Slideshow: The 2014 Christmas Dinner

Many of the dear friends who have given generously to Thomas Aquinas College and its students over the years gathered in downtown Los Angeles on December 6 for the annual Christmas Dinner. There they enjoyed excellent food, fine music, and good company.

“We are gathered this evening, early in Advent,” began President Michael F. McLean in his annual Christmas address, “to strengthen our friendships, to thank God and our benefactors for the blessings they have bestowed on Thomas Aquinas College, and to anticipate joyfully the coming of our Savior.” In keeping with the theme of gratitude, Dr. McLean then honored some of the key benefactors who help to make the College possible:

• Walter J. Conn
  A member of the Board of Governors who passed away in September, Walter J. Conn was the brother of the late Rev. Thomas Conn, S.J., a beloved chaplain at the College who died in 1997, and James P. Conn, a current member of the Board. “We thank Walter for his service and we thank him and his wife, Donna, who is with us this evening, for their generosity over many years,” said Dr. McLean. “Donna mentioned to me that she and Walter were partners in everything, including board memberships, and I know the College is close to her heart. We pray for eternal rest for Walter and also for consolation for Donna, their children, Jim, and the entire Conn family.”
• J. R. and Claire Smeed
  “With the aid of our friends and benefactors, we continue to do our best to ensure that our education is affordable, even for those of modest means,” said Mr. McLean. “Let me mention, in particular, the magnificent $1 million gift this year from J. R. and Claire Smeed, who are with us this evening. Veterans of many graduations and summer seminars, J. R. and Claire have been loyal benefactors for nearly 20 years and have been real blessings to the College over that time. We are deeply grateful for their generosity.”
• The Fritz B. Burns Foundation
  Noting “the recent completion of St. Gladys Hall and the $3.2 million donation from the Fritz B. Burns Foundation, which made its construction possible,” Dr. McLean thanked the foundation’s president, Rex Rawlinson, and two of its trustees, Maureen Rawlinson and Cheryl Robinson, “for the Foundation’s magnificent generosity.”
• Joyce Skinner
  For more than 25 years, Ken Skinner was a director of the Fritz B. Burns Foundation and served as its executive vice president. “He was always very supportive of the Foundation’s grants to the College, and his widow, Joyce, is a member of our Legacy Society and remains our very good friend.” said Dr. McLean. “Joyce is with us this evening, and it gives me great pleasure to introduce and thank her.”

“With God’s help, the College seeks to provide the young with the beginnings of wisdom, foster in them intellectual and moral virtue, and strengthen in them faith, hope, and charity,” Dr. McLean concluded. “On behalf of our students, past, present, and future, I thank you for your friendship to Thomas Aquinas College and for the roles you play in the important work of educating the young.”