Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Fall 2015 | Page 24

Alumni Board

Kirk Purvis ’93 as new President

“My goal in leading the Alumni Association is to do the
very best I can to engage alumni and educate them on
both the recent success that the school has enjoyed and the
upcoming challenges that it faces—short and long term.
Thornton Academy is a unique place that offered me—as a
student and an athlete many years ago—with opportunities
that I likely couldn’t get elsewhere. Today’s students have all
those same opportunities and then some.
“A town academy faces challenges that not everyone readily
understands, so it is important to inform our roughly
11,000 alumni of what those challenges are and how they
can participate in keeping Thornton Academy as one of
Maine’s premier institutions.
“I served on the Alumni Board for nine years, starting
shortly after I graduated from college. I was the Board
Treasurer for many of those years, worked on phone-athons and other fundraising efforts, and served on the
‘young alumni’ committee which resurrected the Children’s
Winter Carnival. There were various other committees
I assisted, including the steering committee for the
Bicentennial Celebration.
“Most importantly—for me at least—was that I was given
the opportunity on the Alumni Board to pursue an idea I
had for a Thornton Academy Athletic Hall of Fame. With
the support of Ken Janson, (then President of the Alumni
Board) and the Board of Trustees, we got the Hall of Fame

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up and running. This year marks the tenth induction
ceremony.”

“The Alumni Board guides the character, mission,
and culture of the Alumni Association. I would like
to bring a fresh perspective to the job.” -Kirk Purvis

ALUMNI BOARD
Kirk Purvis ’93 – President
Jill Santamore Blake ’06 – Vice President
Vera Gallant Kalagias ’80 – Secretary
Joshua Fearon ’98 – Treasurer
Jeffrey Christenbury ’03
Christine Felser ’03
Roberta Sargent Gallant ’62
Susan J. Willey Marston ’62
George Mendros ’76
Christina Dolby O’Brien ’86
Nicole Peterson Oliver ’89
David Pendleton ’81
Susan Mondor Spath ’67
Nathaniel Tripp ’00
Diana Grant Walker ’75