www.lourdesfuture.org

Dear Graduates, Parents, and Friends of Lourdes:

The Lourdes Building Our Future campaign that will take Rochester Catholic Schools and Lourdes High School to new heights of excellence in the 21st century. Today, we ask you to join us in this important endeavor.

It is essential that we build and nurture the experience of Catholic education in order to continue as a vital and faithful community. The Lourdes Building Our Future campaign will enhance a learning environment that makes Lourdes unique in our city: rigorous academics taught within the Catholic traditions of faith, service and community.

The new school will have many exciting features, including a new adoration chapel that will both underscore the spiritual center of Lourdes for students today, and provide graduates with a chapel for the meaningful events in their families’ lives. State-of-the-art science education facilities will include an updated technology infrastructure.

Teachers are ready to guide and inspire their students. Students are ready to assume their places among the leaders of our city who hail from Lourdes. The hands of craftsmen and builders are ready to begin creating new spaces in which those students and teachers will work. Are you ready, too?

We ask that you prayerfully consider making a pledge to the campaign. Please review the exciting plans within these pages, and make your gift or pledge now.

Sincerely,

Msgr. Gerald Mahon, Campaign Chair                                                       Joe Powers, Campaign Chair

Larry & Luanne Koshire, Campaign Chairs                                              Jack & Mary Ann Remick, Campaign Chairs

Joyce Even, Campaign Chair

Larry and Luanne Koshire

Larry and Luanne Koshire are Lourdes graduates, class of 1965, and are parents of 3 LHS grads. Their granddaughter currently attends St. Pius X School. Larry is the General Manager of Rochester Public Utilities, and Luanne is a registered nurse on staff at Seasons Hospice. Larry and Luanne were the co-recipients of the Lourdes Foundation Alumni of the Year Award in 2000.

With long-time involvement in numerous Rochester parish and community boards and activities, the Koshires are pleased and honored to be part of the leadership of the Lourdes Building Our Future campaign. “We have always cherished the strong traditions of Lourdes High School and appreciate the opportunity to share in this exciting vision. We believe that now is the time to move forward and build for the future generations of our Catholic community.”

Joe Powers

Joe Powers was born and raised in Rochester, MN, and has three children who are Lourdes High School graduates. Joe’s entrepreneurial spirit has taken him from a beginning as an employee at Holiday Inn South during high school, to his present ownership of Canadian Honker Restaurant and Catering (SE MN largest caterer), and the Rochester International Event Center.

Joe has won numerous awards, among which are the Mayor’s Medal of Honor for his volunteerism, and the Spirit of the Year award from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. He is active on many parish and community boards, including the Shjon Podien Children’s Foundation, the Rochester Area Foundation, and is a Rochester Fire Department Commissioner.

In the Lourdes Building Our Future campaign video, Joe states, “I would just ask that each and every family prayerfully take the time to consider what type of gift you can afford. Any type of gift will help in this campaign. Keep in mind that you have the opportunity to be part of a legacy for the future.”

Jack and Mary Ann Remick

Jack and Mary Ann are long-time supporters of Lourdes High School. Mary Ann is a Lourdes alum, and Jack and Mary Ann are parents of 5 Lourdes graduates. Mary Ann is an Emeritus member of the Lourdes Foundation, and Jack and Mary Ann are ardent supporters of educational efforts at the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Mary Ann is involved in the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) as well as the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. Jack is the owner of the Rochester Athletic Club, and is developing the Cascade Meadow Wetlands, which will be adjacent to the new Lourdes High School campus.

Jack and Mary Ann strongly believe a Catholic high school is vital to Rochester. In Jack’s words, he accepted the invitation to be a campaign chair because “I believe we have an obligation to provide the facilities and structure for the future students. The system was there for our children, provided by past generations. It is our responsibility to ensure it is there for the future generations.”

Msgr. Gerald Mahon

Msgr. Jerry Mahon is a 1963 graduate of Lourdes High School. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Winona in 1971, and is presently the pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Rochester, MN, and a Trustee of the Rochester Catholic Schools. Msgr. Mahon has served in parishes, Catholic high schools, priestly formation work at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and St. Mary’s University, and has served the diocese in leadership with the Bishop for several years in Winona.

In Msgr. Mahon’s words: “My experience as a student, teacher, priest/pastor and my time in serving diocesan leadership leads me to have a strong conviction about the beauty of a Catholic High School education at Lourdes High School. I have many opportunities to meet students from the present Lourdes community and I am always inspired by their desire to know more deeply the gift of a purpose greater than themselves through their Christ-centered education. Also, I meet many alumni of LHS and they treasure their experience and know that this tradition allowed them to have a solid foundation in seeking the truth and following the One they love, Christ Jesus the Lord.”