Planned Giving

Portrait of a Planned Giver

Mike Habermann ’41 is no phantom at the opera.
His lifelong passion for this art form recently led him to the world’s great opera houses in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, France, Italy, England, Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and the United States. Along the way he has found time to tour the Lascoux Caves with the discoverer of the world-renowned Paleolithic paintings located there. At 81 years of age, he shows no signs of cutting back his travel; he has already finalized his itinerary for a trip to Spain and Portugal next year — with more to follow.

Another of Mike’s passions is Blair Academy. As the Class of 1941 class representative, Mike has maintained a lively correspondence with his classmates, visiting many of them when his trips take him to their hometowns. His involvement has brought him closer to the school as he has been drawn closer to his classmates. Fluent in French, as well as Spanish, Mike endowed the Marguerite Deysson Habermann French Prize in 2000, in memory of his late wife. The prize funds a month-long trip each summer to Quebec for a Blair student to improve his or her language skills and to foster a deeper appreciation of French culture.

In his search for another meaningful way to benefit the Blair community, Mike became a Planned Giver in 2003 when he established a Charitable Gift Annuity.

Mike Habermann ’41 and Hector Maquiera ’05, recipient of the Marguerite D. Habermann French Prize for 2003.

“In the time that I have served as class representative, I have garnered a greater appreciation of the value of a Blair education through my contact with my former classmates. Hearing so many of them acknowledge their debt to the school after a lifetime of achievement and accomplishment has made me so much more conscious of the importance that Blair has had on my own life, and, thus, has created a desire within me to support the values embodied by Blair and to help perpetuate its mission in guiding and shaping its students lives.”

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