Vol. 17: Announcing a ‘new’ Director of Alumni Engagement and Special Projects and more!
Announcing a ‘new’ Director of Alumni Engagement and Special Projects
When the Hart family moved to Tulsa in the summer of 1994, we figured that our stint in Native America would last three to five years, after which we would head north to be enveloped by both sides of our extended family. As I enter my 29th year as a faculty member at Holland Hall, it is clear that many of our family plans have changed, as have my positions at the school. In nearly three decades, I’ve had the opportunity to teach, coach, and fill assorted administrative roles and, as of July 1, I assumed the role of Director of Alumni Engagement and Special Projects while continuing to serve as the boys’ soccer coach and an upper school advisor.
As in all my previous transitions, I’ve been excited about the challenges of the new position. Throughout the first two months, the Advancement team has been encouraging and supportive. I’ve also enjoyed the interactions I’ve had with Holland Hall’s extensive alumni community, many of whom have reached out to say hello and share news of recent accomplishments. Considering the year of upcoming events, I’m enthusiastic about getting the alumni involved in activities around campus and town. I would also like to create more chances for current students — especially Seniors — to interact with alumni.
Having been a member of the Holland Hall community for only 28 years, I look forward to learning more about alumni experiences. If there is information you would like to share or questions about Holland Hall in its current state of affairs, feel free to contact me (rhart@hollandhall.org, 539-476-8148.) I look forward to hearing from you and working with you.
— Richard Hart, Director of Alumni Engagement and Special Projects
Help us celebrate our 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award winners
The Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, October 20, in the A.R. and Marylouise Tandy Dining and Wellness Center on the Holland Hall campus. All are invited. Tickets are on sale at hollandhall.org/alumni.
This year’s honorees include:
Distinguished Alumni Award: Wendy Wilk Markarian ’82 and Jeff Jaynes ’96.
Wendy Wilk Markarian, the Washington Bureau Chief for Hearst Television, began her journalism career her senior year at Holland Hall at KJRH, Channel 2.
In 2004, she was named Washington Bureau Chief at Hearst, which has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism under her leadership. She won a national Edward R. Murrow Award in 2003 for her coverage of the Maryland sniper attacks.
Jeff Jaynes, the executive director of Restore Hope Ministries, was named one of Tulsa World Magazine’s Tulsans of the Year in 2020 for his work with the organization, a United Methodist outreach. Restore Hope focuses on helping Tulsans stay in their homes — preventing homelessness.
The Young Alumni Achievement Award: Andrew Collins ‘06.
Andrew Collins is the CEO and cofounder of Bungalow, the leading, full-service tech platform for long term residential real estate. Bungalow provides renters with access to more than 1,500 homes with a convenient digital-first experience and has expanded to 25 major markets across the U.S., with 5,000+ residents.
Alumni Service Award: Doug Bromley ’66 and John Bennett ’70
In the ’70s and ’80 Doug and John spent summers doing carpentry work for the school. They remodeled classrooms and built most of the oak trophy cases, cabinets, and upper school Commons and library furniture of that era. They’ve both been fixtures on campus, even after their retirements, and can be seen supporting Holland Hall students at sporting events, campus activities and more.
Doug Bromley spent 41 years at Holland Hall teaching physics, psychology, and math. He served for 23 years as varsity boys’ tennis coach and for 30 years as varsity boys’ soccer coach. Doug spent 15 years as Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities, and was chairman of the Science Department for 25 years, during which he led the science department’s design of the Duenner Science, Math, Technology and Engineering facility. After retiring in 2011, Doug spent the first few years substitute teaching, tutoring, and helping with football and track events. He also built homes with a group of Habitat For Humanity volunteers.
John Bennett taught math and science for 41 years, coached varsity football for 10 years, baseball for 34 years and C-team soccer for 4 years. He also served as Dean of the Upper School multiple times, earning the record for most “deaning jobs at HH ever.”
He has returned to Holland Hall as a tutor and substitute teacher many times since retirement.
Join us on campus for Reunion Weekend 2022
Set for October 20-22, 2022. Reunion Weekend kicks off with the Distinguished Alumni Awards on Thursday.
Thursday, Oct. 20
5:30 p.m. Distinguished Alumni Awards
Friday, Oct. 21
8:00 a.m. Morning Meeting
9:30 a.m. Alumni & Retired Faculty Coffee (A.R. & Marylouise Tandy Dining & Wellness Center)
4:00 p.m. Alumni Field Hockey Game
6:15 p.m. Alumni Tailgate at the football game vs. Inola
8:30 p.m. Alumni Party in the upper school Commons
Saturday, Oct. 22
Class parties
2nd Place Trophy Gathering
In recent years, if you had an opportunity to visit my office on the north side of the Upper School Commons, you would have been astonished by the vast collection of artifacts accumulated in a relatively small, windowless space. The PEZ dispensers and national team jerseys that occupied an entire wall of my middle school office had been taken home years back, as had the club and national team scarfs (only last year) after they were deemed a fire hazard. Regardless, even without the PEZ, jerseys and scarves, the assemblage was extensive.
In the process of moving to a new office on the west side of the upper school, I faced numerous decisions about which objects to keep and which to discard. The 2012 SPC Division I Boys’ Soccer RUNNER UP trophy fit nicely into the discard pile until, when taking the time to take a closer look, I realized that the names of all the team members was prominently displayed on the side of the trophy. The “sentimental” card having been played, I was less inclined to chuck a trophy with players’ names attached, so I sent a quick email to a few of the team members I knew to be in town in June 2022, inquiring as to whether they had any interest in a 2nd place trophy.
Rapid responses indicated that both players were interested in the piece of HH soccer hardware. We convened for lunch at Siegi’s for tasty bratwurst, hot German potato salad and a brief trophy (re)presentation. [See photo], agreeing that, in a year’s time, we will cast a broader net and reach out to all team members to join the gathering as we pass the trophy on for another year.