50 Years of Giving: Class of 1957

Members from the Class of 1957 discovered the happy coincidence that four members of the class have led the way in furthering this vision. Tommy Conger, Henry Richmond, Judy Sheehan Dawson and Randy Moore have each held significant positions at Punahou: From 1970 to 1992, Conger, Richmond and Dawson were Punahou's first three directors of development, in that order; Dawson served as vice-president of finance from 1992 to 2000, and she and Moore currently sit on the Board of Trustees.

The fab four have consistently risen to the challenge of gathering people around ambitious ideas. Over 22 years, Conger, Richmond and Dawson directed Punahou's development efforts, which significantly grew the school's endowment and powered an eightfold increase in giving to more than $4 million a year.

The efforts of these four classmates have also changed the face of the Punahou campus: Conger managed the first major capital campaign for the rebuilding of Bishop Hall; Richmond initiated pooled-income funds, institutionalized the Living Endowment campaign (now called the Punahou Annual Fund), and, with Dawson, propelled the successful campaign for the PE complex; Dawson headed the Sesquicentennial campaign; and, as trustees, Dawson and Moore championed the building of Mamiya Science Center and Case Middle School.

(Conger, a long-time Punahou track and football coach, has also kept readers entertained for 20-plus years as class correspondent.)

For their 50th Reunion, the four classmates decided to launch another ambitious target for the Class Gift. Along with classmates Sharon Cook Fairbanks, Doug Kilpatrick and Jerry Conley Richmond (wife of Henry), the four included Punahou in their estate plans, thereby boosting overall class contributions to a record $442,008.

The time was right," said Dawson. "It is a time in our lives when we have the opportunity to do something wonderful for Punahou." Richmond agrees: "We four love and care for Punahou. We want the school to continue to be as good for future students as it was for us." What better way to celebrate a 50th Reunion!