As I reflect on my two-year tenure as President of the Board of Trustees, I am filled with gratitude and admiration for St. Mark’s. Our school continues to be blessed with great leadership, a stellar faculty, talented and motivated boys, dedicated parents and alumni, extraordinary financial strength, and a passionate and committed Board of Trustees. Demand for a St. Mark’s education remains undiminished, and we continue to receive unprecedented financial support from the entire St. Mark’s community.

A tangible and exciting development of the past year has been the ongoing construction of the Zierk Athletic Center, now nearing completion and scheduled to open in early 2025. I extend my sincere thanks to the many members of our community who made this project possible with their gifts of time, talent, and treasure. With the completion of the Zierk Athletic Center and the related redevelopment of Spencer Gym and the existing natatorium, our physical plant will be largely complete, and the 2019 tornado finally in our rearview mirror.

In so many respects, we all stand at a unique point in the life of our school. St. Mark’s is intently mission-focused, with the entire community—administration, board, parents, and alumni—pulling in the same mission-focused direction. The strong sense of community is palpable.

In David Dini and his senior team we are blessed with inspired and inspiring leadership. St. Mark’s is so well-managed on a day-to-day basis that the Administration and the Board have the opportunity to focus on longer-term, strategic goals. Led by Scott Jolly and Tim Crouch, our best-in-class Development Team has invested 30+ years in building meaningful relationships across our community. Like the School’s senior leadership team, Board leadership represents continuity, consistency, and commitment. With unprecedented demand and unprecedented support from across the community, we look to the future from a position of great strength.

Yes, St. Mark’s is in a wonderful place in 2024, yet it is my fervent belief that our best days are still ahead of us. As we contemplate a comprehensive, multi-year capital campaign that will likely be the largest in the School’s history, we have the opportunity to fulfill all of the aspirations set forth in our strategic plan, Goals for St. Mark’s IV, and catapult the School to new heights. With our physical plant largely complete and up to date, we are in a position to materially increase our endowment in order to:

• Moderate future tuition growth to enhance access and affordability for our entire community;
• Increase financial aid in order to enroll and support the most qualified young men regardless of financial need;
• Ensure the ongoing ability to recruit, retain, and support the most qualified, talented, and effective faculty and professional staff; and 
• Leverage our already strong character and leadership ethos to a position of national and global thought leadership in the academic community.

There is no doubt in my mind that in the years ahead this community will conclude a successful capital campaign that will continue to ensure a bright future for St. Mark’s.

I want to close by extending my gratitude to our Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini, his leadership team, my Board colleagues, the St. Mark’s faculty and staff, and the hundreds of parents and alumni who support St. Mark’s with their time, talent and treasure. Your servant leadership and your commitment to St. Mark’s inspire me every day. As an alumnus, as a parent of two graduates, and as President of the Board of Trustees, I am grateful for this entire community. It has been my highest honor and privilege to work alongside you to move St. Mark’s forward. In the words of our Alma Mater,

“Oh St. Mark’s, Oh St. Mark’s,
Marksmen you acclaim;
Ever greater may you rise,  
Endless be your fame.”