help establish the Connors Family Retreat and Conference Center in Dover.
John Luger
John Luger has been a champion of Catholic education over the years. His leadership and financial support made possible a new $84 million campus for Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish, Washington. John was the driving force and catalyst behind this project and led a campaign that raised $40 million to relocate the school, which opened its new 50-acre campus in September 2008. John has been the backbone of strong Catholic Board leadership at Eastside Catholic.
John also was instrumental in supporting the Fulcrum Foundation in the Archdiocese of Seattle. The formidable foundation ensures that excellent Catholic schools remain excellent and affordable by providing tuition assistance to deserving families, by helping schools in need and by fostering initiatives to promote academic excellence. This year John chaired the foundation’s annual gala fundraiser.
John is currently serving on the Gonzaga University Board of Trustees as the new incoming Chairman and also serves on the University of Oregon’s Charles Lundquist College of Business Advisory Council.
Since the sale of Data Base, Inc., a company he founded, John Luger has been involved in many philanthropic causes, mostly in the area of private education. His faith-filled commitment to Catholic education is a shining example to Catholics everywhere.
Allen and Kathleen Lund
Allen and Kathleen Lund believe in Catholic education at all levels. They support grade schools, high schools, colleges, universities and parish religious education programs in the West.
Allen Lund serves as chair of the board of regents of the University of Portland. The couple recently funded the construction of a bell tower next to the university’s chapel.
Mr. Lund is a member of the board of the Catholic Education Foundation, which gives millions of dollars to inner-city Catholic schools. He is Chair of the Board of St. Francis High School in La Canada, California; the Lunds' Seton Scholar will come from this school. Mrs. Lund has been a leading advocate in pro-life causes.
Mr. and Mrs. Lund established the Lund Family Scholarship that benefits St. Francis High School students and Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy students attending the University of Portland. The couple has volunteered countless hours and provided financial support to the Catholic elementary and high schools attended by their six children. The next generation of 21 grandchildren is now enrolled in Catholic schools.
Mr. Lund is president and CEO of the Allen Lund Company, a transportation and logistics provider he has owned and operated since 1976.
Jerry Semler
Jerry Semler is an accomplished businessman who cares deeply about his community of Indianapolis, Indiana. His philanthropic efforts have touched the inner-city, his customers’ health, Catholic education and education in general. He sees all of these as inextricably linked and believes education is vital to helping people of all economic levels achieve a better life.
Jerry served as chairman of the Catholic Community Foundation for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, where he has been a tireless advocate and fundraiser for inner-city Catholic elementary schools. He is most proud of his work on the additions of two inner-city elementary schools. Jerry has chaired or co-chaired all of the capital campaigns for the last 20 years and has served on the boards of more than 20 Church-related charitable and civic organizations.
As part of a diverse group including key leaders, parents and the Indiana General Assembly, Jerry served as a member of Indiana’s Education Roundtable. Working together to focus collectively on critical issues in education, the Roundtable maintains a vision for educational change and student success throughout all of Indiana’s schools.
At Marian University, the only Catholic university in Indianapolis, Jerry and his wife, Rosie, serve as co-chairs for the “Make History” comprehensive fundraising campaign formed to advance the university’s mission of excellent teaching and learning in the Franciscan and liberal arts tradition. The Jerry and Rosemary Semler Endowed Chair for Ethics in Business and the Professions was established in their honor at Marian.
Jerry and Rosie are parents of seven and grandparents of 28.
National Catholic Educational Association
The President’s Award will be presented to Frank and William Dinger for their impact on both religious and school publishing and specifically for their lifelong support of religious education. Through their support of dioceses and bishops and their interest in bi-lingual publishing, they have had a significant impact on the way religion is taught today. They also have shown unwavering generosity as corporate sponsors of NCEA.