Spring 2019 Issue Back to Issue

Celebrating Hoo-Rah! Day

May 14, 2019

Jeremy Vester ’19 and Dave Sutphen ’61 pose together on Hoo-Rah! Day.

GENEROUS DONORS CONTRIBUTED 403 GIFTS TOTALING $218,137 TO THE COLLEGE, MAKING THE DAY A HUGE SUCCESS!

Donors included 329 alumni, 167 parents of alumni or students, 80 faculty and staff and 56 students. They gave to a variety of programs and needs at Central, including $196,409 to the Journey Scholarship Fund, $8,825 to the Forever Dutch initiative and more. Social media helped spread the word and Central’s Hoo-Rah Day ambassadors stretched the reach even further. Central had more than 127,000 impressions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Gifts came in from 33 states! Thank you to everyone who helped make this Hoo-Rah Day so successful. Thanks to you, the college raised $26,000 more than last year! See you next year to continue the tradition!

Check out some Hoo-Rah Day 2019 highlights, and see photos from the day below:

THE JOYFUL GIVER

PETER CARTWRIGHT ’82

HOMETOWN: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
MAJOR: Business Management
STUDENT ACTIVITIES: Football, Tennis, A Cappella Choir, Student Senate president, Central Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, The Pelican, The Ray and Society for Advancement of Management
CAREER: Senior Vice President and Senior Institutional Consultant, Morgan Stanley
CURRENT LOCATION: Ankeny, Iowa
COMMUNITY SERVICE: Worship leader, Meredith Drive Reformed Church and Prairie Ridge Church; Past President and board member, Johnston Community School Foundation; parent and coach, Special Olympics and Pioneer Baseball League; Hockey coach, Des Moines Youth Hockey; Past President and Board of Trustees, ChildServe and Board Member, Variety, The Children’s Charity
SERVICE TO CENTRAL: Board of Trustees 2007-present, Cornerstone Society, Forever Dutch Steering Committee, Schipper Fund Steering Committee and National Advisory Committee

High school football player Peter Cartwright ’82 was recruited by a number of Division III schools when he met legendary Central coach Ron Schipper. That meeting made his college decision.

“Skip paid attention to me as a person as well as an athlete,” Cartwright says. “He would chew me out for getting a C in accounting as much as if I missed a block. He was an important person in my life.”

The same was true of the college as a whole. “Central gave me opportunities to develop my own skill set in an affirming environment. I came to Central with interest in music, athletics, theatre—and Central allowed me to participate in experiences that developed me as a whole person,” says Cartwright, who has a 37-year career in finance.

“Central prepared me to be adaptive, to take on any career. I didn’t realize it at the time, but everybody here challenged me to be better than I was. That goes for my coach, my speech professor, my accounting teacher, my choir director.”

“That’s why I give back to Central,” he continues, “because someone gave so I could be a student here. I’ve been blessed so I can be a blessing to others. My money is not my own. I need to be a good steward of it, and some of that stewardship is investing in other people. My wife, Rebecca, and I have been purposeful about that. It is an important element of our faith.”

Part of that faith, he says, is faith in organizations. “When you give to Central, the impact of your gift multiplies by enabling the college to invest in areas which have the most impact. Those areas may be different from what I might think is most important. You have to trust and have faith in the collective wisdom of the institution and its advisors.”

That kind of faith and investment philosophy was something else Central taught, Cartwright says. “I didn’t come here because of the Reformed Church, but I saw its example. Tithing is a powerful and real thing. I learned how different people viewed giving, and it was selfless. They didn’t think about how much they were giving, they thought of the impact,” he says.

He says he also learned about giving from friends and business colleagues. “When you see what they do and how they share their mission—that’s pretty cool. I’ve had a couple of business colleagues who challenged me: ‘You need to be responsible with your resources. You need to share them.’ It has turned into a passion for me.”

“I want to challenge people to be generous the way that they challenged me. The Bible tells us to be a joyful giver. When you see the impact,” he says, “that’s where the joy comes from. That’s why you give.”

Cartwright has been generous to the college. “I heard someone once say “to be an effective board member you need three things: wealth, wisdom and works—so I try to live that out.”

He served as Tri-Chair of the Forever Dutch initiative and is a longtime supporter of the Journey Scholarship. He has served on the National Advisory Council and more than 10 years on the board of trustees. “The board is not just people with deep pockets, it is people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and serve the school and students.”

“I’m humbled when I see the real giants of this college who have been so generous with their resources. We need to continue to develop those types of donors outside of Pella. That’s the next frontier. People tend to give to what they are passionate about. If you want a student to have the experience you did, endow a scholarship, give to Central!”

Going forward, scholarships are very important, he says. Some options to give:

If you’re older than 70 years, six months, you can give out of your IRA.
You can donate appreciated stock, which can be a way to give a nice gift without paying taxes on it yourself.
You can name the college the beneficiary of your life insurance policy.

For Cartwright, it all comes back to the results. “I guest lecture at a large university to senior finance classes. I would put a Central student up against those kids any day of the week. Central develops a much more well-rounded person. If I had to pick someone to employ, I’d pick the Central kid every time. No matter what you study here you can adapt to a changing workforce.”