Portrait of a Planned Giver
 Ambassador
to
Young and Old
Harry Gates ’77 loves
Blair. Many refer to him as “Blair’s Ambassador.” A great volunteer,
he is one of the first to arrive on Peddie Day to
set up and greet fellow Blair alums, parents and
students and one of the last to leave at the end
of the day. He mixes with all alumni—young
and old. At the fall Young Alumni gathering
in New York City, Harry skippers his boat from
Weehawken to the Boat Basin with Blair faculty
aboard. His favorite time each year, though, is
Alumni Weekend when he helps to register and
welcome the Old Guard back to campus. Harry
has become so popular with members of the Old
Guard that it’s not uncommon for the Alumni
Office to receive calls and mail addressed to him.
Jenny Maine, director of alumni relations, calls
Harry her “right hand man.”
Harry served as secretary to the
Board of Governors for three years and is a 1977 class
representative. In 2007, Harry won the Alumni
Volunteer Award for his selfless service to Blair.
Harry and his wife Carol have also chosen to
support Blair Academy through a bequest. As
one of 145 members of the John C. Sharpe Society, Harry
proudly wears his John C. Sharpe
pin to all school events.
“Planned giving is a way that Carol and I can
give back to Blair what it has given us. Blair has
always been an important part of my life, and I
plan on it being that way for a long time.”
Today it is often alumni between
the ages of 40 and 60 who are most involved with writing
their wills and making estate plans. Harry and Carol are
among a growing number of alumni who have chosen to leave
a philanthropic legacy behind them by including Blair Academy
in their will or as a beneficiary of their IRA, pension
or insurance plans.
If you have included Blair Academy
in your estate plans, please be sure to let us know so
that we may recognize you as a member of the John C. Sharpe
Planned Giving Society.
“Planned giving is a way
that Carol and
I can give back to Blair what it has
given us. Blair has always been an
important part of my life, and I plan on
it being that way for a long time.”
More Portraits of Planned Givers:
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