Belmont Abbey in the News.

11.03.09

Abbey Meets
$250,000 Challenge –
And Then Some

Pictured from left to right: Christine Goff, Ken Davison, Jerry Schmitt, Dr. William Thierfelder and Paul Polking.

Less than three months ago, against the backdrop of a struggling economy, Belmont Abbey College embarked on a major campaign to raise much-needed funds for items like: scholarships for the College’s record-setting enrollment of students; salaries for a growing number of professors, administrators and staff; repairs for the historic buildings that grace Gaston County’s landscape; and more.

The campaign was called the $250,000 Challenge, in honor of an anonymous donor who “challenged” the College to raise $250,000 by October 31. The conditions of the donor’s challenge were these: if the College was successful in raising $250,000 by October 31, the anonymous benefactor would donate a $250,000 matching gift. However, if the College failed to raise the money by the deadline, no matching gift was forthcoming. 

So now that the deadline has arrived, how successful has Belmont Abbey College’s fund-raising campaign been in reaching its goal?  

First, there’s the good news. Then there’s even better news.

The good news: the Abbey didn’t just meet the $250,000 goal; it exceeded it by $12,000 at last count – meaning the College will receive an infusion of some $512,000 in much-needed cash.

The even better news: heartened by the generous response of alumni, friends, and local businesses, several anonymous donors have decided to pool their funds and offer an additional $100,000 to extend the Challenge to $350,000. Their hopes are that this additional match will help the Abbey continue to build on its momentum. The conditions of this new “$250,000 $350,000 Challenge” are essentially the same: if the College is successful in raising $100,000 by January 31, the donors will “kick in” their $100,000 matching gift, netting the College an additional $200,000 of still much-needed cash. If the $100,000 isn’t raised by the new deadline, no matching gift is forthcoming.

“The response to the $250,000 Challenge has been absolutely incredible,” said Christine Goff, Director of the Abbey Family Fund, who spearheaded the fund-raising drive for the College. “And so many wonderful people have pitched in with their time, treasure and talent. Dr. Kevin Soden, a 1967 Abbey grad who happens to be an Emmy Award-winning television journalist, donated many hours of his time to help us produce our very successful fund-raising video, plus he and others helped write our appeal letters. Two of our other Trustees, Jerry Schmitt and Chairman Paul Polking, did heroic work on our behalf, making personal calls on both current and former Trustees to help us meet the Challenge. Their efforts were absolutely crucial.

“Local businesses were also very generous,” Goff continued. “For example, George Stanton, who owns the Belmont McDonald’s franchise (and others), helped us put together an ‘Abbey Night at McDonald’s’ on October 14, which raised hundreds of dollars in just one evening, and all sorts of Abbey professors and staffers and their families pitched in to make that night successful and fun. Special thanks to Dr. Mike McLeod, chair of the Abbey’s biology department; Monte Monteleone, our Director of Database Management; and Jeff Thomas, Associate Professor of Business, for all of their great work that night.

“Abbey students also helped us meet the Challenge in various ways, including senior Ariel Roland, whom we interviewed on video thanking our donors for making her scholarship possible. And Gary Sivak from our theatre department donated hours of his time to edit that video. Abbey alumni who were unable to give last fiscal year came through in record numbers with gifts…The list of people to thank is almost endless.”

That kind of collective effort has helped the Abbey set impressive new fund-raising records, says Ken Davison, Vice President of College Relations.

“Thanks to the generosity of our alumni, friends and local businesses, we have exceeded our previous first four month fund-raising record for unrestricted donations by nearly 40%,” says Davison. “Over 500 alumni, area businesses and friends of the College made donations which qualified to be ‘matched.’ Overall, alumni donors this fiscal year are up 19%. And let’s not forget this: very little of this would have been possible without the breath-taking generosity of our anonymous $250,000 donor, who got all of this started. We cannot thank that person enough.”

As Davison also points out, the fact that the Abbey met the $250,000 Challenge isn’t just good news for Belmont Abbey College. It’s encouraging news for the citizens and businesses of the town of Belmont, of Gaston County and beyond.

“A healthier Belmont Abbey College means a healthier Gaston County, clearly,” said Davison. “In fact, a just-completed Economic Impact Study conducted by The Hanover Research Council of Washington, D.C. reveals that the College and the Monastery had an estimated cash-positive impact of over $31,000,000.

“We plan to release more of the eye-opening details of this study in the coming days and weeks,” says Davison. “But our basic message to local businesses and citizens is this: an investment in the Abbey’s future is a smart investment in your own future. Because we are making some very positive things happen for the community we serve. Soon, I’ll be talking about some partnership opportunities we are able to offer local businesses and others thanks to our recent growth. But in the meantime, for those who haven’t supported the Abbey’s fund-raising efforts yet, I’d suggest one pretty simple thing: make a donation to the ‘$250,000 $350,000 Challenge.’ Since it’s a matching gift scenario, that means a $500 gift will be worth $1,000, a $2,500 gift generates $5,000 in cash for the Abbey, and so on.”     

To make your donation to the “$250,000 $350,000 Challenge,”­ please CLICK HERE

09.04.07 - $75,000 MOTORSPORTS SCHOLARSHIP HONORS HUMPY WHEELER

First Scholarship for Belmont Abbey MotorSports Program established by the Hornets Nest Region Antique Car Group to Honor Humpy Wheeler.

“The Hornets Nest Region, AACA Annual Scholarship in Honor of H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler Jr.” has been established by the Hornets Nest Region Foundation to enable qualified students to pursue Motorsports Management Concentration studies at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC.  The Hornets Nest Region Foundation will provide $75,000 in Motorsports Scholarships to Belmont Abbey College, over the next five years, beginning in August 2007.  Each year, three rising junior or senior students in the Program will each receive a $5,000 Scholarship to assist with education to work in the Motorsports industry.  The Scholarship in the Motorsports Program honors “Humpy” Wheeler for his endeavors, since 1977, with the Hornets Nest Region, AACA on development and production of what has become the premier collector vehicle event in the Country. 

Region President, Amy Tetrault said…”Our Region is delighted to establish the first Motorsports scholarship at Belmont Abbey honoring Humpy Wheeler and pleased further to support higher education through Charlotte AutoFair collector vehicle events.” 

“The Scholarship” is funded by the Hornets Nest Region Foundation, Inc, a 501(C)3 Non-Profit Corporation which is part of the Antique Automobile Club of America, Hornets Nest Region, Inc organization.  The major focus of the Hornets Nest Region is their production of the Charlotte AutoFair Spring Meet and Fall Meet collector vehicle events held at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  Region Executive Director Mel Carson said…”The two Charlotte AutoFair events each year bring into the Charlotte area more than 250,000 collector vehicle enthusiasts, probably spending more than $250 million.” 

The Region is dedicated to the family participation in preservation, restoration, and use of Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) classified vehicles, which are defined as those which are twenty-five years old or older.  The AACA has 60,000 national members.  The Hornets Nest Region, AACA is comprised of 500 members residing in the greater Charlotte Metropolitan Area in North Carolina and South Carolina.   
 
Additional contributions to the Scholarship may be made by any person, institution or corporation at any time to the Hornets Nest Region Foundation, Inc with a stipulation that the contribution be applied to “The Hornets Nest Region, AACA Annual Scholarship in Honor of H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler Jr.”

# # #

If you would like more information, or schedule an interview, please contact
Mel Carson, Executive Director, Hornets Nest Region, AACA.

09.02.07 - Mr. Charlie Martin ’70, Belmont Abbey College alumni receives: The Br. Gregory T. Corcoran, OSB Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award.

Criterion

This award, conferred annually, is given to a member of the Alumni Association who exemplifies the ideals of Belmont Abbey College, communicates the vision and the mission of the institution to the greater college community and assists with reunions, alumni events, fund-raising, admissions or other areas where the college needs a volunteer. 

Bio

Charlie Martin is a dedicated family man, a pillar in the community and a loyal alumnus of Belmont Abbey College. A native of New York, he served in the US Navy from 1961-1964 before moving to Belmont in the late sixties. In 1970, Charlie graduated from the Abbey with a degree in business. Upon leaving the Abbey, he remained in Belmont where he began an extensive career in the insurance business. As a leader in the community, Charlie has served on the Gaston County Parks and Recreation Board, the YMCA-Stowe Branch Board, the Gaston County Travel and Tourism Board and most recently as the Mayor Pro-tem of Belmont where he and wife Dot, a Belmont native, have lived for nearly 40 years. His contributions to the Abbey are just as numerous serving on the Wall of fame Committee, the Phi Kappa Theta Reunion Committee, the Abbey Alumni Admissions Associates and several terms on the college's Alumni Board. In 2006, Charlie coordinated, organized and directed the Belmont Abbey College 130th Anniversary Parade on Homecoming Weekend. Charlie and Dot have five grown children and 14 wonderful grandchildren.

07.18.2007 - Abbot blesses alum’s new office building

The opening and blessing of a new office building is a cause for celebration.  On July 18, 2007, Abbot Placid Solari, O.S.B. was invited by alumni Gene Miller ’65 and partners Cindy Sherrill ’81 and Dana Harrison’95 to bless their new office in Charlotte.  The firm, Miller Sherrill Blake Eagle CPA PA, has four branches and is the fourth largest local firm in the region. Another alumnus, James Plecnik ’06 is also employed  there.  Attending the celebration were Professors Angela Blackwood and Lynne Shoaf of BAC’s Accounting Department.  A number of Abbey administrators were also on hand to offer congratulations.  Miller is a Trustee of the college and helped found the J.P. Smith Scholarship for students majoring in accounting.