Communications

Dear LC Alumni, 

I hope all is well and you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer. It has been a very exciting and busy few months here at Lake as we complete renovations to the locker rooms, teacher lounge, chapel, and parking lot. Things are looking great, and I am sure the staff and students will appreciate these upgrades as we continue to keep Lake Catholic one of the premier high schools in the greater Cleveland area. These types of enhancements are only possible through the support of a strong alumni network, so thank you for the continued support and interest in Lake Catholic. 

As we prepare for the start of the school year, I want to share a few reminders of events and activities that I welcome your participation. Moving forward I will be sure to send out monthly newsletters to ‘keep you in the loop’!  If you are not receiving the weekly emails of The Paw, which will start going out again on Friday afternoons at 4:00, please contact me so we can get your correct contact information.

Reminders:

** Hall of Excellence nominations are being accepted until August 31st. 

                    Service to the School Nomination Form

                    Professional Success Nomination Form

** Grandparents Day

We love grandparents! Celebrate Grandparents Day at Lake Catholic. Alumni are encouraged to attend Mass at St. John Vianney on Sunday, September 8, 2024, at 10:30am and then head to Lake Catholic beginning at 11:30am for coffee, breakfast pastries and self-led tours. We will even have some activities for younger children. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce your grandchildren to Cougar Country!

RSVP for Grandparents Day

 **LC Athletic Hall of Fame Weekend (New Event)

We are excited to be bringing back our Athletic Hall of Fame and invite you to join us for the induction ceremony for the seven newest members on Saturday, September 14, 2024.  Please click here, the Athletic Hall of Fame, to view the Honorees, purchase tickets, or to sponsor this event.

                             Friday 9/13 – football game vs. South

                             Saturday 9/14 – Induction Ceremony at LC

** Alumni Homecoming Tailgate is October 4th vs. Padua

Staying connected and informed

Our LC magazine, Striving Forward, wants to hear from you!

For those not familiar, in 2022, Lake Catholic created a bi-annual magazine, Striving Forward, that highlights the accomplishments, accolades, and updates of students, alumni, faculty, staff and the greater Lake Catholic community.

We are looking to expand our Alumni Update section to include more life updates from each of you! We are looking for life updates such as marriages, babies or adoptions, career changes, recent moves, retirements, awards and accolades, or other life updates that you want to share with the greater Lake Catholic community. This is a great way to stay connected with the greater alumni network. 

For our upcoming issue, we are looking to collect life updates by August 23rd. Of course, we will continue to collect updates on an ongoing basis after that date to be used in future issues or other Lake Catholic communication. 

Thank you for your participation in our ever-growing alumni network!

Stay well and make it a great day!

Class of 2024 Enjoys Last Week Before Becoming Alumni

With its Commencement ceremony tomorrow evening, the Class of 2024 capped off its Lake Catholic High School years with the annual Senior Week events.

Senior Project - After spending a week away from school and shadowing prospective careers, the seniors returned to school to present their week-long projects to their staff and faculty advisors.

Baccalaureate Mass & Senior Awards - The “Catholic Graduation” was Tuesday night as the class celebrated its final mass together. After the celebration ended, the administration, guidance, athletics and advancement departments, and campus ministry presented awards for specific honors.

The Christian Life Award, the school's highest honors, was awarded to senior Gianna Rubino. With the inception of this award in 1972, a tradition was established to focus on the active expression of the Lake Catholic Mission Statement and Gospel values both within our school environment and in the greater community.

Parade - The Senior Parade brought the Class of 2024 down Bellflower into the school parking lot, where they were greeted by the rest of the Lake Catholic student body, faculty and staff.

Passing of the Torch - This solemn, annual tradition continued as the school’s executive board and senior class student government “passed the torch” to the newly elected officers from the current junior class who will lead the student body the next school year.

At the ceremony:
* Freshmen become Sophomores, Leaders in Unity
* Sophomores become Juniors, Leaders of Community
* Juniors become Seniors, Leaders of Lake Catholic, and
* Seniors become Alumni, New Leaders of Society

Senior Picnic - In their final event as a class before they walk across the stage to become alumni, the seniors had their class picnic, including games and inflatables. Thank you to Mr. Keith Koenig and Mr. Joe Dobbins for cooking all the hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone!

On Saturday, May 25, at 6p, they will become the 51st Graduating Class from Lake Catholic.

Alumni Association Golf Outing Filling Up Quickly, Get Your Foursome in Now

The Lake Catholic Alumni Association's annual Golf Outing is being held Friday, July 12 at Little Mountain Country Club, in Painesville.

Golf begins at 130p with a shotgun start and will be a four-person, best-ball scramble.

The cost per golfer is $150, which includes 18 holes with a cart, a light lunch, dinner, beer, water, soft drinks, and a commemorative gift. Sponsorships are also available, some of which include a foursome.

There will be Closest to the Pin and Long Drive contests, skins, a 50/50 raffle, and a ticket raffle for some great prizes.

All the proceeds from the golf outing benefit the Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship, which helps to make a Catholic education more affordable to students who have a parent, grandparent, or aunt/uncle who had previously attended Lake Catholic.

Register to Play, Purchase Sponsorship
 

Alumni Spotlight: Tim Gibbons (1995)

This week's Alumni Spotlight highlights Tim Gibbons (Class of 1995) who is the Director of Patient Support Services at The Cleveland Clinic

Why do you support Lake Catholic?

When I was 7 years old my father accepted a coaching and teaching job at Lake Catholic. From that point on I spent much of my time at the school. My five sisters (Mary, Anne, Kate, Patty, and Nora) and three brothers (Tom, Mike, and Marty) all graduated from LC. I have many great memories and continue to build more with my daughters Claire ('27) and Madelyn ('28), both active in sports, leadership (student council) and other activities the school has to offer.

What specific areas or missions are you drawn to at Lake Catholic?

I played football and wrestled all four years at Lake Catholic. My daughter Claire plays golf, basketball, and lacrosse. My family helps at the St. Augustine's Hunger Center in Tremont (serving food to homeless).

What do you wish others knew about Lake Catholic?

It’s a great community that fosters lifelong friendships.

What is your favorite memory of Lake Catholic?

My favorite memory of Lake Catholic is winning back-to-back state titles in football during my freshman and sophomore years and beating top-ranked Walsh Jesuit in football my senior year. Creating lifelong friendships and memories!

Why did you choose Lake Catholic for your children?

We chose Lake Catholic to have our children experience a welcoming environment and to participate in the rich traditions that have been created for the past 54 years.

What are you currently up to? What's new and exciting that you have going on now?

I am the Director of Patient Support Services at the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus. My team consists of (Patient Transport, Red Coats, Administrative Services, and Concierge Services.) I have been at Main Campus for the past 15+ years in many different roles. I live in Mentor with my wife Emily and two daughters Claire and Madelyn. We have an international student (Blanca) from Barcelona, Spain living with us for the school year. We love to travel, and we are currently planning our trip to Iceland this summer to see all the natural beauty! We are a very active family with sports and leisurely recreation activities.

If you're interested in being a part of our Alumni Spotlight, or would like to nominate someone, please reach out to our Director of Alumni Relations Bill Weaver.

Alumni Updates

Lisa Quine ('08) was hired by the Cleveland Guardians to paint a mural at Progressive Field celebrating the new City Connect jerseys designed by Nike.

The mural was painted at a warehouse in 3 sections in 3 weeks.

Lisa was then invited to throw out one of the ceremonial first pitches before the May 17 game against the Minnesota Twins.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Rutgers volleyball program announced the promotion of Abby Detering ('14) to associate head coach.

"I am so excited to name Abby the associate head coach of the Rutgers volleyball program," said head coach Caitlin Schweihofer. "She has been such a valuable asset to me, my staff and the team over the past few seasons. Abby offers high-level playing experience and brought that experience to guide our offense. Additionally, she has a strong recruiting vision for the future of the program and has made dedicated recruiting efforts to strengthen the Rutgers volleyball brand across the country and the world."

Detering begins her third season as a member of the Rutgers staff serving as a key member in the team's tremendous growth during the Schweihofer era.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ava Peterlin ('19) was promoted to Account Manager at Insight Global.

* * * * * * * * * *

Tara Daly ('21) graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Degree with a specialization in Marketing. She will be joining Avery Dennison full-time as a Market Research Analyst.

Hey Alumni, We Want to Hear from You. So Please Keep In Touch

We invite you to stay connected with your alma mater. Have you moved, changed jobs, pursued higher education, got married, had a baby, or fulfilled a life goal or milestone recently? Update your profile information to share your personal or professional accomplishments with the Lake Catholic community.

Let Us Know What You've Been Up To
 

IN MEMORIAM

Brendan Bartel (October 28, 1986 - May 18, 2024)

Funeral Mass for Brendan Joseph Bartel, 37, of Mentor, will be 10 a.m. Saturday, May 25, at St. John Vianney Church.

Brendan passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, May 18, 2024. He was born Oct. 28, 1986, in Euclid.

Brendan was a proud graduate of All Saints School, Lake Catholic and Notre Dame College, where he attended on a basketball scholarship. Not sure if the Cougars and the Falcons were the reason, but his favorite colors were blue and green. He worked at Hospice of the Western Reserve for 15 years as Manager in the Provider Relations Department. Brendan was a member of St. John Vianney Parish since birth as well as a member of the Irish American Club East Side. He was a graduate of Ashtabula Leadership Program.

His daughters Alaina and Ellianna meant the world to Brendan and he looked forward to attending volleyball, rugby, basketball and softball games for Alaina.

Brendan was the beloved husband of Danielle (Kistner) Bartel; loving Dad of Alaina and Ellianna Bartel; son of Ed and Judy (nee Burke) Bartel; brother of Kevin (Cristina) Bartel and Sean Bartel; son-in-law of Cheryl Kistner; brother-in-law to Kevyn (Amy) Kistner and Chris (Emily) Quinn; uncle of Patrick Javier Burke and Addie and Eli Quinn; nephew of Martha (Ron) Zallocco, Mike (Bonnie) Burke, Joseph Burke, Jim Burke, Sister Maureen Burke, SND and Kevin (Kathryn) Burke; cousins of Bartel, Zallocco, Burke, Reilly, Maguire, Walsh, Coyne, Kerrigan, Ronan and numerous others; and countless friends from his classmates, to basketball teammates, to friends of his and Danielle.
He is preceded in death by his uncles, Rev. Sean Burke, MM and Tom Burke; and aunt, Linda Burke.

Brendan lives on, as in 2014, he donated his kidney to his Godmother, Sr. Maureen.

Family will receive friends from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 24 at McMahon-Coyne-Vitantonio Funeral Home, 6330 Center St. in Mentor. Burial will follow the Mass at Mentor Cemetery.

Summer Hours Set for School Offices

School offices will be open from 9a - 1p Mondays through Thursdays starting on Tuesday, June 4 and throughout the summer. Those offices will include:

• Main office
• Admissions
• Finance 
• Advancement

The school will be closed outside of those hours. Phone messages and emails will be checked during those hours and returned as soon as possible.

Let us Help you Plan Your Class Reunions

If your class is planning a reunion, or needs help starting the planning process, please let us know! We can simply help with promotion, or help in a bigger way, with class lists, contact information and many other ideas.

* Class of 2004 – August 3, 5-10:p; reunion in school atrium, including a tour of the school

* Class of 1994 – August 24, 530-730p, a class reception at the school, including a tour.

* Class of 1974 – September 21, 1p mass in school chapel, followed by a tour of the school; 5-10p, reunion at Sol in Downtown Willoughby.

Please share all your information with Bill Weaver, our Director of Alumni Relations.

Check out our Class Reunion page!

Class Reunion Central
 

Calendar

May 21 - Baccalaureate Mass

May 25 - Class of 2024 Commencement Ceremony

July 12 - Alumni Association Golf Outing

August 3 - Class of 2004 reunion

August 24 - Class of 1994 reception

September 14 - Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

September 17 - Athletic Giving Day

September 21 - Class of 1974 mass (Lake Catholic chapel), reunion (Sol)

Full School Calendar