The 38th Annual Pope John Development Dinner was held Sunday evening, March 24 at Werner Hall in Petersburg.
Approximately 150 tickets were sold for the event. Dave Beckman served as Master of Ceremonies. The evening included a social hour, sit-down dinner, silent and live auctions, and various raffles.
One of the highlights of the Development Dinner is the presentation of the Roncalli Award. This award is named after the school’s patron, Saint Pope John the XXIII who was born Angelo Giusseppe Roncalli. This prestigious award is presented each year to an individual or family in recognition of their long-term contribution to Pope John. Father John Norman presented this year’s award to Ken and Joan Stuhr of Petersburg. They both have been actively involved in supporting Catholic education for many years.
“Ken was a member of the Pope John School Board and helped with many school work nights. Ken and his son Brian also take care of oil changes on the school buses. Joan taught at St. Boniface for 25 years and helped with the Pope John Library for 3 years. When St. Boniface moved from the old building into Pope John’s building, Joan even had a makeshift classroom in the library to continue to be able to teach students. They pay the tuition for one student every year through the tuition assistance program, make extra donations above and beyond for the “wish list” items at Evening with Friends and the Development Dinner, generously donate to help toward covering the cost of the new t-shirts for each student at the beginning of each school year, and support Pope John in any way they can.” said Father Norman.
Ken Stuhr, a member of the second graduating class from Pope John, said he and Joan were accepting the award on behalf of their parents who strongly believed in Catholic education.
The evening concluded with a live auction conducted by Jonathan Temme.
