Bishops Dinner celebrates Catholic education

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
October 27, 2005

About 650 people from throughout the Diocese of Sioux City were on hand for the Ninth Annual Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Education that was held Oct. 23 at the Sioux City Convention Center.

Father Tim Johnson, pastor at St. Mary's Church in Remsen, was master of ceremonies for the evening. The priest mentioned that he was educated from first through twelfth grades at Catholic schools in Wesley and Algona.

In opening comments he pointed out that he felt blessed, not only for the Catholic education that he personally received, but also for the opportunity to be on hand for the bishop's dinner where he could see the people who hold such a strong belief in the ministry of Catholic education.

Joe and Liz Kellen of Alton, chairs of the dinner, also offered words of welcome. Their own children have been educated in the Spalding Catholic School System - the first started in the school in 1969 and their last child graduated in 1998. Seven of the nine children went on to school at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. Throughout the years, the Kellens have been involved in numerous volunteer capacities relating to both the Catholic school and the parish.

"We accepted the chairmanship of this year's dinner without a second thought. Our family has been blessed with great schools and wonderful teachers. Through this dinner, it gives all of us a tremendous opportunity to publicly thank our teachers and administrators for the work that they do with our most precious gift - our children," said Joe Kellen, who is a product of Catholic education.

He also thanked all of the businesses and individuals that have supported the dinner and extended gratitude to the bishop's dinner committee for their work to make it a successful evening.

Father John Vakulskas, pastor at St. Mary's in Alton and St. Anthony's in Hospers, offered the invocation prior to a gourmet meal of roast beef tenderloin and shrimp scampi.

The 1998 Olympic gold medallist in figure skating - Tara Lipinski - was the keynote speaker for the event. Her talk centered on the strong family support she had.

"Mom's life revolved around me, school and skating rinks," she acknowledged. "The older I get, the more I appreciate everything she did for me."

Lipinski explained that for her part of the deal with her parents was that she had to receive straight As in school - if she wanted to keep up that level of activity. The skater noted that she was educated in a Catholic grade school through the fourth grade. That's when they moved to Texas due to her father's job. Eventually, Tara and her mother moved to Michigan to be near a new coach.

She had mentioned that early on in her skating career, she was a roller skater. In fact, Lipinski earned her first medal from a competition in rollerskating. After she was introduced to ice skating and it became apparent that she was gifted in both, her parents encouraged her to pick one.

Lipinski also spoke about the politics involved in skating and the pressures that came along with the rugged schedule and competition. One of the things that helped to relieve these stresses was her devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux.

"My introduction to St. Therese came from my Aunt Mary. She told me that St. Therese was very young and very devoted to God. She watched over all people, but especially young people," noted Lipinski. "She gave me a novena card and suggested that I make a novena. My aunt told me that St. Therese would hear me, and that I might get a shower of roses when I most needed it."

Through the years, she spoke of little blessings - showers of roses - that she received.

The skater and her mother made a nine-day novena right before the Olympics. Before she left for Japan, there was a package for Lipinski at her skating rink. It contained two pink roses in perfect condition.

"We looked at the postmark and noticed it had been sent 10 days earlier. The roses looked as fresh as the day they were cut," she said.

Lipinski mentioned that during the Olympics, the stress was incredible. She even considered withdrawing from the long program, the one that captured the gold medal for her.

"My mom reminded me of the pink roses that I had received before I left and then my legs no longer felt like rubber and my competitive spirit was back," she explained.

After the warm-up at the long program, Lipinski believes she received another sign when a man gave her a small package.

"What is strange is that there was all this security around. The man didn't say who he was and there was no note or return address. When I opened it up, it was a pink rose charm necklace. I put it on and skated my long program with it," she said.

Lipinski and her mother have shared this story of devotion to St. Therese several times on EWTN.

After the Olympics, Lipinski headlined Stars on Ice with other talented skaters such as Scott Hamilton and Kristi Yamaguchi. For the last two years, the figure skater has pursued an acting career. She has appeared in a number of television shows such as 7th Heaven and Nickelodeon productions.

Acting is not her only passion, she is involved as a spokesperson for several children's charities such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Childhood Leukemia Foundation and Tobacco Free Kids. She has also been involved with the Special Olympics.

The skater extended gratitude to all of the Catholic school teachers and administrators. She noted that she has been back to visit her former Catholic grammar school in New Jersey and it still possessed a sense of warmth and comfort.

Another highlight of the evening was the presentation of a variety of awards. The Bishop's Excellence in Education Awards were announced by Matt Greteman, chairman of the Catholic School Foundation, and presented by Msgr. Roger Augustine, administrator of the diocese.

"I would like to thank everyone for their very visible support of Catholic education," said Greteman. "My wife, Peggy, and I are graduates of Kuemper High School and we have been blessed to have opportunity to educate our four children there."

He pointed out that the Catholic School Foundation has sponsored the dinner since its inception.

"It is my privilege to be with all of you tonight and recognize some very special people who continue to make faith-based education a reality in our Catholic schools," said Greteman.

This year's recipients of the Excellence in Education awards included Cynthia Edge, sixth grade teacher and technology coordinator at St. Mary's School in Humboldt; Laura Owens, second grade teacher at Sacred Heart School in Sioux City; Richard Seivert, junior high and high school guidance counselor at Gehlen Catholic School in Le Mars; and Janet Wade, a middle school teacher at St. Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge.

Greteman also made the inaugural presentation of the new Called to Service Award that went to a diocesan administrator.

"Our initial Called to Service honoree personifies what Catholic schools are all about," said Greteman.

The award went to Eugene Meister, president of Bishop Garrigan School in Algona.

The Msgr. James K. Lafferty Leadership Award went to the family of the late James and Eva Waite of Le Mars.

"This award is bestowed on an individual or individuals who have given selflessly in order to make a notable difference for our schools and our faith," noted Greteman.

Msgr. Augustine added that the award goes to "great friends who typify the traditional, Catholic family and their dedication to Catholic schools."

Accepting the award were three of James and Eva Waite's children: Father Patrick Waite, a retired priest of the diocese; Margaret Waite Traurig of Dubuque and Donald Waite of Northern California. James and Eva also had two more sons, James and Robert, are deceased.

As the evening drew to a close, Msgr. Roger Augustine offered some brief comments. He extended thanks to Father Johnson for his role as master of ceremonies, to the Kellens for chairing the event, to Tara Lipinski, sponsors and all those present.

He told those gathered to take the rose that was at each table and give it to the most recent Catholic school graduate who was seated at the table.

The evening closed with prayer led by Msgr. Augustine.