$34,000+ raised in Give Your Grad Year Donor Challenge!

Patricia GibsonMHSAA News

THANK YOU to all who gave during this donor challenge! YOU RAISED A TOTAL OF $34,387.25!

Congratulations to the Class of 1970, who came in first place for the amount of their donations — $5,081.55! Next year they will celebrate their 50th reunion, and they now have the Gardens of Matter Park rent-free thanks to the city of Marion. Thank you all for believing in our school system and this cause!


The rest of the top 10:

2. 1967 – $1,952.7
3. 1971 – $1,946
4. 1975 – $1,725
5. 1974 – $1,655
6. 1969 – $1,535
7. 1984 – $1,406
8. 1999 – $1,396
9. 1978 – $1,306

>> PLEASE NOTE: This challenge is over, but you can ALWAYS give to Marion High School to help us continue our mission of meeting the needs of Giants today and long into the future. Here’s how:

  • Send a check to:
    Marion High School Alumni Association
    PO BOX 448
    Marion, IN 46952
  • Give to our MCS Giant Dreams Endowment (click here)
  • Give to MHSAA via Facebook donation (click here)
  • If you would like to discuss a major gift or want to earmark your donation for a specific purpose, please contact Mark Fauser, 765-661-4621.

Marion High School alum Patrice McCollum Woody saw a need and had a GIANT idea to give the amount of the last two digits from the year she graduated in 1976. So it was $76. She created a Giant challenge, if you will, to see if her giant class of more than 700 graduates would match her gift.

Then, she wondered: What if other years did the same?

And the idea caught on!

We’re keeping track of totals for each graduating class that has given here (total dollar amount given for each class is shown below, and updated at least weekly):

UPDATE: Timeline and prizes!

The Giant Graduation Challenge will run until Homecoming Weekend 2019! So at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 12, the game is locked!

Then, at halftime of the Homecoming football game on September 13, 2019, we will announce which class wins the Giant Graduation Challenge. And, yes, there IS a prize for the winning class: a reunion at the beautiful Gardens of Matter Park at no cost to the class! We will have other surprises for that class as well!

Want to give?

Send your check along with name, graduation year, phone, and email to:
Marion High School Alumni Association
P.O. Box 448
Marion, IN 46952

You can also give online at www.givetogrant.org/giantdreams~or~ give through Facebook.

(Your donation is tax deductible as allowed by law, as Marion High School Alumni Association is a 501(c)3 organization.)

Who’s already on board:

We’re tracking individual donors here:

1931:

  • Dale Culley, given in his memory by his son Alan, Class of 1971

1933:

  • Chester Culley, given in his memory by his nephew Alan, Class of 1971

1945:

  • Barbara Pattengale Caldwell, $45, given in her honor by daughter Sheila Caldwell Stewart, Class of 1969

1946:

  • Jane Ayers, $96 ($46 for her and $46 in honor of her twin brother, Dan)
  • Oleta Flynn, $46 given in her honor by her son Stephen Flynn, Class of 1969

1947:

  • Dick Weagley, $200

1949:

  • Bobbie Don Bridgewater, given in his memory by his daughter Claire Strayer, in honor of the 70 years since he graduated, $70
  • Pierre “P.J.” Fisher, $49
  • Alice (Cantrell) Kramm, $49
  • Beverly (Hubbard) Weagley, $200

1950:

  • Carol (Walton) Fisher, $50
  • Desmond Wise, $50

1952:

  • “Jim” Sutter, $52

1953:

  • Julia (Stevens) Collins, $53 given in her honor by daughter Julie Sherman

1954:

  • Sandra (Nukes) Perkins, $54

1955:

  • James Harris, $55
  • Thomas Nukes, $55

1956:

  • Bill Hanley, $100
  • Nancy Jeffrey Harris, $56
  • Phil Hartman Sr., given in his honor by his son Phil, Class of 1978, $56
  • Nelson Young, $56

1957:

  • Lelia (Baxter) Dailey, $57 given in her memory by Roberta (Bragg) Gates, Class of 1959
  • John Rohrer, $57

1958:

  • Bill and Connie Harris Anderson, $116

1959:

  • Judy (Collins) Armano, $100
  • Carolyn (Devine) Ellis, $59
  • Roberta (Bragg) Gates, $59
  • Carol (Plummer) Hamilton, $59
  • Hans Sheridan, given in his memory by his wife, Jeanne, $120
  • Jerry Whitton, $59

1960:

  • Dick Green, $60
  • Larry Haines, $60 given in his honor by his sister Joyce (Haines) Eltzroth, Class of 1964
  • John Jacob, $60
  • Linda (Pressler) Shockey, $60

1961:

  • Steve Holmes, $61 + $61 in memory of his football coach Wave Myers, gone but fondly remembered
  • Bonnie Stevens Nestleroad and Calvin Nestleroad, $121
  • Elizabeth Stewart, $61

1962:

  • Class of 1962, $78 Amy (Whitcraft) Anderson, $62
  • John Anderson, $62
  • LeRoy Dunn, $62
  • John Earnest, $162
  • Marilyn (Carey) Hopkins, $62
  • Mary Lowery, $62
  • Larry Moreland, $62
  • Amelia Ann Custer Pearson, $62
  • Terry Porter, $62
  • Kit Simmons, $62
  • Verlie Stewart, given in his memory by his siblings Elizabeth, Earl C, and Rhonda Stewart, $62

1963:

  • Norma (Anderson) Achor, $63
  • Robert “Duffy” Fankboner, given in his honor by his friend Dianne (Secttor) Smith, $63
  • Pam Zeppering Hufford, $63
  • Teddie Lee, $63
  • Dick Osburn, $63
  • Sherry Miller, $63, given in her honor by her sister Vicki Miller
  • Dianne (Secttor) Smith, $63
  • Cathy Hadley Reid, $63, given in her memory by her friend Susie Herrick Vesey, Class of 1963
  • Paul Usher, $63
  • Susie Herrick Vesey, $163
  • Dee Dee Harrigan Wieking, $63

1964:

  • Bill Beekman, $64
  • Joyce (Haines) Eltzroth, $86
  • Connie (Patterson) Gill, $64
  • Betty (Bowman) Porter, $64
  • Kitty Knauer Steel, $64
  • Vicki DeNardo Watts, $64
  • Bill Wells, $64

1965:

  • Leslee Lutz Anders, $65
  • Rick Harris, $65
  • Bonnie Circle Cantrell Magers, $65
  • Linda (Columbus) Kitts, $65

1966:

  • Deb (Nelson) Bruner, $66
  • Terry Edwards, $66, given in his honor by Cindy Ballinger Edwards, Class of 1969
  • Wylie Jones, $66 in memory of players and coaches on his team
  • Dale Knauer, given in his memory by his sister Kitty Knauer Steel, Class of 1964, $66
  • Robert Todd Nicholson, $66
  • Vicki Miller, $66

1967:

  • Jan (Stevens) Beekman, $67
  • Douglas Brown, $67
  • Rowdy Bryant, $67
  • Jenny Campbell, $67
  • Teri Chambers Cameron, $67
  • Alan Culley, $67 + $44 given in honor of his father-in-law Glen “Bilko” Eltzroth, Class of 1944 + $201 in memory of the 122 classmates of 1967 who have passed away
  • Martha Mitchell Funnell, $67
  • George Garrett, $100
  • Nancy Harris, $67
  • Pam (Dunwoody) Hodgin, $67
  • Drew Kightlinger, $100
  • Lynn (Adams) Landon, $134
  • Cathe (Earle) Layman, $67
  • Peter Lonngren, $67
  • John McIntyre, $67
  • Sheryl Meyers, $50
  • James Savesky, $67
  • Ron Sexton, $67 (given in his memory by classmate Frank Ireland)
  • Joseph Swihart, $67
  • Cheryl Earnest Wiggs, $25, donated m
  • The Class of 1967 donated $196.70

1968:

  • Tiajuana Fisher Black, $68
  • Phil Campbell, $68 donated in his honor by Jorene Campbell Sutter and Joe Sutter
  • Todd Curran, $68
  • Brent Davis, $68
  • John Koegel, $68, given in his honor by his brother William Hank Koegel, Class of 1970

1969:

  • Ginny (Anderson) Bailey, $69
  • Robert Chambers, $69 given in his memory by an anonymous donor
  • Les “Butch” and Bonnie (Rankin) Cole, $138
  • Cindy Ballinger Edwards, $69
  • Stephen Flynn, $69
  • Patrick Harrington, $20
  • Howard “Mickie” Livingston, $69
  • Steve Madden, $69
  • Steve Moritz, $69
  • Michael Mundt and Karen (Knost) Mundt, $140
  • Christine (McComb) Murrell, $69
  • David Murrell, $69
  • Dave Raabe, $133
  • Susan (McCollum) Sanders, $69
  • Susan Saunders, $69
  • Linda Smith, $69
  • Sheila Caldwell Stewart, $69 + $34 to honor the legendary Art Caldwell and the number of years he worked at MCS as a teacher, coach, and athletic director.
  • Rebecca Brooks Stubbs, $69
  • Joe Sutter, $69
  • Dave Tippey, $69

1970:

  • Jena Jones Adrianson, $70
  • Cathy (Shaw) Ardman, given in her memory by her sisters, Cindy (Shaw) Cunningham, Class of 1975, and Jennifer (Shaw) Wegner, Class of 1980, $70
  • Richard Arnaudin, $70
  • James Backs, $50
  • Bill Barley, $70 (plus the $70, given in his honor by his sister Sally (Barley) Hoffman, Class of 1975)
  • Nancy (Boone) Barlow, $70
  • John Baxter, $70
  • Bruce Bender, $70
  • Jama Ferguson Black, $70
  • Bob Bolner, $100 ($70 for his class, $10 each in honor of Gorley Andrews, Sam Vanlandingham, Stan Wiegolinski)
  • Mike Cline, $70
  • Marian Foster Cochran, $70
  • Renee Moorehead Cox, $70 + $70 in memory of her best friend Sharon Moon Smola, Class of 1970, who passed away in 2004
  • Carol Nelson Eddy, $70
  • Carlton Fisher, $70
  • John Foreman, $70
  • Joe Gabbart, $70
  • Melissa (Milford) Gartland, $70
  • Kathy Sipes George, $70
  • Sarah Kathy Goodwin, $70
  • Vicki Lewis Gray, $70
  • Martha Crenshaw Grove, $70
  • Cheryl (Haneline) Harmon, $70
  • Mark Harris, $70
  • Valarie Everhart Harris, $70
  • Nancy (Colescott) Heaton, $70
  • Steve Hendey, $70
  • Cathy Davis Heslop, $69.55 because she was supposed to graduate with the Class of 1970 but graduated a bit early
  • Lynn (Hoskinson) Hewitt, $70
  • Debra (Reed) Hodge, $70
  • Susan Smith Holmes, $70
  • Kathy Goodwin Hougendobler, $70
  • Bo Howell, $70
  • Brenda Barmore James, $70
  • Deborah Goins Johansen, $70
  • Doug Johnson, $70
  • Kathi (Weller) Johnson, $70
  • Reid LeFavour, $70
  • Jill (Brening) Key, $70
  • William Hank Koegel, $70
  • Keith Krinn, $70
  • Ronda McCall, $70
  • Debbie (Fleck) Milkey, $70
  • Carol Lynn Murrell, $70 given in her memory by David and Christine (McComb) Murrell, both Class of 1969
  • Paula Nelson, $70
  • Wesley Newton, $70
  • Daniel Patrick, $70
  • Twanna (Floriana) Patrick, $93
  • Gary Phaup, $70
  • Sally (Arbaugh) Poehler, $70
  • Gregory Reed, $70
  • Dennis Rust, $70 given in his honor by Debbie Milkey
  • Stu Secttor, $70 + $30 in memory of friend Danny Fankboner, Class of 1970
  • Jorene Campbell Sutter, $70
  • Belinda Downam Benny Snyder, $70
  • Patricia Lewton Soultz, $70
  • Kathy Wilkinson Thompson, $70
  • Joy Cochran Tiffany, $70
  • Laurie Clutter Upson, $70
  • Rebecca Ruley Walls, $70
  • Barbara Friemuth Wiesen, $70
  • Chris Chambers Willman, $70
  • Donna Lightly Young, $70
  • an anonymous donor gave $350
  • an anonymous donor gave $75 in memory of classmates Leslie Overman and Diane Hyman
  • Class of 1970 donated $114 in memory of the 114 classmates who have sadly passed away

1971:

  • Ronald Babb, $71
  • Ray Baker, $71
  • Tresa (Storey) Baker, $71
  • Bruce Baumbaugh, $71 + $100 given in honor of his parents, Marvin and Rida Jane (Howard) Baumbaugh, both 1944 graduates
  • Eddie Lee Black, $284 (because his class is two times better … and then he doubled down on it!)
  • John Claxon, $71
  • Philippa (Eltzroth) Culley, $71
  • Nancy Custer, $71
  • Linda (Ellis) Dreiman, $71
  • Willadean Cortwright Duncan, $71
  • Dee Fager, $71, given in his memory by his friend Keith Rea, Class of 1976
  • Susan (Berger) Hamrick, $142 (following Eddie Lee Black’s lead, 1971 is twice as nice!)
  • Sue Ogden Johnson, $71
  • James McIntyre, $71
  • Ed Merchant, $71
  • Susan Cruse Natoli, $71
  • Mary Timmons Sayers, $71
  • Jackie Thomas Reed, $213
  • Randy Rinearson, $71
  • Mary Ann Wiesler, $71, given in her memory by her friend Katherine Wilkinson Thompson, Class of 1970

1972:

  • Debbie Richcreek Holley and Scott Holley, $720
  • Edward McIlwain, $72
  • Pam Dickinson McIntyre, $72
  • Karen (Damron) Nichols, $72
  • Sheila Caldwell Spitler, $72, given in her honor by her sister Sheila Caldwell Stewart, Class of 1969
  • Connie (Turner) Strange, $72

1973:

  • Thomas Barley, $73 given in his honor by his sister Sally (Barley) Hoffman, Class of 1975, and another $73 given by him
  • Mary Anne (O’Brien) Fath, $73
  • Brian Flynn, $73, plus an additional $73 in memory of Michael Parker
  • Kathie Jackson, $73
  • Marcia Freeman Newton, $73
  • Tim Wentz, $73
  • Ann Wilkinson, $73, donated in her honor by her sister Katherine Wilkinson Thompson, Class of 1970
  • David Wright, $73
  • Steven Wright, $73

1974:

  • Carol Anderson, $74 given in her honor by an anonymous classmate
  • Mike Barley, $74
  • Janet Barnett, $74
  • Mike Barney, $74
  • Cindy (Smith) Bird, $74
  • Cathy (Bunker) Edelstein, $74
  • David Eltzroth, given in his memory by his sister Philippa (Eltzroth) Culley, Class of 1971, $74
  • Brian Landrum, $74
  • Carol (Wagner) Malott, $74
  • Lori (Quilhot) Maurer, $74 + $100
  • Donelle Bradford McAdams, $100
  • Mike O’Brien, $74
  • Terrie (Gray) Schafer, $74
  • Julie (Collins) Sherman, $74
  • Kim M. Stiles, $250
  • Tim Wendt, $119 ($74 for his grad year, and $45 for the class’s 45th anniversary)
  • Anonymous donor gave $100
  • Class of 1974 gave $74 in honor of Mark Fauser

1975:

  • Carole (Arnold) Aldinger, $75
  • Patty (Spidel) Barney, $75
  • MaryEllen (Kiley) Bishop, $75
  • Tina Harmon Carteaux, $75
  • Tom Christie, $75
  • Bryce Coryea, $75
  • Frajola Doyle, $75
  • Cindy (Shaw) Cunningham, $75
  • Gina Doyle, $75
  • Keela Bowman Fields, $75
  • Julie (Drook) Flores, $75
  • Mary Jo Gowin, $75
  • Shirley Pritchett Hill Gustafson, $75
  • Jodi Harris, $75, given in her honor by her mother Nancy Jeffrey Harris, Class of 1956
  • Mary Gartland Hiatt, $75
  • Sally (Barley) Hoffman, $75
  • Kyle Hutchens, $75
  • Bill Lester, $75
  • Sylvia (Siwik) O’Brien, $75
  • Julie Laweson Stegman, $75
  • Rhonda Stewart, $75
  • Janie Trout, $75
  • Laura Pfohl Vanier, $75

1976:

  • Mike Baccash, $76
  • Phillip Marble, $76
  • Debra Norton, $76
  • Keith Rea, $76
  • Cheryl Snyder, $76 given in her honor by her sister Marcia Snyder Guenin, Class of 1974
  • Patrice McCollum Woody gave $76 to start of the challenge! She added another $424 to honor her class.
  • Andy Everroad Taylor, $76

1977:

  • Bob Barley, given in his honor by his sister Sally (Barley) Hoffman, Class of 1975, $77
  • Mitch Booher, $77, given in his honor by his family
  • Renne Cox, $77
  • Greg Keeton, $77
  • Antonio Nukes, $77
  • James Rennie, $77
  • Kimberly Todd Shelford, $77
  • Jean Daily Wright, $77

1978:

  • Jeff Arbuckle, $26 given in his memory by classmate Eric Tyler
  • Cindy (Lane) Gorman, $78
  • Phil Hartman, $78
  • Bob Jackson, $78
  • Tracy (Davis) Lester, $78
  • Phil McIntosh, $78, given in his memory by friend Tracy (Davis) Lester, Class of 1978
  • Tom Nelson, $78
  • Eric Tyler, $78
  • Nelson Young, $78
  • Beth Winchell, $78
  • Laurie (Cruz) Wylie, $78, given in her memory by friend Tracy (Davis) Lester, Class of 1978

1979:

  • Mari (Andrick) Derado, $79
  • Debbie (Johnson) Flint, $79
  • Courtney Gorman, $79
  • Marcia (Snyder) Guenin, $79
  • Kathy (Booher) Landrum, $79
  • CJ Johnson McAbee-Reher, $79
  • Reggie Nevels, $79
  • Kent Seavers, $79
  • Rory Shivers Brimm, $140
  • Rhonda (Evans) Watkins, $79

1980:

  • Kelly (Smith) Battas, $80
  • Carolyn (Harper) Cunningham, $80
  • Felicia Cunningham, $80
  • Julie (Harris) Fauser, $80
  • Cathy (Thomas) Morris, $80
  • Carlton Rose, $80
  • Theresa Rouse, $80
  • Jennifer Lynn (Shaw) Wegner, $80
  • Tim Weiland, $80

1981:

  • Lori (Toy) Keeton, $81

1982:

  • Jeff Harris, $256 ($82 for himself, $82 for his high school sweetheart and now wife, Gigi Buday Harris, $82 for his dear friend Greg Edmonds, and $10 extra for the class of 1982)

1983:

  • Stacy Sample, $83

1984:

  • Ben Burnau, $250
  • Dawn (Bonham) Darga, $84
  • Sylvia (Jones) Flowers, $84
  • Mark Lockwood, $84, given in his honor by his sister, Karen (Lockwood) Taylor, Class of 1987
  • Leslie Florea Roberts, $84
  • Kellie (Clevenger) Street, $84
  • Eric Trice, $84
  • Eric Waltz, $84
  • Anonymous donor gave $84
  • Anonymous donor gave $484 in honor of Coach Jump and the 1984 Relay Team

1985:

  • Geoff Eltzroth, $85

1986:

  • Donovan Garret, $86
  • Kari (Milford) Persinger, $86

1987:

  • Kyle Persinger, $87
  • Jerry Rayburn $87
  • Karen (Lockwood) Taylor, $152 ($87 for her class, $30 for the 30 years her mom, Fran, taught at Marion, and $35 for the 35 years her dad, Ray, taught at Marion)

1988:

  • Rive Bove-Whitton, $88
  • Scott Meyer, $88
  • Trent Nukes, $88
  • Travis Whitton, $176 ($88 for himself and $88 in memory of classmate Collin Bowen)
  • Nikki (Bosley) Worl, $88

1989:

  • Lori (Hurst) Eltzroth, $89
  • Amy Kiley Ertel, $75 given in her honor by her mother, Mary Kiley
  • Tade Powell, $89
  • Aaron Vermilion, $89

1991:

  • Robert Hull, $91
  • Jennifer (Wells) Meyer, $91

1992:

  • Ann Beck Vermilion, $92

1993:

  • Brad Banks, $93
  • Bobby Browder, $93
  • Melissa Reising, $93
  • Suyin So, $93
  • Melissa (Wysong) Stone, $93

1994:

  • Serafina Salamo, $94

1995:

  • Maryann Baker, $95
  • Josh McIntyre, $95
  • Michael and Kristi (Marden) Phillippe, $95

1997:

  • Alan Beck, $97
  • Michelle (Backs) Bunker, $97
  • Megan Gaddis, $97
  • Jason Miller, $97
  • Jenny McIntyre Musser, $97

1999:

  • Will Carroll, $99
  • David Culley, $99
  • Trent Dailey, $1,000
  • Luke Mitchell, $99
  • Matthew Nicholson, $99

2000:

  • David Milford, $102
  • Sarah (Nicholson) Summersett, $20

2001:

  • Chance Carter, $102 “because I’m more generous than Cody Sharp and Taposh Rudra”
  • Taposh Rudra, $101
  • Cody Sharp, $101

2002:

  • A.J. Fricke, $102

2004:

  • Philip Bowers, $104
  • Kylie Jackson, $104
  • Tyler Jones, $104
  • Mark Milford, $104
  • Lisa (Sharp) Montany, $10
  • Eric O’Brien, $4
  • Barton Smith III, $104

2005:

  • Kyle Booher, $5
  • Lindsay Jackson, $5
  • Andrew Nicholson, $25, given in his honor by his father, R. Todd Nicholson, Class of 1966
  • Chris Sipes, $5

2006:

  • Amanda Johnson, $6
  • Zac Lloyd, $106

2007:

  • Ben Jackson, $7
  • Bre Laypoole, $7
  • Holly Rennaker Leber, $7
  • Kevin O’Brien, $7
  • Regan Reese, $7
  • Glenda Rojas Rehr, $7
  • Chris Rumple, $7
  • Joseph Schroder, $7

2008:

  • Laycee (Byer) Bruner, $8
  • Lucas Bruner, $8
  • Emma Draves, $8
  • Michael Raabe, $8

2009:

  • Stephenie Dorsey Cupp, $9
  • Josh Feuerstein, $9
  • Matt Raabe, $9

2010:

  • Kristen (Futtrell) Edwards, $10
  • Nick Fauser, $10
  • Grace (Ballantine) Gorman, $10
  • Marina Sharif, $10

2011:

  • Katie Landrum, $11
  • Veronica Sandoval, $11
  • Andrew Schoer, $44

2012:

  • Cedrik Bell, $12
  • Leah (Breedlove) Bell, $12
  • Kiki Fauser, $12
  • Jazmin Feuerstein, $12
  • Aaron Messer, $12
  • Vaughn Persinger, $12
  • Cameron Steppler, $12
  • Cort-Lyn Steppler, $12
  • Audrey Walts, $12

2014:

  • Trevor Hiles, $14
  • Scott Meyer Jr. $14
  • Lila Persinger, $14
  • James Walts, $14

2015:

  • Courtney Barber, $15
  • Brook Creech, $15

2016:

  • Courtney Hiles, $16
  • Austin Chase Seavers, $16
  • Bryce Shockey, $16

2017:

  • Truman Bennet, $17
  • Abby Eltzroth, $17
  • Kobe Freshwater, $17

2018:

  • Sophia Kitts, $18
  • Macie McCarthy, $18
  • Connor Moritz, $18
  • Andrea Persinger, $18

2019:

  • Trevor Bennet, $19
  • Ethan Eltzroth, $19
  • Lauren Flynn, $19, given in her honor by her uncle Stephen Flynn
  • Dylan Meyer, $19
  • Nenah Seward, $19
  • Jonathan Walts, $19

2021:

  • Sean Flynn, $21 given in his honor by his uncle Stephen Flynn

We will keep adding names as donations come in! The goal is to take this money and put it into our endowments so EVERY year we can allocate money to the kids and programs at Marion High School forever and ever. The beauty of endowments!

As of mid-May 2019 we have a total of $228,918.65 in the Giant Dreams Endowments. Great job, alumni!

Great idea, Patrice! Let the Giant Challenge begin!