press release

Handley receives $3 million in donations

Private donations to fundraising drive help pay for high school's renovations

By Robert Igoe

The Winchester Star

November 6, 2006 – Winchester school officials now have an additional $3 million to put toward refurbishing the city's historic high school – and they're gunning for more.

At a gala event in the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley on Saturday, Winchester Public School Board members celebrated their announcement that $3,003,540 has been raised through private donations to their fundraising drive to help pay for renovations at Handley High School.

The celebrations included jazz musicians from Shenandoah University and a variety of delicacies.

“I hope you understand that Handley is not just a school,” said School Board Chairman Velma Whitmire in her welcome speech. “It symbolizes the generosity of one man for a community. That gift perpetuated the gift of knowledge that began in 1922 and that continues to this day. These renovations will keep Handley the centerpiece of our community for generations to come.”

Whitmire’s comments refer to a gift of $1.2 million made more than 80 years ago to the city by Judge John Handley, $800,000 of which was used to build the school that bears his name.

Officials say the amount raised through 33 gifts in such a short time is a tremendous start to the open-ended campaign.

“We’re just ecstatic,” Winchester Superintendent of Schools Dennis Kellison said. “To have raised that money in 77 days shows that we’re off to the right start and we’re ready to make a tremendous leap forward.”

The campaign has no deadline, but Kellison said the goal is to raise $5 million.

“We want to continue until the job is complete,” he said. “We have vowed to renovate this school the right way and we want to raise the funds necessary to do it the right way.”

But state Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., who was hired to oversee the fundraising effort, said he has no set number in mind.

“I’ve always felt that people get into trouble when they go out and try to predict what they can do,” he said. “We have to go and hit the ball as hard as we can, work as hard as we can, and incrementally get there. Baby steps eventually turn into giant steps.”

Potts said the next phase of fundraising will target corporate donors and a more concentrated approach to other donors, followed by mass mailings and direct appeals to alumni.

“We wanted to try to get to a large number right away to build some momentum,” he said. “It’s been a team effort. People who we’ve contacted have given us leads to potential donors, and I was able to identify people with an affection for Handley. I knew the way we had to go and that we need to get in front of enough people.”

Under Phase III of the renovation plan, the school’s cafeteria and kitchen, which are housed in a building constructed in 1962, will be expanded and renovated, the school’s gymnasiums and storage facilities will be expanded and improved and the Handley Bowl will be enhanced.

That phase, which follows two phases that will add a second floor to the school and upgrade administrative offices, classrooms, athletic facilities and dining areas, will also create a new music department.

The total cost of Phase III, which is expected to begin in two years, is estimated at $16.1 million, and will push the overall cost of the project, not including interest, to $63.9 million, $8.9 million over its original $55 million price tag.

The bulk of that funding comes from a $50 million city bond issue, which will be repaid over 26 years, along with $5 million in state tax credits. An additional $3.9 million of income is expected to be raised through the sale of the school’s 29 modular units and bond interest.

The funds raised by the campaign will also help balance that overage.

The largest donation is a $1 million gift from 1963 Handley graduate and former Winchester businessman and City Council member Jimmy Wilkins.

While his gift was earmarked for renovations of the Handley Bowl, the school’s football stadium, Wilkins said his intent goes beyond that.

“It’s more than just giving money for a field,” he said. “It’s a way of giving back to the school and giving back to the community. It will always be Handley High School and the Handley Bowl. But other people have done the same thing for me by giving gifts and support to buy the football uniforms, so this is our way to giving back to future generations.”

Wilkins said he hopes the gift will also prevent the school from selling corporate naming rights to the stadium, which will see renovations as part of the next phase of renovations.

The next highest donation was a combined gift of $550,00 from Lang, Lewis, and Shep Campbell for the Hunter Maddex - Jimmy Omps Gymnasium. Another donation came from Marino and Nicki de Medici, who extended $50,000 for a foreign language room.

“I have two daughters at Handley and I am a part-time teacher there,” said Nicki. “It’s about giving back to our community and helping to educate the children of this community.”

 

 

 

 

Senator H. Russell Potts speaks at Saturday evening's fundraising event for Handley High School.  (Photo by Scott Mason)

VMDO Architects was founded in 1976 and is the youngest firm to receive the T. David Fitz-Gibbon Virginia Architecture Award, the most prestigious honor given by the Virginia Society of American Institute of Architects.

For further information, interview, and photography opportunities in reference to this project and VMDO Architects, please contact William Bishop at 434.296.5684, email at bishop@vmdo.com.