Laura Keener
Editor
St. Pope John Paul II was known for a great many things, not the least of which his athleticism and love of sports. Among his favorite sports that he played are soccer, hockey, skiing and swimming. During his papacy, he even installed a swimming pool at the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, so that he could swim laps to stay in shape.
During the great Jubilee 2000, in a homily on the Jubilee of Sports People as he introduced his “Sport Manifesto,” he said, “May this examination offer everyone — managers, technicians and athletes — an opportunity to find new creative and motivating zeal, so that sport, without losing its true nature, can answer the needs of our time: sport that protects the weak and excludes no one, that frees young people from the snares of apathy and indifference, and arouses a healthy sense of competition in them; sport that is a factor of emancipation for poorer countries and helps to eradicate intolerance and build a more fraternal and united world; sport which contributes to the love of life, teaches sacrifice, respect and responsibility, leading to the full development of every human person.”
Pope John Paul’s message in 2000 encapsulates the motivation behind St. Henry District High School’s “Faithful to Our Roots, Fearless In Our Rise,” $4 million capital campaign.
“I think that it’s investing in the whole person, you know, definitely the four pillars of faith and scholarship and arts and leadership, but then also recognizing the fifth pillar of athletics,” said Suzi Francis, co-chair of the capital campaign.
The campaign, “Faithful to Our Roots, Fearless In Our Rise,” has three parts. The school plans to use $1.5 million to reduce its existing $6 million debt, $2 million to build an on-campus Fieldhouse Training Center and $500,000 to renovate the existing men’s and women’s locker rooms. St. Henry introduced the public phase of the campaign during a Sept. 17 event. Honored guests included Jim and Robin Burrow, parents of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Principal Grant Brannen said they spoke about “investing in your student athletes” and in the wider community. “It was a great night,” he said.
The campaign theme joins St. Henry’s history with its plans for the future.
“We always want to stay with our tradition,” he said. “But we’re fearless in our rise,” he added, noting that the school is adapting, expanding its academic offerings, adding programs such as football and men and women lacrosse and preparing for what Mr. Brannen expects will be the largest enrollment in St. Henry’s 93-year history.
“Growing’s not easy,” Mr. Brannen said. He credited St. Henry’s administrators, teachers and chaplain, Father Matt Cushing, for helping the school move forward. “You can just kind of feel the sense of community right now,” he said.
The campaign also continues an earlier effort to educate the whole person. St. Henry’s 2020 building project added STEM labs, classrooms, a fine arts center, a black box theater and a state-of-the-art auditorium. At that time, more than 60 percent of students took part in fine arts. The project supported a well-rounded Catholic education that formed students in body, mind and spirit. It also added a hefty debt of $6 million for the school community.
Campaign co-chair Chris Cook said the debt from that work “was not an accident,” and should be viewed alongside what the improvements made possible.
“It was an intentional act,” he said. “We were able to build this great addition to the facility.” He highlighted the auditorium, STEM labs and fine arts center and asked, “How many more students have we been able to impact already?” regarding the project’s contribution to SHDHS growth.
Mr. Cook, a 2005 St. Henry graduate, said the school played an important role in his education and career. He started a business while he was still in high school and later became involved in improvements to the school’s turf field and in launching its football program.
“St. Henry meant a great deal to me through my education,” he said, noting that athletics can be part of education. Lessons from basketball, his coaches and teammates stayed with him as he led businesses and people. “When you’re part of a team,” he said, “some of those soft skills and life lessons are developing” beyond what happens in a classroom.
Today’s campaign has the same whole-person focus, but it responds to a different need. Today, more than 80 percent of St. Henry students participate in athletics, campaign leaders said.
The proposed Fieldhouse Training Center is the crown jewel of the campaign. Plans call for space where teams can train together, as well as locker areas, training space and coaches’ offices. Mr. Brannen said the Center is important “for the needs of our students.” It would also allow some teams to practice earlier instead of waiting until late in the evening for the weight room.
The fieldhouse is expected to include about 160 to 170 lockers, Mr. Brannen said. That would ease pressure on teams whose athletes now may have to change in other areas near the turf field.
“We want the students where they can go and have a place,” he said. “It’s part of investment in our student athletes.”
That investment in an overwhelmingly large portion of the student body was important to Mr. Cook. For him, the number of students and coaches impacted moved the project from what some might consider a luxury to a real need.
“One of the things that was important to me is that we could affect so many people, and in this situation, we’re touching 85 percent of the school. That’s a pretty high return,” said Mr. Cook. “I think that’s one of the things that makes this campaign special — it’s a real need.”
Mr. Cook said that the school’s current weight and training room is smaller than a typical classroom making it impossible for an entire team to train at the same time. With every team having to train in shifts, it not only puts a burden on students but also on coaches and trainers.
“Now in the off season, we’re not asking our coaches to be there for an hour or two hours for training; they’re having to stay for four, five, six, hours or longer in the off season just to try to get their entire team through a proper training regimen,” said Mr. Cook. “It’s just honestly, it’s not fair to the coaching staff, and it it’s very burdensome on the student athletes and their families.”
The $500,000 locker-room portion of the campaign will update the existing spaces rather than replace them. Mr. Brannen said the renovations are needed because St. Henry has added sports and athletes while the facilities have stayed the same for decades.
“The locker room space has been the same since 1998. It hasn’t changed, and we have more sports. We have more athletes,” Mr. Brannen said.
To make giving more manageable for donors, the campaign allows pledges to be paid over five years. Mr. Brannen said a $5,000 pledge can be considered as an $84 monthly payment rather than one large gift. “It’s a different thought process,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Okay, I can do this.’”
Mrs. Francis said the campaign’s “fearless” message also asks people to act in faith.
“God doesn’t call us to do things that we’re comfortable with,” she said. Supporting the project may require donors to “go out on a limb of faith,” she said, but their gifts will invest in students who will become leaders in Northern Kentucky and beyond.
Mr. Brannen said the heart of the campaign is simple: “You’re investing in our students.” Asking for money is one of the hardest parts of his job, he said, but he believes the request serves the school and the community. “Whatever financial contribution you can make,” he said, “it just goes a long way to helping out our current students and our future St. Henry students.”
