-
August 26, 2021Don Dailey, a 1970 graduate of St. Joseph High School, was a leader during his time in high school, serving as co-captain of the football team, and he remains a leader at VASJ today. After graduating from the University of Dayton, Dailey went to work for Coopers and Lybrand, beginning a 35-year career that saw him rise to be a regional managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers. He oversaw 1,200 employees spread out over a dozen cities in six states.
Dailey and his wife, Mary Jo, who he met at the 1969 St. Joe's prom, have helped spearhead numerous fundraising efforts at the school, including providing a major gift to renovate the VASJ Gym. A past chairman of the VASJ Board of Advisors, Dailey also worked with his classmates to raise over $270,000 for VASJ as part of their Class of 1970 50th reunion celebration, which is a record as the largest reunion gift in the school's history. Dailey continues to support the school's mission by serving as a co-chair of the Keeping Our Promises Campaign, focusing on St. Joseph High School alumni gifts.
What motivated you to make a gift to VASJ’s Keeping Our Promises Campaign?
Over the years, my classmates and I have often reflected that many of us attended St. Joseph High School with the help of unknown donors. We didn't know who they were — just that they were generous alums who wanted to see us succeed in school. Now, as the Keeping Our Promises Campaign suggests, “it is our time” to pay it forward and to be there for the current generations of young Vikings.
What are some of your fondest memories of being a student at St. Joseph High School?
Good, rich discussions in all of my classes; learning to respect other people and their viewpoints, even if I didn't agree with them; the privilege of being coached by Bill Gutbrod and John Storey and going 33-0-1 on the football field with them; great dances and mixers; a fabulous marching band and music program, including an annual Broadway musical (I was on the spring '70 stage crew for Funny Girl); and the joy of meeting wonderful guys (and gals) who became lifelong friends.
Your class has been a major supporter of the school. Why is it important to you to work together with your classmates to make a difference for VASJ students?
All of us have individual talents and gifts that we can marshal for the benefit of VASJ. However, those gifts are magnified many times over when we capitalize on the "power of team.” The St. Joseph Class of '70 gang believes deeply in that concept and has worked tirelessly to ensure that future students have the same educational and life-formative opportunities that we all enjoyed in 1966 to 1970.
What do you value most about your St. Joseph High School experience?
We were too young to recognize it then, but subsequently, we all realized that the enduring Christian values that the Marianists taught us — respect for others, the strength from community and family, striving for the common good, the need for diverse groups and thinking, giving back to our communities through leadership, service and financial gifts — all have become our guiding beacons, helping us to make the right decisions in our lives and hopefully contributing to an improved world around us.
What sort of difference do you believe the Keeping Our Promises Campaign will have on VASJ?
The Cleveland Catholic Diocese (who owns VASJ) has been an attentive, caring partner and helped to maintain a clean, safe and productive learning environment for our students for many years. This campaign, however, gives us a chance to make a quantum leap forward into the 21st century by providing state-of-the-art facilities, significant student learning enhancements and much-needed scholarships. When combined with future academic programs now being envisioned by our school administration and outstanding faculty, our future VASJ students will have all the tools necessary to excel and lead in the workplaces of tomorrow.
To learn how you can get involved with VASJ's Keeping Our Promises Campaign, please visit vasj.com/keepingourpromises.
