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20 ‘Five-Star Generals’
Honored at Army of Believers |
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Nearly 500 people attended the 3rd Annual Army of Believers Scholarship Luncheon on August 5, when we celebrated the success of our most substantial scholarship program and honored the CMSD ‘Five Star Generals’ whose generosity and support played a major role in student success this year. Honorary Co-Chairs for this year's event were former U.S. Congressman Louis Stokes, and Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown. Eighteen CMSD students were recognized for their academic success and awarded substantial scholarships to advance their college and career dreams. Twenty distinguished individuals and companies were recognized at this year’s Army of Believers Scholarship Luncheon for the role they played in the lives of these and of all CMSD students and for funding some of our most innovative programs this year. Academic Scholarship In its first two years, the Army of Believers Scholarship Fund raised more than $422,000 for scholarships to help CMSD seniors make the transition from high school to college, and once there, to help them with living expenses so they could purchase books, study without worry and find success. For providing substantial college scholarships for CMSD students this year, Kent Clapp, Former CEO of Medical Mutual, Christopher M. Connor, CEO & Chairman of Sherwin-Williams Company, and Donald T. Misheff, Northeast Ohio Managing Partner of Ernst & Young, were honored at the event. Instead of spending money on a celebration of the 100-year partnership of Sherwin Williams and Ernst & Young, Messrs. Connor and Misheff instead directed substantial scholarship funds to students in our District.
Educational Advocacy Also recognized were Army of Believers Five-Star Generals whose advocacy on behalf of children and schools have led to significant legislative and policy changes for the benefit of education in Cleveland: Julian Earls of the Development Fund, Former Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Former Cleveland Councilwoman Fannie M. Lewis, and Former U.S. Congressman Louis Stokes were recognized for their tireless advocacy on behalf of students, families and the people of Cleveland.
Advancement of Science, Math, Technology Education For their generous support of the math, science, and technology education, and particularly of the innovative CMSD MC2STEM School, several Army of Believers ‘Five Star Generals’ were honored. Henry L. Meyer III, CEO and Chairman of KeyCorp, John “Jack” Sherwin, Jr. President of the Sherwick Fund, Dr. Linda Abraham-Silver, President and CEO of the Great Lakes Science Center, and the partners at the Parker-Hannifan Foundation were recognized for inspiring countless CMSD students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math this year.
Cultural Enrichment Other recipients, honored as Army of Believers Five-Star Generals for their support of culture and arts in education were Commissioner Robert Jackson, senior partner at Kohrman, Jackson & Krantz, and Gerald Zahler, a proud graduate of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Jackson’s generous funding of cultural enrichment programs through Cleveland Opera and Zahler’s substantial donations to Patrick Henry School, where he, himself, was inspired to beat the odds and to succeed in college and in life, provided inspiration to numerous students this year and to nearly 500 people in attendance at the Army of Believers event. And finally, for their support of the most needy children in our District, several Army of Believers Five-Star Generals were recognized for their compassion and generosity: Mitchell Balk, President of the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, Dale Fehrenbach, President of Cargill Deicing Technology, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Pastor Emeritus of the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Patrick J. Perotti, Law Specialist & Partner at Dworken & Bernstein Co., LPA, and Charles Ratner, President and CEO of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. and Charles Ratner, have long been friends and supporters of our students, with Mr. Ratner being most fondly remembered by our students for providing a sit-down dinner for everyone who attended the opening of Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School.
Compassionate Service Mr. Balk and the Mt. Sinai Foundation has provided not only substantial funding, but also vision screening to more than 100,000 students and has distributed more than 12,000 pairs of quality eye glasses through his ChildSight-Cleveland Program for our middle school students. When it comes to caring for hungry children and families in Cleveland, Dale Fehrenbach and his staff at Cargill Deicing Tehnology are at the heart of every effort. This year, they filled a dire nutritional need in our District, with donations of vouchers for fresh milk to be included in CMSD’s Project ACT food backpacks for more than 2,000 homeless students. Mr. Perotti’s use of the legal doctrine of cy pres has directed millions of dollars in unclaimed class settlement funds to our District with provisions for food, housing, clothing, shelter, drug and alcohol treatment, disease prevention, adoption assistance, special needs education, handicap assistance and other critical areas of need. Building an Army of Believers It was a day filled with celebration—a celebration of excellence, a celebration of service, and a celebration of the generosity of a growing Army of Believers dedicated to realizing the full potential of every student in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. We are grateful to these and to a growing number of ‘Believers,’ whose support is a constant reminder to CMSD students that anything is possible.
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