9/25/07 - Former Board Chairman Jack Bogle ’47 addresses a crowd of over 200 at the Campaign Kick-Off Celebration
Of course this ancient graduate of Blair’s Class of 1947—recently celebrating our 60th reunion—is honored and privileged and humbled to be given the opportunity to comment on this exciting, even portentous, occasion.

I want to begin by thanking everyone, every alumnus, every spouse, every student, every member of our faculty and administration, and every friend of Blair who has joined us here this evening. While I was enjoined not to mention any name—and I am sort of used to following orders—I’m compelled to violate that order and specifically salute our headmaster and his wife.

I do so because, as some of you may realize, Chan and Monie Hardwick will all too soon complete their 19th year at Blair, matching the service of Dr. Breed, a term of years exceeded in our long history only by the 27 years of stewardship of the legendary Dr. Sharpe. Without the truly extraordinary leadership of the Hardwicks, we would not be gathering here this evening to celebrate the beginning of this new campaign for Blair.

There’s an old patriotic song about the United States of America that goes something like, “We must be doing something right; we’ve gone 200 years.” So too the Blair Academy that we all support and love must be doing something right, for we soon will have gone 160 years, bringing a first-class education to the young men and women of our great nation, an education led by caring, competent, and enthusiastic teachers who have provided disciplined education and demanded the development of high character.

If you’ll forgive a personal note, I believe I have a special standing to have the honor of presenting these brief remarks. For I believe that Blair Academy has given me more—more education, more opportunity, more intellectual discipline, more character and, yes, more joyous school days—than any student who has ever strode across our lovely, classic campus and studied in our hallowed halls.

So I’m hardly unmindful of St. Luke’s entreaty in the King James Bible, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” To state the obvious, even as Blair has given me so much, I have done my best to give Blair much in return. And having given much, it is with great joy that I will honor the Biblical injunction to give still more.

I know that I need not ask one single soul in this room tonight to join me in this quest to take Blair Academy yet another step forward, for you’ll do it without any urging from me. With or without a formal role, we are the stewards of this Academy and its superb heritage. We all know that it is not merely our right, but our responsibility, to join the exciting parade which begins tonight.

The task is large... to preserve, to protect, and to defend this fount of liberal education, this island of opportunity, this community of teaching and learning. At Blair Academy, we give some of the most promising young men and women in our land the opportunity to learn more than they might otherwise have learned, to accomplish more than they might otherwise have accomplished, and to develop their character and their values more than they might otherwise have developed them. If these seem like unremarkable goals, I assure you that they are anything but. Such young citizens are the core of our civilization, our hope for years to come.

The task is large, but the enthusiasm here in this room tonight is palpable. You must feel it yourselves. Yet perhaps you are wondering, “How can we ever achieve our ambitious goal?” Answer: In the only way that the citizens of American communities have ever achieved their goals. Together. To carry our academy upward yet another notch, it is we here tonight who must together be the movers and shakers.

Let me close by paraphrasing the words of Emerson, surely a mover and shaker of no mean repute. Listen ... Every great and commanding moment in the annals of the world is the triumph of enthusiasm ... this is the one remedy for all ills, the panacea of nature. We must love the challenge we face ... and all at once, the impossible becomes possible.

Thank you all, and may God bless our school.