Faith. Family. Excellence. Tradition. The mission of our school shined at this year’s Legacy Gala, themed Together Toward Tomorrow! Each year Cathedral Prep honors alumni who have shown their support and dedication to our schools through the years. This year we honored Barbara (Rodeno) Lechner ’66VMA and Michael F. Mischler ’87 by inducting them both into the prestigious President’s Hall of Fame.
The evening began with a photo booth and champagne. Guests were given the opportunity to mingle and enjoy hors d’oeuvres while bidding on one of our 115 silent auction items. Our talented Mother Teresa Academy “Singing Saints” choir kicked off the program as our new president, Kevin Smith, welcomed guests to another SOLD OUT event! During the program our emcee, Fr. Mike DeMartinis led the live auction and sold over 10 items including a private tailgate with Coach Misch, a five-course meal at The Cork 1794, a Pittsburgh Penguins package, Penn State vs. Michigan football package, and a Game of Thrones Journey through Ireland, just to name a few! Our live auction raised over $31,000 for our students!
Each of our honorees were legacy families and were inducted into the President’s Hall of Fame by a family member. Barbara was escorted on stage by her husband, B.J. ’65, another President’s Hall of Fame member, and was presented her award by her daughter-in-law and board member, Abby (Gallo) Lechner ’98VMA. Also in the audience were Barb’s children, Matt ’91 and Chris ’95. The family looks forward to Matt and Abby’s children continuing the Lechner legacy at Cathedral Prep in a few years!
Coach Mischler was presented his award from his son, Joe ’18, a special moment for both as they share not only father/son memories from Prep, but a state championship together! Misch, too, is a legacy family as his daughters, Melissa ’13VMA, Katie ’14VMA, Michelle ’16VMA, and Kelly ’20VMA all attended Villa Maria Academy and were all present at the Gala, along with his wife, Mary, to show their support and pride.
Of course, the evening could not have been made possible without our 44 sponsors and over 180 donors. The event concluded with the reason why we were all there, to show our support for our students. Tuition Angels go directly toward student financial aid and keep the cost of a Prep education affordable to all families in Erie. Each Tuition Angel is $500, and thanks to our many generous supporters, we raised over $110,000 with 220 Tuition Angels at this year’s Gala! Our sponsors, donors, and Tuition Angels are the true MVPs and raised a total of over $370,000 for our students! We cannot thank you enough and are so very blessed to have you all as a part of the Prep, Villa, and MTA family.
So yet again, another successful Legacy Gala – stay tuned for what’s in store next!
