Pictured above are children of Virginia M. and James T. Dresher, founders of the Dresher Foundation: (l-r) Jeanne Dresher Butcher, Ginny Dresher Meoli and Jim Dresher, Jr. -- all current Patriot grandparents!
On Thursday, September 30, John Carroll dedicated the newly-named Dresher Academic Wing to recognize and honor the Dresher Foundation and the Dresher family, the most significant benefactors of the school since its inception.
President Steve DiBiagio welcomed 30 guests to the dedication, including Dresher Foundation Executive Director Patti Sterling, three generations of the Dresher family and close friends. For nearly 50 years, the Dresher family has been part of the fabric of The John Carroll School. In fact, 14 family members are either graduates or current John Carroll students. In the words of Dresher Foundation President Melanie Meoli Robinson, an alumna of the class of 1990, “John Carroll has touched all of us, as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings. We have a shared experience and history with The John Carroll School and the John Carroll community.”
In addition to recent campus renovations, over the years, Foundation grants have supported tuition assistance, renovations to the academic wing, auditorium updates, and capital projects including the addition of the Fine Arts Wing, Lower Gym, and turf fields and lights.
President DiBiagio expressed the school’s sincere gratitude for the generosity of the Dresher Foundation and family, saying, “I don’t think we can ever fully thank you, but we will always make you proud of us and we will always honor the Dresher name. Generations of students will notice that you cared for them.”
To commemorate the naming of the school’s academic wing, lettering was installed above entrances to the wing and a plaque is on display just outside the hallway entrance with a description of the significance of the Dresher Foundation and family’s leadership support of the school. An additional plaque will be installed on the exterior of the Dresher Academic Wing, facing Ed Miller Way and Gerry Gray Stadium.