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Gaudiosa 2017
Jesuit High School is deeply grateful to everyone who contributed
to the success of Gaudiosa 2017. Thank you for your generosity and
commitment to Jesuit education.
J to the United States from Peru and
esuit High School’s 14th annual
award-winning fundraising gala,
Gaudiosa: An Evening in Barcelona,
was a huge success on March 4 at
the Hilton Tampa Downtown, raising
an event-record $703,000 for
Jesuit’s fi nancial aid program, and
also featuring the announcement of
a transformative $2.5 million gift to
the school’s capital campaign.
A Latin term meaning “joyous
feast,” Gaudiosa was named the
region’s Best Fundraising Event by
the Tampa Bay Business Journal for
2017, the fourth time it has been
honored by the TBBJ! Overseeing
the grand event is Jesuit’s special
events coordinator, Jane Younger,
who has been chosen the area’s Best
Event Planner four times by the
TBBJ. This year’s Event Patron Chairs
were Marcus and Virginia Damm, P ’19,
and the Honorary Chairs were Laura
and Michael DeLucia, P ’05, ’08.
Gaudiosa’s generous patrons,
sponsors, and guests, such as the
Damms, DeLucias, and fellow Grand
Underwriters Lauren and Christopher
Schellman, P ’20, and The
Hyer Family, P ’01, provide a signifi
cant amount of Jesuit’s fi nancial
aid. The past four years, Gaudiosa
has raised more than $2.7 million,
and since its inception in 2003 it
has raised more than $6.5 million,
all of it supporting Jesuit students
with demonstrated fi nancial need.
This school year, Jesuit is providing
$1.9 million in fi nancial aid.
On March 4, as always, the mission
of Jesuit High School was at
Gaudiosa’s core. This year’s event
once again featured a gorgeous
setting, created by Decorations
Chairs Elvia Rivera, P ’14 and Annette
Sanchez, P ’17. It was inspired
by the 16th century travels of the
founder of the Jesuit Order, St. Ignatius,
and enjoyed by the more than
600 guests who provided recordsetting
support for Jesuit’s fi nancial
aid program. (Gaudiosa 2014 also
raised a little more than $700,000.)
Under the direction of Auction
Chair Kathryn Sutton, P ’18 and
Auction Catalog Chair Cathy Hohs, P
’17, more than 300 sensational silent
auction items were showcased, and
live auction items included worldclass
dining with French-trained
chef Fr. Douglas Hypolite, S.J. (who
returned to Gaudiosa again this year
from where he teaches at Strake
Jesuit in Houston), and vacations to
Italy, Napa Valley, and the British Virgin
Islands. A student classical guitar
ensemble, spectacular Flamenco
dancers from the Columbia Restaurant,
amazing student art, a live
band, and dancing all contributed to
the vibrant atmosphere.
Student speaker Matthew Olivera
Guzman ’17 provided the most
impactful moment. Olivera-Guzman
shared his remarkable family story,
beginning with his parents coming
SAVE THE DATE!
Gaudiosa 2018:
An Evening in Rome
February 24, 2018 Hilton Tampa Downtown
Ga udiosa
• 2018
DINNER • DANCE • AUCTIONS Mexico with little means, to his love
of the brotherhood he has experienced
at Jesuit, which would not have been
possible without fi nancial aid.
And the evening also featured the
announcement of a major capital
gift. Steve Jenkins ’75, the CEO of
Pharmaceutical Associates, for yea¬rs
has demonstrated exemplary leadership
in helping advance the mission of
Jesuit. At Gaudiosa, school president
Fr. Richard C. Hermes, S.J. announced
that Jenkins and his wife, Carole, had
made an extraordinary $2.5 million
gift toward Jesuit’s $40 million ’For
Greater Glory’ capital campaign.
GAUDIOSA 2017
UNDERWRITERS
$25,000
Grand Gaudiosa Underwriters
Virginia and Marcus W. Damm, P ’19
Laura and Michael L.
DeLucia, P ’05, ’08
The Hyer Family, P ’01
Lauren and Christopher
Schellman, P ’20
A Special Friend of Jesuit (2)
$10,000
Blue and White Society
Sara and Kieran Mahoney, P ’16, ’18
Cherie and Harvey
Schonbrun ’65, P ’03, ’10
Carol and Todd J. Schweitzer, P ’20
Jesuit Community Tampa