President's Letter

Dear Bellarmine Families

The Dads’ Club just finished a terrific year, capped off by the Welcome Dinner for almost 700 freshmen students and dads. Its success, and that of the Dads’ Club last year, was due in large part to the leadership of our past President, Jim Alves. There is an old saying in sports that “you don’t want to be the coach that follows Lombardi.” Following Jim into the role of president for this year puts me in that position. Jim’s presence will be missed on the board.

This past year, thanks in large part to Bill Phipps and Dean Johnson, we did a much better job of informing dads of volunteer opportunities at events. Any dads willing to become involved with the many events supported by the Dads’ Club should email Bill at bill.phipps@earthlink.net. As the year goes on, we will be communicating via this newsletter and the Bellarmine Daily Connect about upcoming events.

The Dads’ Club Fall BBQ starts off the year in September, and is a great time for parents to meet one another and gain valuable insights regarding the many and varied extracurricular activities offered to your sons at Bellarmine. Darrell Cortez heads that effort, and will be assisted by Russ Pacheco.

Actually, your first chance to support the school will be before school begins when you will receive an invitation to become a member of the Boosters Club. As a member of the Boosters Club, you and your family will be able to go to all of the Bellarmine home games for free, and receive a program magazine detailing all of the sports at Bellarmine. The dollars we raise from the Boosters Club go to enhance sports programs at Bellarmine. Gary Winzeler heads this committee, and Jim Goudreau and Brian McSweeney are the point men on selling memberships and ads in the program.

Here are just a few Dads' Club events to watch for:

• Father-Son Workday in the Fall – Scott Herhold, chair
• Father-Son Christmas Mass Breakfast – Bob Fasano, chair
• Bell Wars in February – a great time – Bill Phipps, chair
• KBell Track Meet in the Spring – Matt Hemington, chair
• Student immersion trip to Tijuana over Easter break – Paul Gutierrez, chair
• Dads’ Retreat in the Spring – Bob Curley and Jim Roach, chairs
• Family Golf Tournament in the Spring – Dodd Portman, chair

These are just a few activities that keep us quite busy during the year. It is our way of emulating to our sons what a “Man for Others” means.

I look forward to meeting the freshmen dads, and hope that all dads take the opportunity to become involved in our incredible school.

Go Bells!

Bob Couch
Dads' Club President, 2007-2008