Distinguished Service

The moment you meet Anne Michele Lyons Kuhns, Class of 1987, you instantly recognize that she is a true servant leader. With her “can do, will do” attitude, attention to detail, and incredible love of the school, she has served Foxcroft with distinction since she became a part of our community as a freshman in 1983. 

From the very start, Anne Michele contributed in important ways to the community of Foxcroft. The Tally Ho! lists her many activities and honors: field hockey, the Archaeology Club, CAPS, French Club, Southern Club, and the Cum Laude Society. She was a Class Officer, the Fox Manager, and a “Golden Oldie.” She clearly loved horses, riding, and the equestrian culture. She won the Math Award and earned High Honors for her senior year. Her superlative within her class was “Studies the most,” a testament to her innate ability to learn, understand, and master whatever was (and is) in front of her.

After Foxcroft, she attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and Math in 1991. In her professional career, she started on the banking side of municipal fixed income and, within several years, moved into trading municipal derivatives. Anne Michele retired in 2005 after serving as Managing Director and Principal at Bear, Stearns, & Co. Inc.

In addition to her profession, Kuhns has served in many volunteer and community positions, including as a Trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware, Board Member of the Rehoboth Beach chapter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware, Board Member and Treasurer, Rehoboth Beach Historical Society for 12 years; Co-Chair of the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society and Museum annual fundraiser for twelve years; and President of her neighborhood Homeowners’ Association. She has volunteered at the Rehoboth Beach Chapter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware as a homework helper and currently serves at the Rehoboth Community Resource Center, a day center for homeless individuals, helping with the food pantry and as administrative support. 

Her service to Foxcroft continues to go above and beyond and demonstrates her devotion and dedication to the success of the School. 

Kuhns served ten years on the Board of Trustees, sat on the Investment Committee and Finance Committee, and chaired the Investment Committee from 2012-2014. Her expertise on Wall Street helped Foxcroft grow the endowment and exercise fiscal responsibility to position the School in a place of long-term strength. She was elected Vice Chair of the Board in 2014 and was a member of the Search Committee that appointed Cathy McGehee as Foxcroft’s 10th Head of School. She went on to chair McGehee’s Transition Committee, laying the foundation for Foxcroft’s Second Century by setting goals and priorities for new School leadership. 

From 2016-2019, Kuhns served as Chair of the Board of Trustees. During this time, she was key in drafting a history of Foxcroft’s endowment to help educate the community, revising the investment policy, and overseeing the Ruth T. Bedford ’32 $40 million bequest. She and other Board officers were central in the Board’s decision to put the majority of those funds in the endowment, largely unrestricted, which has transformed Foxcroft and is the reason we had a strong foundation to weather the economic downturn due to the global pandemic. In addition, during her tenure, Foxcroft completed the Centennial Campaign, which raised funds for the Residential Initiative and the endowment two years early and almost $5 million over the goal. During this time, the Board of Trustees approved the installation of two synthetic turf fields and the construction of two new faculty houses, greatly upgrading our campus. Her steady leadership and integrity also guided the School during a historic misconduct investigation, helped strengthen current policies and practices, and led to healing the alumnae community.

When the Board needed her, she agreed to extend her term as Chairperson one additional year in 2019-20 to provide stability during a time of trustee leadership transition. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that several years after she completed her Board service, Kuhns answered Foxcroft’s call and agreed to Co-Chair the $65 million Building for Our Future campaign, raising funds to construct a new STEAM Wing, expand our visual and performing arts spaces with a new performing arts center, and renovate Music Building and our beloved Schoolhouse to serve current and future Foxcroft girls. 

In addition to her formal leadership roles at the School, Anne Michele makes a point to attend as many Foxcroft events as possible, including Reunion weekends, regional events, Centennial, and on-campus celebrations, and she models stewardship by supporting The Foxcroft Circle and capital campaigns at a leadership level. Former Board of Trustees Chair Reggie Groves ’76 said of Kuhns: “Elegant in thought as well as style, Anne Michele embodies what we want in ourselves and our students. She is a genuinely kind person and a treasure for the School.”

On her senior portrait page, Anne Michele listed a quote: “Just as much as you need a sense of reality / To be truly happy you need dreams, even impossible ones.” It is safe to say that Anne Michele has helped Foxcroft realize our dreams, and in looking ahead to the Building for Our Future campaign efforts, we can all have zero doubt that she will continue to do so.

For her incredible love and loyalty to the School, her constant volunteer spirit, and her dedicated service over the years, the Board of Trustees and Head of School Cathy McGehee honor Anne Michele Kuhns ’87 with Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire ’52 Distinguished Service Award.

On any given day, you can find Nan Madeira Stuart, Class of 1971, teaching a course, demonstrating the proper handling of a horse, evacuating animals in a disaster, traveling to speak at a conference, consulting on the phone, discussing the latest NASCAR race, brainstorming new projects, or observing clouds as she travels across the United States in her Code 3 truck with her four-legged children in the back seat. What you won’t find Nan doing is sitting still waiting for things to happen. She is a woman of quiet action who sees a need and addresses it; someone who is always thinking of ways to, in Miss Charlotte’s words, “brighten each corner” where she is. 

While at Foxcroft, Nan was quite entrepreneurial, a bit of a prankster and may have been known to test the patience of a few members of Foxcroft’s faculty, including Mary Louise Leipheimer. Of her time at Foxcroft, Nan wrote, “I’d like to think that Foxcroft taught me to think big and to follow my dreams. So much of what I do today in my line of work stems from my years at Foxcroft. From public speaking to knowledge of horses, from brussel sprout throwing to violation of rules and regulations, and from setting goals to attaining them, all were skills that were developed at Foxcroft.” She added, “Foxcroft taught me to be creative, to pursue ideas and see them through to completion. My four years there were fun, interesting, and informative.” 

After Foxcroft, Nan headed to Sweet Briar College, where she studied sociology and criminology. She always knew, however, that her work one day would center around animals. Thus, it was not surprising when after graduation, she returned to her home state of California and became a state humane officer. This began her lifelong work of advocating for and protecting neglected, abused, abandoned, and relinquished companion animals.

Since then, Nan has worked with the Humane Society and Project HEART and as an instructor for the AHA Horse Abuse Investigators School and the National Animal Cruelty Investigations School. In 1985, Nan founded Code 3 Associates, a nonprofit dedicated to providing professional training for first-responders and emergency assistance to pets and livestock affected by natural disasters. With its mobile command center, called BART (Big-Storm Animal Rescue Team), Code 3 has delivered technical animal rescue and recovery to communities hit by some of the country’s most devastating disasters including Hurricane Katrina. Code 3 Academies have trained countless first responders, law enforcement, and animal control officers to handle trapped, frightened, and injured animals.

Family holds an important place in Nan’s heart and included in that family are her beloved golden retrievers, the “K-crew.” Kinsey and Kelsey, fixtures at Foxcroft in their youth, are no longer with us, but their spirit lives on in their offspring and in the work they did. Most of the K-crew have served as teachers for swift water and ice rescue and have done therapy work. They continue to participate in cancer research at the Flint Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University. Nan is hopeful that One Cure, CSU’s comparative oncology approach — a collaboration between scientists and doctors working with people and animals — will bring therapies that can save humans as well as animals and may lead to finding a cure for this devastating disease. For her commitment to this research, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 

Nan’s dedication, passion, and generosity has also strengthened Foxcroft. As a member of the Board of Trustees for nine years, she helped the School realize many goals, including a new strategic plan and the construction of Stuart Hall, the dormitory which bears her name. At the dedication of Stuart Hall, she surprised the students who participated in Project Green Build, a seminar which focused on aspects of construction of a LEED building, by promising a scholarship to their college if they studied engineering or architecture. Five Foxcroft alumnae received her support as a result. She has also created scholarships to provide access to a Foxcroft education. Nan was an integral member of the Centennial Campaign Steering Committee, served as Class of 1971 Representative to the Alumnae Association, and has brought speakers, such as NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, to campus to meet with students. She herself has been a speaker in our animal science and biology classes. And those are just the things she has been credited with; there are many other things she has done quietly that continue to impact Foxcroft today. 

Nan learned from her father that it is not what you have, it is what you give, and she lives by that philosophy every day, making a difference to the places, the people, and the animals she treasures. She brings a smile to each person she meets, through humor, a prank, a gift, or a story or just by appearing unexpectedly with the K-crew by her side. 

For her unfailing devotion, her leadership, her generosity of heart, and her dedicated service to Foxcroft School, the Board of Trustees and Head of School Cathy McGehee honor Nan Madeira Stuart 1971 by presenting Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

Devoted Leader and Steward

For her steady leadership, unfailing devotion, exceptional stewardship, and dedicated service to Foxcroft School, the Board of Trustees and Head of School Cathy McGehee honored Ellen MacNeille Charles ’55 by presenting her with Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire ’52 Distinguished Service Award, at a special luncheon on April 22 during Reunion Weekend.

“Foxcroft women get it done!” exclaimed Ellen when she received the phone call in the spring of 2018 that the Centennial Campaign, which she co-chaired, was completed two years early and $5 million over the goal. ‘Getting it done’ is what she is all about. From that day back in 1951 when Ellen began her Foxcroft journey through today, she continues to impact the School in myriad ways by ‘getting it done.’

Ellen grew up with horses on a farm in Howard County, MD, and attended Garrison Forest School before matriculating to Foxcroft. Of her riding career, her family joked that she liked horses a lot better from the ground than she did from their backs! During her four years at Foxcroft, Ellen was “well thought of by both faculty and classmates.” She was a member of the Alliance Francaise, the French Club, and Glee; she was a Library Co-Head, a CAP, and the Business Manager for Tally Ho!. Miss Charlotte wrote of Ellen’s time at Foxcroft, “She is thoughtful and gracious! She fulfills her jobs in an efficient but not flashy manner. She’s the tops!”

After Foxcroft, Ellen headed to Mount Holyoke College and graduated in 1959. Marriage, three sons (Lee, David, and Andrew), and a new endeavor — raising dogs — soon followed. Puppies and ponies were to become a theme in Ellen’s life as she went from dog breeder to American Kennel Club judge, President of the AKC Museum of the Dog, and owner with winning distinctions such as Best in Show with Jewel, a foxhound, and Honor, a bichon frise, at the Westminster Dog Show.

With both parents active in the racing world, it is not surprising that Ellen also found a love for horses. In 2004, she purchased her first horse to race under her mother’s colors and propelled Hillwood Stable to what it is today. Among other involvements with the sport, she has served on the board of such groups like the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. With her horses and her dogs, she lives by her philosophy, “When you are involved in a sport, you need to give back too.”

And give back she has! Ellen has served on the boards of many organizations, including Foxcroft, Tudor Place, and the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens. At Hillwood, her grandmother Marjorie Merriweather Post’s home, Ellen served as President of the Board for 25 years and brought it from a “well-kept secret to a shared treasure.” To all these organizations, Ellen has brought a special blend of leadership, experience, wisdom, enthusiasm, passion, and a great sense of humor that not only benefits and enriches the organization, but leaves it well-positioned for the future. In 1997, after speaking to Foxcroft alumnae during a tour of Hillwood, she began another 25-year involvement — this time with her beloved School.

Ellen has answered Foxcroft’s call to service many times since then. As a member of Foxcroft’s Board of Trustees, she has served as co-chair of the Advancement Committee, where she now sits as an ex-officio member, and as co-chair of the Centennial Campaign, the largest capital fundraising effort in the School’s history. During her leadership, the extraordinary bequest from Ruth Bedford ’32, the largest gift ever given to an all-girls secondary school, was received. She was a member of the Search Committee that brought Cathy McGehee as Foxcroft’s 10th Head of School and has interviewed candidates for positions in the Office of Institutional Advancement. She continues to host gatherings for the School in her beautiful home in Georgetown and attends as many events on campus as possible. One time, she drove all the way to campus for a virtual meeting for the simple reason that, as she said, “It is more fun to be with people than to sit alone in my house!” 

Perhaps Van S. Merle-Smith, Jr., Academic Head at the time who would go on to become Foxcroft’s second Head following Miss Charlotte, said it best when he wrote with great foresight to Ellen’s mother in 1952, “I can only add that [Ellen] seems to be fitting in very nicely and I feel sure that as the years go by, she will contribute more and more to our life here at Foxcroft.” His words still ring true today, as she continues to give of her time, her talent, and her treasure — all of which have left an indelible mark on the School.

Talented, insightful, competitive, driven, Regina E. Groves, or Reggie as we know her, arrived for her junior year at Foxcroft in 1974 from Miami, Florida. A field hockey and basketball player, a CAP, a member of the Riding Officers Club and the Cum Laude Society, a winner of the Math award and the Haythe Science Award and a Soggie Cheerio, this determined Fox took full advantage of every opportunity as a student. Her two years at Foxcroft should have been an indicator to all who knew her, of her life of impact to follow. 

After graduating from Foxcroft in 1976, Reggie received her BS in Pharmacy with high honors from the University of Florida before matriculating to Harvard Business School where she was awarded her MBA with distinction. For the next 45 years she would alternate between her love of science and her keen interest in business, specifically strategic business consulting, strategy development, and finance, by working in various management positions for companies and organizations including Medtronics, Kaiser Permanente, Egleston Children’s Hospital, the Florida Pharmacy Association, McKinsey & Company and Scient.

During all this time, Foxcroft was never far from Reggie’s mind or heart. In the years since her graduation, she supported her School generously, served as a Class Representative and on the Alumnae Association, Co-Chaired her reunion, participated as a Career Day speaker, and served as a Trustee during two different times in the School’s history. First she served during the recession of the 1990s, a financially challenging time, especially for  Foxcroft. During her second tenure on the Board, she co-chaired the Search Committee that brought Cathy McGehee to the School as Foxcroft’s 9th Head in 2014 and served as Chair of the Board during this important transition in the School’s leadership. Today, she continues to lend her expertise as an ex-officio member of the Investment Committee.

Reggie once wrote that her goal for Foxcroft was, “Financial stability and educational excellence.” During her first term as a trustee, Reggie led the School in the development of its most comprehensive strategic plan; a plan that has served as the basis for future strategic plans. In her second round of service on the Board, she served as Chair of Finance, Treasurer of the Board, and then Board Chair when Foxcroft received Ruth Bedford’s extraordinary bequest of over $40 million. Knowing that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the School, Reggie led the Board in financial modeling, generative discussions, and careful deliberation so that this transformational gift would address current and future needs of the School while honoring the woman whose legacy ensured Foxcroft would survive for many generations to come. These are but two of the many intangible gifts that Reggie has given the School over the last four decades. 

And lest you think that Reggie is all work and no play, just ask a loyal Foxcroft Hound about the time Reggie short-sheeted her bed in retaliation for finding Hound towels in this Fox’s bathroom at Spur and Spoon!

When asked about her hopes for the School’s future, Reggie wrote, “I would like to see Foxcroft continue its traditions yet keep up with the changing world in which we live. I believe it is important for each student to graduate with self-esteem and a will to achieve, for it is only through one’s image of oneself that they will be able to strive for those ultimate goals.”

In all she does, her work, her service and her care for her family, son Robert Gelly, parents Una and Asa, Reggie embodies the qualities of a Foxcroft graduate -  intellect, voice and character. 

For her leadership, loyalty, and outstanding service to Foxcroft, the Board of Trustees and Cathy McGehee, Head of School, honor Reggie Groves by presenting Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award. 

What do real estate, horses, insurance, cranberries, and Foxcroft have in common? William Howard Weeks, or Bill, as he is known to all of us. For the past 18 years, Foxcroft has been blessed to have Bill on its team. From that fortuitous day when his daughter Alexa came to visit the School — and Bill, rightly thinking the focus would be on her, yet came away feeling that he was actually the one being interviewed — to the successful completion of Foxcroft’s Centennial Campaign, Bill’s work, wisdom, and leadership have had a powerful impact on this School and its future.

In truth, Bill’s Foxcroft journey did not begin with his daughter Alexa. While attending Lake Forest College, Bill met and later married Olivia Fry, Foxcroft Class of 1976. Although many from Olivia’s family attended Foxcroft, little did he, or Olivia, know at the time that not one, but all three of their daughters — Alexa ’02, Whitney ’06, and Olivia ’08 — would end up proud Foxes at their mother’s alma mater. In 2001, Bill himself followed his wife and daughter by ‘matriculating’ to Foxcroft when he was asked to join the Board of Trustees.

At that time, the School was in the middle of its Gateways to Excellence Campaign to raise $30 million for Foxcroft’s endowment, and Bill, who had served on the Boards of Green Farms Academy (his daughters’ school) and of Tabor Academy (his own alma mater) brought an expertise in development and in buildings and grounds that was invaluable. In his onboarding questionnaire, when asked what goals he had for the School, he responded, “To make Foxcroft as great as it can be!” Bill has worked to do just that. He and Olivia generously and quietly covered the cost of graduation the year his last daughter graduated as well as supported many vital projects through the years ranging from Sally’s Service Center and the stables and rings to the Residential Initiative and endowment. Most recently, he and his family acknowledged one of Foxcroft’s signature programs and the impact it had on Alexa, Whitney, and Olivia by endowing the Weeks Family Award for Exceptional Proficiency.

As a member of Foxcroft’s Board, Bill chaired the Advancement Committee and served on several other committees, including Investment and Finance. His understanding of financial sustainability helped lay Foxcroft’s strong financial foundation. Perhaps his most significant contribution came about through his stewardship of Ruth Bedford ’32, which resulted in the largest bequest ever given to an all-girls’ secondary school. As Bill later said, “Who would have thought all those afternoons of tea would result in this!”

In 2010, when his third term on the Board was ending, Bill was asked to serve a fourth term. This he gladly did which provided continuity and a ballast as Foxcroft headed into its Centennial and a time of transition. Although he thought he could retire from service when this term was completed, Foxcroft was not ready to let him go and asked him to co-chair the Centennial Campaign with an original goal of $50 million which became $75 million after Ruth Bedford’s gift. This campaign exceeded all expectations closing two years early and $4.9 million over goal! Only then, did the School let Bill take a breath!

Today, as an ex officio member of the Advancement Committee of the Board, Bill’s laughter, wit, expertise, guidance and leadership are still felt. He has always put Foxcroft to the front, exploring ways to make the School its very best. As he is fond of saying, “I love what the School did for my daughters.” Bill, we love what you and Olivia have done for Foxcroft.

For his leadership, loyalty, and outstanding service to Foxcroft, the Board of Trustees and Cathy McGehee, Head of School, honor Bill Weeks by presenting Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

For nine years, Virginia Cretella Mars sat in Foxcroft Board meetings, quietly doing her needlepoint with her dog, Dolce, on her lap—and never missing a beat. A mother, grandmother, trustee, philanthropist, and loyal Fox, she and Foxcroft met in the spring of 1970 as her family was preparing to move back to the United States from France, and Ginnie, as she is known, was looking for schools for her daughters. Having only attended Dutch and French schools, Ginnie's eldest daughter, Victoria, spoke limited English—something not all Washington-area schools were prepared to support. Enter Foxcroft. Now our relationship with Ginnie and her family has spanned more than 45 years, through the graduation of daughters Victoria, in 1974, and Pamela, in 1978; niece Christa, in 1992; and granddaughters Bernadette and Charlotte, in 2003 and 2012, respectively.

An active parent for many years, Ginnie stepped up her work with Foxcroft in the late 1990s, when she served on the Advisory Board of the $30 million Gateways to Excellence Campaign, at the time the largest endowment campaign ever undertaken by an independent girls’ school. A graduate of Vassar College as well as mother of Foxcroft graduates, Ginnie understood and appreciated the value of an all-girls’ education. Having served on Vassar’s Board for 12 years and as Chair of the Campaign for Vassar in the mid-90s, her knowledge of fundraising was invaluable. The Gateways to Excellence Campaign proved to be Foxcroft's first successfully completed capital endeavor and provided the financial foundation for the future of the School. During this fundraising effort, her family honored Ginnie by creating the Virginia Cretella Mars Scholarship for Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts, a merit award that is focused specifically on attracting girls who excel in these areas.

Ginnie served on Foxcroft’s Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2012. As co-chair of the Advancement Committee, she was instrumental in the planning and building of Stuart Hall and the implementation of our geothermal wells. Fueled by her passion for the environment, Ginnie always asked the challenging questions that ensured we were environmentally responsible in all we did on our campus.  As plans began to take shape for our Centennial Celebration, the launch of our Centennial Campaign, and the retirement of a long-standing Head of School, Ginnie thoughtfully and purposefully worked to make this time of change a positive one, leading by example in word and in deed.

An avid philanthropist and environmentalist, Ginnie supports the arts and conservation—and education—through the Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation which she created in 1994. Organizations such as the National Cathedral and the Forest Society have recognized her work and honored her with the Laura E. Phillips Angel of the Arts Award in 2005 and the 2017 Conservationist of the Year, respectively, the latter for her help in protecting over 28,000 acres of “the highest conservation value lands” in the western part of New Hampshire. In addition to these organizations, she is involved with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Smithsonian, The Kennedy Center and of course her beloved Vassar who gave her the Service to Vassar Award in 2005. Today, Foxcroft joins these groups in honoring Ginnie.

From the students we support each year in her name to the geothermal wells that heat and cool our buildings to the outstanding faculty she has supported, Foxcroft is forever changed by Ginnie’s leadership and outstanding service to the School. It is with great pleasure that the Board of Trustees and Head of School Cathy McGehee, honor Virginia Cretella Mars by presenting Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

Marco W. Hellman, or Mick, as we know him, began his Foxcroft journey nervously waiting in the Head of School's office. As we say in Morning Meeting, "No, he was not in trouble!"; he was there for his parent interview for his daughter Olivia's potential admission to Foxcroft as a member of the Class of 2005.

Olivia joined the Foxcroft community in the fall of 2001, and thus began a shared history between the School and the Hellman family that has spanned more than a decade. During that time, two more daughters graduated Foxcroft, Sarah in 2008, and Eleanor in 2010. While there were many aspects of Foxcroft that Mick and his wife Sabrina appreciated, they particularly valued “the opportunity that our daughters had to meet and get to know girls from entirely different worlds than they might have encountered at home." They found joy, to borrow Mick's words, "watching our girls expand their educational and behavioral foundations and grow confident with their voices." 

In Olivia's senior year, Mick, who received a BA in Economics from the University of California and an MBA from Harvard, joined the Foxcroft Board of Trustees. Having served on numerous boards, he understood governance and organizations. He also brought with him much-needed expertise in investments and finance gleaned from his work at Salomon Brothers as a Financial Analyst and at Hellman & Friedman, LLC as a Managing Director, member of the Investment Committee, and Senior Advisor. Later, Mick served as Managing Partner at HMI, the private investment management company he founded in 2008, which also informed his Board experience.  

As Chair of Foxcroft's Investment Committee, Mick led the Board to three strategic decisions that continue to have a positive impact on the financial foundation of the School. His goals for the School were to reduce the spending rate of the endowment from 8% to 5%, to achieve better returns with lower volatility than the strategy that was in place at that time, and to introduce better reporting to the Board with respect to performance and investment of the endowment. Given what happened to the financial markets in 2008, the timing and implementation of these goals was fortuitous. Today, we continue to be guided by these principles and this disciplined investment approach. Wetherby Asset Management, whom he brought on board to manage the endowment, is an integral part of the Investment Committee; our draw remains at 5%; and our endowment continues to grow. These measures have helped to position Foxcroft with the third largest endowment of all girls' boarding schools.  

In his last year on the Board, Mick took on the role of Board Chair at a time of historical significance for Foxcroft, as it searched for a new Head of School and prepared to enter its second century. His expertise, insight, and steady guidance provided the leadership that set the stage for a successful transition process.

When not at his "day job," Mick spent many years as an avid cyclist - a national champion, he had a fold-up bike that he would put in a bag and fly to Board meetings so that he could take advantage of breaks in the meeting schedule. He was, and continues to be, a music lover, as well. These days, you might find him combining that love of music with another passion of his, his family: wife Sabrina and daughters Laurel, Olivia, Sarah, Eleanor, and Avery. Often, members of his family perform at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival established by the late Warren Hellman, Mick's father. Should you happen to be there and see a certain family band perform - you might think the drummer looks familiar. Look closely, chances are it's Mick.

For his leadership and outstanding service to Foxcroft, the Board of Trustees and Head of School Catherine S. McGehee honor Mick Hellman by presenting him with Foxcroft's highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

By chance, Ruth Thomas Bedford was born the year that Foxcroft School was founded. By design, she embraced and reflected the characteristics and values of the School from which she graduated in 1932. And by choice, she forever changed her alma mater with an act of love and generosity unmatched in the history of girls’ schools.

Spunk. Like Foxcroft and Miss Charlotte, “whom she followed,” Ruth embraced life on her own terms. She worked on Broadway, backstage when nice girls from Connecticut didn’t do such things. She was a licensed pilot, often seen skimming her seaplane across Long Island Sound. “Ruth was always a very independent person, a true woman ahead of her time,” is how Bill Weeks describes her. Like many Foxcroft women, she was not afraid to speak her mind, and she had a sense of humor. As a student at the School, she loved to pull a good prank, “Nothing you could get kicked out for,” she would say with a grin and a sparkle in her bright blue eyes. 

Unpretentious. Despite her great wealth, Ruth was a no-glitz, no-glamour kind of girl, who drove around her hometown of Westport in a beat-up Oldsmobile station wagon and lived well below her means. She loved Foxcroft’s lack of pretension, perhaps because she had none either, and she was thrilled that the School remained true to its values as it continued to grow with the times. 

Sports. An accomplished rider from an early age, at Foxcroft, Ruth embraced the School’s motto of “mens sano in corpore sano,” honing her riding skills and playing basketball for the School and for her beloved Hound team. Ruth later became a skilled sailor, golfer, and tennis player, and also carried on the family penchant for racing horses with success. All this she did long before women’s participation in sports was widely accepted, much less celebrated. 

Service. With an appreciation for giving back passed down by her family and solidified during her time at Foxcroft, Ruth’s “Understanding Heart” just kept growing. She wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty either: She served with the Red Cross in Europe during World War II, offering to be stationed in England during the Blitz and, along with her sister Lucie, volunteers at the Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut for over 50 years. 

At the end, Ruth inspired us by acknowledging the place that she felt made her the woman she was, with a transformational gift to her alma mater, Foxcroft. And in the process, Ruth demonstrated that women can be agents of change. Her generosity will help to sustain the School she believed in and loved for many future generations of young women. 

For being a shining example of strength, independence, and service to Foxcroft students and women around the world, and for inspiring us all to be true to ourselves, to follow our passions, and to make a difference in the world, The Board of Trustees and Catherine S. McGehee, Head of School, honor Ruth Thomas Bedford, Class of 1932, with Foxcroft’s highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

Coming from Baltimore with her legendary wide smile and her embracing manner, Pickett and Foxcroft began, in 1953, a lifetime relationship of shared values, hard work, joyous humor, and mutual respect.

Becoming a FOX was her first signature moment, and to this day her greetings and her farewells, in person or on her answering machine, are always GO FOXES! The competition, loyalty, and friendships inherent in the Fox/Hound tradition met the discipline, precision, and ceremony of the Drill. The lessons and the values of Fox/Hound and the Drill became guiding principles in Pickett’s life, though her rallying her troops to march at deb parties and wedding receptions garnered strange facial expressions from non-Foxcroft attendees!

With a strong sense of self, Pickett went to Wheaton College and subsequently began a career with the CIA. In 1982, she was awarded an MA in National Security Affairs from the Naval War College. In her class of 360 at the War College, she was one of eight women and one of two civilians. These women collaborated almost like a “survival unit.” Perhaps being the Lieutenant of Foxcroft’s Fourth Platoon prepared her to “rally these troops” as well. Or perhaps it was her inherent dedication for fairness. Nonetheless, her voice strengthened, her focus honed on equity, her belief for schools for girls rather than schools with girls solidified, and her passion for Foxcroft became her mantra.

Serving as a member of the Board of Trustees for eighteen years, as her Reunion Chair every five years since her graduation, as a Major Gifts Volunteer for the Gateways to Excellence Campaign, as a Career Day Participant, as a Speaker at the Senior Dinner, as the Class Rep, as the Facilitator/Analyzer of the Myers Briggs Inventory for Students, Faculty, and Trustees alike, and as the Co-Chair of the Memory Committee for the Centennial Celebration, Pickett has more than responded to the challenge of her greatest mentor, Miss Charlotte. Living and breathing “To whom much is given, much is expected,” Pickett’s sense of service also touches the world at large as a volunteer at the District of Columbia Rape Crisis Center, at the District of Columbia Women’s Jail, and at the Humane Society, and as a Docent at the National Gallery of Art. For a short time, she volunteered at the White House Commentary Line. Her leave-taking from there says it all: “I had great stories to tell, but I was not making a difference.”

For a lifetime of meaningful service, the Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer, the Head of School, honor Pickett Davis Randolph, Class of 1956, by presenting her with Foxcroft’s highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

Service without ego, caring with no agenda, team play with enthusiasm, injury with “I’ll be back,” heart with an even playing field as its guide — all are retrospective images of a long and honorable tenure.

The warm and welcoming smile, the soft pink in the cheek, the shy demeanor are the first external impressions of a resilient, creative, hardworking, energetic, compassionate, and faithful woman, a woman who has served Foxcroft School for twenty-two years as the Director of Riding, as a school person par excellence, and as an ear to students and colleagues alike.

As the Director of Riding, her long service has generated a myriad of successes and legacies. Her reconnection with the Middleburg Hunt, a Hunt co-founded by our own Miss Charlotte, was a coup. The opportunity for riders to shadow the Huntsman, the Whippers-In, or the Masters is exceptional and unparalleled in other schools. Her research, her travel, and her negotiations to establish an exchange program with Stonar, a girls’ boarding school in Wiltshire, England, not only expanded international opportunities but also represented a Foxcroft first — a formal exchange program. Now in its sixteenth year, Stonar served as a role model for the other exchange programs which have followed. Foxhunting in Ireland may be the “pièce de résistance.” Legendary for its difficulty, this challenge is not for the fainthearted. Not surprisingly, by the second of nine trips, the Master from County Limerick Foxhounds exclaimed, “Ah, the lady from Virginia with all those brave girls.”

Stateside, our Director of Riding led her riding teams to three championships in the TSEL (Tri-State Equitation League) and to an outstanding finish at the Ohio Team DeVille. A grateful parent wrote, “The trip to the Ohio Team DeVille was yet another ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ experience that Foxcroft has given our daughter ... the girls rode beautifully as a team and as individuals ... the School’s incredible staff consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty … thank you.”

Fittingly, former students recommended her at the end of their freshman year in college for inclusion in Who’s Who Among American Teachers for both 2004 and 2005. The criterion for this honor is simple yet profound: “Making a difference” in the life of students. Those girls would probably cite not only the riding lessons, shows, and events but also her banana bread and her endless bus/van driving.

And yet she found time to serve the whole school as a member of the Judicial Council, the Curriculum Committee, and many ad hoc committees and as an advisor to scores of girls. Outside Foxcroft’s gates, she represented the School as a member of accreditation teams, thus evaluating other riding programs. Here, there, and everywhere our blushing yet stately lady has put others first.

The Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer, the Head of School, honor Ellen Chester Sheehan’s outstanding service by presenting her the School’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

A North Carolina girl born and bred, a daughter whose parents embraced service professions — teaching and nursing — a scholar worthy of both Duke University and of the University of Virginia, a wife who met her partner through crew and is still “rowing in tandem” more than a quarter of a century later, a mother with unconditional love and clear expectations, an educator with renaissance qualities, a skilled facilitator with an even, open mind, an ambassador par excellence, a colleague, and a friend to so many — all characterize Becky Gilmore. Yet her essence, her core, is, indeed, greater than the sum of her parts.

For twenty-four years Becky has served Foxcroft with distinction, first as an Assistant Director of Admission/Development, then as the Director of Admission, and finally as the Assistant Head of School for External Affairs. More importantly, she has served as a “school person” in the classic sense of that description. Never bound by job titles, never above “getting her hands dirty,” as her colleague Sheila McKibbin says, never too busy to answer a call for help either professional or personal, always an approachable and attending ear, always creative and talented, never arrogant, always ready to risk the new and to push others to follow suit, Becky’s being, her fiber, has made Foxcroft’s tapestry even stronger.

As we are reminded at every graduation, Miss Charlotte relied on her right hand, “Miss Becky,” in all matters great and small. Indeed, legend says she would loudly call from her office B-E-C-K-ee! Perhaps it’s in the name, but nearly a century later, Foxcroft’s current Head of School is no stranger to the same call for the same reason.

Combining the philosophy that everything a school does is curriculum with her own intuitive understanding of the effects of the global on the specific and vice versa, she is a very rare school person, an exceptional administrator, and an invaluable member of a leadership team. Netted out: Becky is a top-notch school professional-plus.

The balance and substance of her life reside with her beloved husband Roger, with children, son John and daughter Sarah, and with her very special family.

The Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer, the Head of School, honor Rebecca Bemisderfer Gilmore by presenting to her Foxcroft’s highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

A Foxcroft Board Member for the past twelve years, a loving husband, father, grandfather, and honorary “Fox,” Thomas D. Lane was educated at the St. James School and Roanoke College. He married Susan Mastin, a Foxcroft graduate (Class of 1973), in 1978. They settled in Easton, Maryland, to raise their daughters Ali (Class of 1997) and Elizabeth (Class of 2000).

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Things aren’t going to get better, they’re not!
- Dr. Seuss from The Lorax

In the fall of 1993, Tom and Susan delivered Ali to Foxcroft and thus began Tom’s Foxcroft “journey,” a journey during which Tom proved he “cares an awful lot.”

Almost immediately, Tom identified the need for greater engagement of Foxcroft parents in the School, and established the Parents’ Association, serving as its first President. Through his leadership, the Parents’ Association became an important link between the School and the parents and continues to serve that purpose. While President, Tom held the first fundraiser for the Parents’ Association, selling Foxcroft polo shirts, and raised an astounding $273! Little did he know that he would soon become involved in far greater fundraising efforts on behalf of the School. During his early Foxcroft years, Tom became the unofficial, self-appointed Foxcroft Admission Office recruiter for the Eastern Shore and families still find their way to Foxcroft through Tom. He continues to share his love for the School with anyone who will listen.

Tom’s unbridled commitment to Foxcroft was recognized when in 1997, he was asked to join the Foxcroft Board of Trustees. His delightful personality and wonderful sense of humor have served the Board well, but his most significant contributions have been through his involvement with the Buildings and Grounds Committee. As Chair, Tom championed the development of a Foxcroft Campus Master Plan and guided the Board through the process of establishing it as the “road map” for the future of the School. In recent years, Tom has led the early implementation of the Campus Master Plan by managing the relocation of the tennis courts, the design and construction of the new maintenance facility, Sally’s Service Center, and the major renovation of the Athletic/Student Center, and serving as a guiding force in early planning for the New Dormitory project. Tom’s professional surveying and engineering experience has served and continues to serve Foxcroft as the Campus Master Plan becomes a reality.

Foxcroft is not the only recipient of Tom’s talent and generosity. In addition to his “day job” as founding Principal of Lane Engineering, Tom has served as a Senior Warden of Christ Church in Easton and as the Head of the Youth Exchange for the Rotary Club. Currently, he serves on the Talbot County Historical Society, is a member of the Maryland Society of Surveyors, and is President of Pickering Creek Audubon Center. Tom’s latest “gig” involves demonstrating his newfound talent as a member of the Hand Bell Choir at his church.

Tom’s truest passion is for his wonderful family: Susan, his wife of 32 years, their daughter Ali, son-in-law Jordan, grandchildren Gigi and Oliver, daughter Elizabeth, son-in-law Jeff, sister-in-law Zemma and brother-in-law Ed. “Grampi” loves gardening, grilling, watching movies, and spending time with his family at the beach.

For a lifetime of Community Service, and to Foxcroft specifically, the Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer honor Tom Lane for his outstanding service by presenting to him Foxcroft’s highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

A Foxcroft Board member for the past eleven years, a teacher, a mediator, a lawyer, a problem-solver, a volunteer, this New York girl came to Foxcroft in 1962, cheerful, outgoing, full of zip, and eager for action. During the ensuing four decades of shared history, Beatty Page Cramer’s lifetime commitment, sense of responsibility, and leadership skills have combined to create an amazing force on behalf of this school.

As a student, this Fox followed — but was never led by — an older sister, Ferrell. Beatty was a member of Glee Club, Dramat, Choir, Art Club, Octet, and Tally-ho!, showing even at this young age the qualities of creativity and leadership that would be the hallmarks of her future.

Beatty was graduated in 1966 and attended Vassar College, where she focused on Drama and enjoyed acting in productions, designing scenery, and even trying her hand at directing.  After Vassar, she spent several years in the financial services industry before matriculating at Hofstra Law School where she earned her JD.  So began her career in law, working first at Sherman and Sterling, then as partner at Hawkins Delafield & Wood, and beginning in 1995, as partner at Hughes Hubbard and Reed.  Combining her legal and financial expertise, Beatty specialized in Latin American finance, working on such issues as the refinancing of Ecuador’s trade debt and the financing of everything from oil production in Mexico to a towel manufacturer in Australia. An adjunct professor at Hofstra Law, she created the Law of Public Finance Seminar.

Beatty was successful in this work, in part, because she has a gift for seeing issues from several sides and enjoys working with others to solve problems.  In her service to Foxcroft, too, these skills have made her invaluable, first as President of the Alumnae Association, and later as a member of the Board of Trustees. 

As President of the Foxcroft Alumnae Association, Beatty was instrumental in the restructuring of the organization’s mission and reformulation of its leadership to focus its work on alumnae outreach and direct service to the School. Leading by example, she has personally organized and hosted numerous events for alumnae around the country and abroad. She has treated students to tickets for a Broadway show and to her astute insights as a member of an alumnae career panel.

As Chair of the Audit Committee, she had the Board of Trustees scrutinize its practices pertaining to issues as varied as records retention and whistleblower policies.  Her keen understanding of the implications of Sarbanes-Oxley led Foxcroft to compliance long before legislation required it.  Beatty’s broad understanding of legal issues combined with her ability to explain them in layman’s terms has been critical. Indeed, Foxcroft has been the beneficiary of her profound commitment, her deep sense of service and her unmatched leadership skills, as well as her energy, generosity, wisdom, grace, and passion. 

That passion, alternately drawn to voice and drama, the law and service, her School and numerous other philanthropic endeavors, always extends to her family — Dolph, her husband, and Ferrell, her sister.

The Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer honor Beatty Page Cramer’s outstanding service by presenting to her Foxcroft’s highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

A seasoned school professional, a paramedic, a volunteer par excellence, a leader of leaders, and a family woman, our New York-born “Clark” attended Chapin School. As a freshman, she matriculated at Foxcroft.

A Hound through and through, she juggled a stellar academic performance with a bevy of other activities: Student Council, Glee Club, Octet, the Riding Officers, the Military Board, and the Middleburg Hunt. She played on a Puppy Team and served as a lieutenant in the Fourth Platoon. Calling herself “Ax,” she found her voice and made herself known. To wit in her senior year, she, Lt. Clark, and her lifelong friend, Capt. Anne Kinsolving, petitioned the “revered headmaster,” requesting that all commissioned and noncommissioned officers be allowed to wear lipstick in moderation at the Sunset Drill. The request was granted! Ah, the complexities of the fifties. 

“Ax” or “Axie,” as we know her, was graduated in 1960 and attended Fairleigh Dickinson University. She married the late Ron Diana and began a lifetime of service in many arenas. Serving Far Hills Country Day School as the Director of the Annual Fund and as the Director of Development, her small shop benefitted from her global vision, her unparalleled work ethic, her embracing compassion, and her reasoned thought. Those same gifts rode with her and her many patients on the mobile intensive care unit with the Morristown Memorial Hospital and have enhanced the Foxcroft Alumnae Board for three years and the Foxcroft Board of Trustees for twelve years—five of those as the Board Chair. Her colleagues in every venue marvel at her commitment, her acceptance of responsibility, her passion, her wisdom, her grace, her generosity, her sense of humor, and her understanding heart. 

The owners of that heart, however, are her precious family: Alexander, Chris, Nini, and Kate, her children; Liz and Nye, her daughters-in-law; and Tim and Patrick, her sons-in-law; William, Luke, Henry, Daphne, Lila, Garet, and Emmett, her grandchildren. “Grandee,” as her grandchildren call her, loves to hold court in Utopian Maine, to prepare her gourmet delights, to sail, to play tennis, to hike, to read, to attend the symphony, to be with friends and family, and, above all, to live life to the fullest. 

For a lifetime of service in general, and to Foxcroft specifically, the Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer honor Alix Clark Diana for her outstanding service by presenting to her Foxcroft’s highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award. 

Teaching is the highest form of understanding. – Aristotle

In 1967, a country girl from Western Pennsylvania arrived at Foxcroft School to teach English. Mary Louise Leipheimer was new to girls’ schools and to boarding schools — and not sure about either. Expecting to stay two years, she has given Foxcroft, instead, more than 35 years of service, 20 (so far) as Head of School. 

A teacher first, last and always — it’s in the blood of this fourth-generation educator — she has achieved, for herself and for those she has touched, new understandings of the magic of girls’ schools, the benefits of boarding, what it means to be a teacher, why it is that we “give back,” and how it is that we “live with ambiguity.” 

Honesty and openness have been a hallmark, with her code reflected in oft-repeated phrases: “No surprises;” “Work with me here;” “Let me be straight with you;” “Am I making myself clear?” and “I hear you.” Unimpressed as she is with the weight of her own importance, her contributions to the larger educational community are abundant: co-founder of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, member of the exclusive Headmasters Association, chair of the Secondary School Admission Test Board, secretary of the National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls, board or committee member of the Virginia Association of Independent Schools, The Association of Boarding Schools and the National Association of Independent Schools. All these organizations value her incredible gift for consensus building in times of transition, her steady hand at the helm through challenging times and for raising the level of dialogue among various factions.

Teaching is the achievement of shared meaning. – D.B. Gowin

In 1989, this teacher, seasoned by a range of roles from department chair to assistant head and possessing the requisite intellect, passion, and energy, came together with a School wobbling in the wake of changing times, revolving-door leadership and economic unease. “The School needed me and I needed the School,” she says, and indeed together they have thrived: A vibrant student body, fine faculty and blossoming grounds and buildings; the most successful endowment campaign in the history of girls’ schools completed, a bricks-and-mortar initiative that grows daily and a reputation in the independent school world that scales the heights. The ideals, vision, and spirit of Foxcroft’s founder Charlotte Haxall Noland, have been preserved even as they have been transformed for the 21st century and students, alumnae, faculty, parents, and friends all are partners in and students of the “shared meaning” of Mary Lou’s lesson plan.

Life is about learning and the continuum is infinite. — Mary Louise Leipheimer

Mary Lou remains ever the teacher and the learner. English is no longer the official subject, though her facility with a well-turned phrase remains a legend. She has learned more than she ever wanted to know about balancing a budget, computer networks, legal entanglements, helicopter parents, sewage treatment plants, county politics, Facebook.com, and horses. She continues to pose the hard questions, scrutinize current challenges, prime for the future and, quite simply, to be “caught up in the world of thought.” And she continues to teach every day. The students, the faculty, the staff, the parents, the trustees, the alumnae, the community are enlightened regularly by her writing on the black – no – whiteboard. “Life is about learning, and the continuum is infinite,” she says. So too are the lessons and the love Mary Louise Leipheimer’s students – past, present and future – enjoy with this quintessential teacher and outstanding human being. She is, truly, one singular sensation.

And so, the Board of Trustees and the entire Foxcroft Community honor Mary Louise Leipheimer, Head of School, by presenting to her Foxcroft’s highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

In May 1953, two men became the first in history to climb to the top of Mt. Everest: Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand beekeeper and explorer, and his Sherpa guide from Nepal, Tenzing Norgay. They reached the summit together and attained instant international fame.

On the way down from the 29,000-foot peak, Hillary slipped and started to fall. He would almost certainly have fallen to his death, but Tenzing Norgay immediately dug in his ice-axe and braced the rope linking them together, saving Hillary's life.

At the bottom, the international press made a huge fuss over the Sherpa guide's heroic action. Through it all Tenzing Norgay remained very calm, very professional, very uncarried away by it all. To all the shouted questions he had one simple answer: "Mountain climbers always help each other."

In 1985, one man joined Foxcroft's English Department and in his "climb" as the successes have mounted, he, too, has one simple response to the shouted accolades: "Keep moving!"

Yes, a "schoolman" in every sense of the word, Paul Bergan balances grace with humility, brilliance with wit, and high expectation with an understanding heart — all hallmarks of a master teacher and all great gifts to everyone around him. A love for students and a passion for English language, literature, and poetry, Paul captures students' interests, hones their language/writing skills, and stretches their intellects. Serving on every possible School committee, giving yeoman time and attention to the Judicial Council, stepping up to go the extra mile in an emergency, speaking on behalf of Foxcroft at open houses and reunions, he makes a difference whenever and wherever in ways great and small.

Having a nickname for every student, figuratively speaking as many foreign languages as we have represented in the School at any one time, giving new meaning to the "Brooks Brothers" style, entertaining colleagues and students at the "early morning" show — known to others as breakfast — searching diligently for the world's "freshest" flowers for his wife's birthday, or sharing his poetry on "the rib," our Mr. Chips brightens all our days!

His expectations for academic rigor and his exceptional ability "to connect" combine to make his impact unparalleled. Since he teaches Foxcroft's Freshman English, the Curriculum Committee ponders alternative programs for new sophomores and juniors to adjust for the missing "Bergan Factor."

Forty-one years in the classroom, twenty-two of them here at Foxcroft School, Paul Bergan, the H. Lawrence Achilles Scholar, is a legend in his own time. Therefore, upon his retirement, the Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer honor Paul K. Bergan for his outstanding service to education in general and to Foxcroft specifically by presenting to him Foxcroft's highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

Good teachers, really good teachers are rare; master teachers are few at best, a phenomenal teacher is a gift. Celeste Bergan is a treasure!

For forty years, twenty-two years at Foxcroft School, Celeste has challenged her science students with the highest expectations, with extraordinary knowledge, with open dialogue, and with genuine interest. Known for their difficulty and rigor, her classes are always full and the accolades are endless:

"I never had a class in medical school as thorough as Mrs. Bergan's Physiology and Anatomy." - an orthopedic surgeon, Class of '92

"My science courses-all seven of them-with Mrs. Bergan were the most influential of all my classes anywhere." - a veterinarian, Class of '92

"Any question gets a thorough answer in Mrs. Bergan's class; she wants us to understand but mostly to be curious." - a current senior

"My 'B' from Mrs. Bergan is worth more than any 'A' I got at Tufts." - an engineer, Class of '95

Despite these raves, Celeste is never, never satisfied. Always the learner-teacher, she continues to study, to research, to redo her syllabi, and to create new courses. Engaging, grounded, curious, available, knowledgeable, and talented, she, nonetheless, remains humble and unaffected.

Perhaps this latter trait is the key not only to her success with students but also to her achievements as the Chair of the Science Department. Simply stated, in her nineteen years as the Chair, she has revolutionized a staid and underutilized department into a vital, overtaxed, nationally-known program. Last year, 94 percent of the graduating class took at least four years of science, and 42 percent took more than four years—statistics that far exceed the national average for either gender. Her students are welcome observers in the Neurobiology Laboratory and in the Anatomy Laboratory at the George Washington University Medical Center and in the Plasma Physics Laboratory a Princeton University. And yes, her department colleagues emulate her rigor and creativity. Accreditation teams, visiting teachers from other schools, funding foundations, colleges, and medical schools — all recognize the quiet strength of Celeste the teacher and of Celeste the department leader.

Teaching for Celeste, however, does not end in her classroom and/or her department. Living in the community of a boarding school, she models good citizen, good neighbor, and caring friend. The door of her home is as open as that of her classroom to students, to colleagues, and to parents. Encouraging and helpful, never enabling or indulgent, she listens willingly, challenges gently, laughs and cries appropriately, and ultimately embodies the School's highest value, the understanding heart. Schools have titled leaders and untitled leaders. Celeste is Foxcroft's latter, soul.

The person least likely to expect and/or to imagine receiving Foxcroft's recognition is Celeste Bergan. Therein lies her magic. While she may not see herself in context, anyone — past or present — who has been touched by her gifts will applaud. Therefore, upon her retirement the Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer honor Celeste P. Bergan for her outstanding service to education in general and to Foxcroft specifically by presenting to her Foxcroft's highest award, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

Because of her passion for the school, her work ethic, her sense of organization, her team building, her team play, her savvy with systems and cultures, her attention to detail, and her sixth sense, she has not only raised Foxcroft's fundraising bar but also challenged the "conventional wisdom" of the development world at large.

Foxcroft and fundraisers everywhere are forever changed because of her tenacity, her creativity, and her keen ability. Statistically, the tale is phenomenal. Foxcroft's annual fund has more than doubled in dollars, has parent participation worthy of note in formal industry-wide surveys, and has created "records" given the size of the School's constituency. That annual fund is, indeed, the beneficiary of this special woman's connection theory and her acute analysis.

Equally impressive are the capital dollars raised. Thirty million dollars for permanent endowment, the first million-dollar gift to be followed by thirteen others, gifts structured for budgetary relief, fundraising costs at record-breaking lows-all underscoring again the value-added approach.

And beyond all of these feats lies her teaching of philanthropy, of utilizing current students to prepare mailings, and by having donors explain to students why they are funding particular items. In essence, her teaching guarantees "planned giving." And that very teaching has gone the extra mile for her colleagues as she has demonstrated every possible way to sleep through a faculty meeting without snoring!

Combining the philosophy that everything a school does is curriculum with her own intuitive understanding of the effects of the global on the specific and vice versa, she is a very rare school person, an exceptional administrator, and an invaluable member of a leadership team. Netted out: Stacey is a top-notch school professional-plus.

The balance and substance of her life reside with her beloved husband Dean, with her adored daughters Katheryn and Kristina, with her treasured sister Nancy, and with her very special Aunt Andy. And yes, South Carolina remains the magnet for all of them.

Three years as a student, twelve years as the Director of Development and an alumna forever, her place in Foxcroft's history is legendary and secure. The Board of Trustees and Mary Louise Leipheimer honor Stacey Morse Ahner, Director of Development extraordinaire, by presenting to her Foxcroft's highest honor, the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award.

Whereas: Anne McGuire has served Foxcroft School with loyalty and distinction for seven years as a Trustee and for six years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees and, whereas:

Her term as Chairman spanned a period of extraordinary difficulties for the school, its faculty and its students, including the resignation of two headmasters, the tenure of one interim headmaster, the creation and inspiration of two search committees and the successful selection of the present headmaster; and, whereas:

This period of grave disruption of the normal leadership of the school could well have resulted in an irreparable erosion of the morale with a resultant loss of the reputation of the school, loss of the faculty and loss of the high quality of the student body, but did not do so largely because of her tireless leadership and dedication; and, whereas:

During this period, she brought an unusual curiosity and imagination to every task however large, however tedious and showed herself to be an available and responsive listener, and a superb spokeswoman; and, whereas:

Her approach to issues was always sensitive to and understanding of the delicate web of human interrelationships in the fragile environment as a girls boarding school; and, whereas:

Anne McGuire has demonstrated to her colleagues, to the students and to the external world of Foxcroft the finest qualities of what her school stands for; Now, therefore be it

Resolved that the Trustees of Foxcroft School hereby express to Anne McGuire the respect, the gratitude and the high commendation of her Alma Mater for a job well and faithfully done; be it further

Resolved that there be, and hereby is, created the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award to be granted only to those persons who, in the opinion of the Board of Trustees, have shown equal dedication and brought the same high standards of service and integrity, to the task of furthering the ideas and ideals of Foxcroft as has Anne McGuire; and, be it further

Resolved that, in order to assure the objective maintenance of the highest standards for the award, no person shall be eligible to be nominated to receive it until the passage of three years following the end of that person’s service to the school; and, be it further Resolved that, Anne McGuire shall be, and she hereby is, designated

Exemplar of the Anne Kane McGuire Distinguished Service Award

June 23rd, 1984