Madonna’s 65th Year Celebration brought a large gathering of alumni, family, friends, and sponsors to celebrate the long, beautiful history of Madonna High School at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort. Our presenting sponsors were the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and Starvaggi Industries. Their generosity, along with our other sponsors, H.E. Neumann Co., James White Construction, St. Paul’s Church Holy Name Men, Gus’s Goodies and Franciscan University of Steubenville, allowed us the opportunity to provide a wonderful evening to all in attendance.
The evening started off with a chance for old friends to reconnect, say long overdue “Hello’s”, sample the tasty appetizers, and appreciate the musical entertainment of DJ Nin. After enjoying a satisfying dinner, all were greeted by the night’s Emcee, Mr. Dan McCune ‘80, who welcomed everyone and shared the reason for the evening’s festivities. Next, Mr. McCune introduced Mr. Patrick Cassidy ‘66 to speak about the newly constructed Barrett-Wieloh Fund at Madonna. This fund will focus on teachers to allow the school to hire the best area educators and assist the school in maintaining the highest of standards for the next 65 years and beyond.
Madonna’s Advancement Director, Christine Holmes, took an opportunity to thank everyone in attendance and congratulate the Class of 1960 for winning the inaugural “Class Challenge.” This fun-spirited competition between graduating classes to raise funds will continue annually to support tuition assistance for many Madonna students. Mrs. Holmes also shared a unique opportunity for the attendees: they would have the chance to purchase school OVAC and Mason-Dixon Champion banners they may have earned during their high school years. A tremendous thank you to Mr. Spencer Thomas ’08 for being there and allowing us to use his auction software.
As the evening progressed, everyone was able to mingle, reminisce, and arrange future get-togethers to foster the lifelong friendships they made during their years at Madonna. As was apparent on everyone’s faces, the evening was a great success, and talks of the next event were already in motion. We again want to thank all those who sponsored and attended this wonderful evening. Any questions on how to be part of the next event, our amazing school, or how to provide assistance please contact Christine Holmes at (304) 723-0545 or cholmes@weirtonmadonna.org.