Stadium in view with Alumni Association

Attorneys started a Lorain Schools Alumni Association which boasts 400members signed up within a month.

A fledgling Lorain Schools Alumni Association boasts 400 members so far through Facebook signups.

“It is exciting,” said Lorain attorney Henry Patterson. “We just started and those people already put their names in a database for the Association.”

Patterson and Lorain attorney Anthony Giardini registered the LSAA as a legal organization in Columbus. Both men volunteered their professional services.

The first major project could be renovation of George Daniel Stadium, 2601 Oberlin Ave. in Lorain.

“The stadium piece is separate,” Patterson said. “They’re closer to having renderings. The school district is in the process of doing that.

“We will know here shortly what the costs are and the scope of the project.”

Giardini said they’re looking at a range of possibilities.

“We’re setting our sights high,” he said. “We can always dial them back if needed. We have thrown around some ideas on how we could raise probably, not all, but most of the money needed to renovate George Daniel Stadium.” The attorneys are waiting for studies to be completed within the next few weeks to get a ballpark figure for renovations.

Patterson and Giardini said they focused on creating the Alumni Association and next steps.

“It’s a not-for-profit corporation,” Patterson said. “Which is the first step. And then we will be applying early (this week) for a 501c3 designation to make donations tax deductible.

“The next piece is we have initial bylaws Mr. Giardini and I have crafted. Once the initial board is in place, they can change the bylaws. We’re thinking we need a minimum of a 15-member board. That would be two members from each Lorain school: Lorain High School, St. Mary’s, Admiral King, Southview, Lorain Catholic and two from the new Lorain High. That will get us to 12 members.”

In addition, two current students can be members of the board, Patterson said.

“Initially, it’s what we put together,” he said. “The board can change it however they see fit. Also, it is thought we would have ex-officio members, such as the superintendent of Lorain City Schools, the school board president or designees, of course.

“At least initially, the president of Lorain Historical Society, along with the board chair or president of Lorain Sports Hall of Fame, and a current principal of Lorain High School. They would not be voting members, but they would have input to the board and understanding of what the board is trying to do.”

The Alumni Association would raise money for scholarships, host alumni events and raise money for large projects such as the stadium, Patterson said.

“We have something that is a nice starting point,” he said. “It’s a rough draft we put together. It’s up for debate for whomever and however the board is put into place.

“Another next piece is putting together a website for Lorain Alumni Association.”

The website probably will be linked with the Lorain City Schools website, Giardini said.

“We have met with Erin Gadd (director of communications at Lorain Schools) for working handin-hand with the district,” he said. “And we will probably use some community events this summer to kick off our recruiting.

“We’re starting with the Lorain International Festival because a lot of people from Lorain come back for it. So, we’ll have a table or a booth at Lorain International. Look for us. We definitely need volunteers to help us man the booth.”

Patterson said because of the numbers of graduates from the schools, maintaining a database and newsletters would be a lot of work.

Lorain Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Graham said architects evaluating the former Southview High School building and the stadium project are from GPD Group from Akron.

‘I think we have to ask the right questions to get in the right position,” Graham said. “How much space is out there? What are our options? It’s a lot of money to raise from outside sources.”

Gadd said initial signup is on a Facebook page for The Official Lorain City Schools FaceBook Page, on the Lorain City Schools website at www.lorainschools.org, by calling Gadd at 440-830-4049 or email to egadd@loraincsd. org.

“People are excited about it and want to be part of it,” she said. “(Giardini and Patterson) have ideas about how to engage our current graduates and how to engage other alumni through the association. It’s pretty amazing. Their vision is to do class matches. One class raises funds and another class matches the amount.”

Giardini said he is pleased by 400 early responses to the new Alumni Association.

“I thought it was fantastic,” he said. “I’m not surprised. Literally thousands of alumni qualify.

“We haven’t started officially recruiting yet. That’s just what showed up on its own.”

“We can always dial them back if needed. We have thrown around some ideas on how we could raise probably, not all, but most of the money needed to renovate George Daniel stadium.”

— Lorain attorney Anthony Giardini