Alumni Spotlight - Jessica Tolbert Lamb '08

January 7, 2022 | Issue #21

Alumna Prowls with Pride

Jessica Tolbert Lamb has been prowling with pride all across the United States since graduating from Elyria Catholic in 2008. While a student at EC, she stayed busy not only in the classroom but within clubs and activities as a member of the swim team, flag corp, ambassadors and ECHO.

A South Lorain native, Jess had a strong desire to learn Spanish to communicate with her friends' families who were fluent in the language and took several years of Spanish while at EC. Her interest in the language and A.P History class led her to study both History and Spanish at OSU where she received two Bachelor of Arts degrees.

After leaving OSU with a double major under her belt, she began working for Teach for America, where she taught 3rd grade in the Mississippi Delta. After moving to New Orleans, Jessica’s love of math and classroom culture led her to become a math instructional coach, math curriculum writer, and classroom culture trainer.

Jess currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana and is the Partnership Director for Equal Opportunity Schools where their mission is "to ensure that students of color and low-income students have equitable access to America’s most academically intense high school programs and succeed at the highest levels.”

Philanthropy & Engagement News

Elyria Catholic Welcomes Jim Hammond '66 to the Monsignor Newton Legacy Society

Jim Hammond '66 attended Catholic grade school in Cleveland for eight years and started his first year of high school in the Cleveland public school system before his dad and family relocated to Elyria for his job. Jim was grateful to attend Elyria Catholic which felt more comfortable and familiar. He was the oldest of 5 family members to attend Elyria Catholic. Jim says, “I received an excellent education, especially in math and science, and the discipline and emphasis on responsibility and respect were very important in shaping my life.” He specifically remembers Sister Mary Ida who challenged her classes in both math and Physics. Jim studied engineering at Cleveland State University for a while before taking a job in sales in the electronics industry. He developed a passion and interest in computers, products that were just starting to be developed at the time, and left his position as district manager to join a small start-up company of nine people.

The company developed and launched a software management tool for law firms. After a few other career opportunities, Jim eventually served as president of Rainmaker Software for twenty years before the company and its product were sold to a venture capital firm. After spending most of his life in the Philadelphia area, Jim and his wife, Diane,

retired to the Tampa area where Jim currently serves as president of his HOA and managed to negotiate the reopening of an associated golf course that had been closed for years. Jim also manages a United Way IRS VITA Program location that prepares taxes for the underprivileged and provides consulting services for small businesses as a member of SCORE. Jim has a son, a daughter, and a granddaughter. He feels blessed to be able to give back to Elyria Catholic, a school he credits with developing his strong moral code and work ethic. He is proud to become a member of the Monsignor Newton Legacy Society and encourages other members of the Class of 1966 to consider a planned gift to the school.

Cash Raffle

Thank you to everyone who helped make our annual Cash Raffle a success! Your support helped raise over $90,000 for tuition assistance. A special thank you to our sponsors Nick Abraham Auto Mall, Sunnyside Chevrolet, and I-90 Nissan. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by the entire Elyria Catholic community.

Congratulations to our winners who were pulled at the Boys Varsity Basketball game vs. Strongsville. All are parents of current students!

$10,000 - Susan Smith (Jackson '24, Emily '21)

$500 - Kevin Raab (Jacob '23)

$250 - Dean Miserandino (Bryn '24, Kira '22 & Paige '20)

Now accepting nominations for our annual Alumni Awards!

Every year, our community awards three alumni who have continued to represent the pillars of Elyria Catholic; Excellence, Compassion, Faith, Tradition, and Community. The Elyria Catholic family appreciates the overwhelming support we continue to receive from our alumni who continue to contribute to the school’s success. Please submit nominations for the following three awards at https://elyriacatholic.com/awardsnomination

We honored the above recipients in the spring of 2021.

Young Alumni Award of Excellence

The Young Alumni Award of Excellence honors an Elyria Catholic High School graduate who has achieved distinction in their field of expertise and/or pursuit of higher education while continuing to demonstrate the qualities of an Elyria Catholic High School student - Excellence, Compassion, Faith, Tradition and Community. Nominees must have graduated from Elyria Catholic High School in the last eight years.

Distinguished Alumni Award

The Distinguished Alumni Award honors an Elyria Catholic High School graduate who has achieved distinction in their field of expertise and/or pursuit of higher education while continuing to demonstrate the qualities of an Elyria Catholic High School student - Excellence, Compassion, Faith, Tradition and Community.

Our Lady of Grace Benefactor Award

The Our Lady of Grace Benefactor Award will be presented annually to an individual, couple, family, corporation, or foundation that has provided substantial support in time, talent or treasure to Elyria Catholic High School and supported Elyria Catholic High School’s efforts to move forward.

Our 2022 Evening for Excellence: Casino Royale Returns will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2022 in the Elyria Catholic Coliseum. Proceeds from this event will be used to add air conditioning to the Coliseum and cafeteria to provide a comfortable experience for students, faculty, and guests. Elyria Catholic is actively seeking sponsors/advertisers and auction item donations to make this event as successful as possible for our students. Please visit www.elyriacatholic.com/2022gala for more information.

Game On!

The Carson Family, Dennis & Rhonda, Nate '10, Jeremy '11, Mitchell '16, Lucas '18

made a play in the Game On! campaign in the last few minutes of 2021. The 1990 EC Panther Playoff Team also completed their play on the 46 yard line adjacent to another play made anonymously in Memory of John Lescher. All together 21 yard lines were purchased in 2021. If you would like to sponsor a yard line to fund stadium improvements, please visit www.elyriacatholic.com/gameon

In Loving Memory

Year of the Panther

Help name the Panther

As part of our year-long celebration of the Year of the Panther, help give our Panther a name! We are now accepting suggestions at elyriacatholic.com/yotp. All names should be gender neutral and we appreciate your creativity and support! The top three names will be voted on by school administration. Thank you for showing your Panther pride!

Reunions

Class of 1972 will be celebrating their 50th Class Reunion on September 9 and 10, 2022. The weekend includes a Golf Outing on September 9 and Mass with tour at EC followed by the reunion dinner at The Foundry on September 10. For more details please contact Brian Powers [email protected] for the golf outing and Ed Eisbrenner at [email protected] for general information.

Class of 1977 will be celebrating their 45th Class Reunion next fall! On Friday, September 2 the 1977 class is invited to take a tour of the school at 6pm followed by the home football game against Midview High School. The ‘76 championship team will be recognized prior to kickoff. Please keep an eye out in February for more information regarding other reunion events taking place Labor Day Weekend. Questions for the class of 1977 Reunion can be directed to your class officers; Dennis Baluh at [email protected], Kim Wilhelm at [email protected] orTerri Harrington at [email protected]

Athletic Department News