Written by Diane Gaspar O'Brien
Haze Post Special Feature
It's no wonder Mason Ruder was feeling a little tired by the end of the last Saturday night in April.
It was a long night. long weekend. A long month. A long year.
But his attitude and smile said it all. The effort on this project was worth his $1 million.
Raising $1 million was the goal set for Thomas More Prep Marian Middle School's annual Christian Education Auction, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024.
It will be several more weeks before final figures for ACE, the most commonly referenced measure, are released. Last year's auction set a new record of $897,700, and the extension office hopes to achieve a similar record this year.
“We are so blessed by the generosity of our alumni and community members. Those who did not attend school here are also our biggest supporters,” Ruder said. “People who don't live here are big donors. ACE is cross-country.”
This was Ruder, a 2010 TMP Marian graduate, her first attempt at planning a large-scale annual event.
By the time Ruder was hired as director of advancement at Hays Catholic Schools in December 2022, planning for ACE 2023 was virtually complete.
He experienced what will happen at ACE last year and the subsequent planning of the 50th, and acknowledges that it would not have happened without the work of many people, mostly volunteers.
An all-hands-on-deck spirit was essential this year, as Ruder's one-and-a-half year tenure is the longest of any current member of the TMP-M Foundation office.
Ruder was joined by Mary Lang and Kathy Caseforth, former members of the school's alumni association for more than 25 years, and Wanda Caseforth, a longtime alumni association official who had been planning the 50th ACE for several years. He gave special praise to Mr. Billinger.
Lang and Caseforth returned to school several times throughout the year, especially on the final day leading up to ACE 2024, to help out wherever needed. And Billinger frequents the school year-round.
“Our new crew is so successful because of all the hard work and foundation laid down by our predecessors,” Ruder said. “It is an honor to be able to pass on what we have learned from the generations that have taken care of us for so long.”
Purpose of establishing ACE
ACE began in 1975 as an effort to establish a financial foundation for Catholic education in Hays and Ellis Counties.
St. Joseph Military had changed its name to Thomas More Prep just five years earlier. Then, in 1981, TMP's boys' school merged with the nearby girls' school, Marian High School, to form TMP Marian High School.
The area's Catholic elementary school moved from its St. Joseph location in 1998. Holy Family Elementary School was established near the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church for elementary school students from preschool to sixth grade.
TMP-M started a middle school for seventh and eighth graders in 2012, and sixth graders from Holy Family moved into the middle school this fall. Hays Catholic School offers a seamless transition from preschool to her 12th grade.
The auction and its generous support of Hays Catholic School has steadily grown over the years. Although he raised just $22,000 in his first year, ACE raised more than $100,000 in 1997. In less than 10 years, his fundraising reached the $200,000 mark and broke records almost every year thereafter.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the auction was held online and raised $711,576, about the same as the previous year. Since then, each year has exceeded the previous year's amount.
Approximately $13 million was raised in its first 49 years.
ACE Icon Past and Present
For years, local philanthropist Don Bickle has been in the habit of buying dinners, which end up being multi-course black-tie dinners that usually cost thousands of dollars.
Mr. Bickle, 96, was unable to attend this year's ACE, but he was there in good spirits last year as the ACE committee named that particular item the “Don Bickle Black Tie Dinner.”
“That dinner will always be known as Don Bickles,” Billinger said. “He always enjoyed it so much that we wanted to honor him by naming it in his honor. He was so generous to our school. did.”
Billinger himself is an ACE icon and has been involved in auctions for more than 35 years. She personally raises hundreds of gifts for ACE each year.
“Wanda lives and breathes ACE and TMP Marian,” Ruder said.
Father Earl Befo has been involved with the school since 1969, when he began teaching at the school shortly after his ordination as a Capuchin priest.
Father Earl, a native of Ellis County, served as president of the TMP-M Alumni Association for several years and continues to serve as the alumni chaplain. He is believed to be the only person to have attended all 50 of his ACEs and has been amazed by the continued generosity of alumni and other community members.
“The amount given now is huge, especially considering the first year,” the priest said. Earl said, referring to ACE 1975's net income of $22,010. “It's grown and grown and grown. The enthusiasm of the townspeople and alumni is a real blessing. They give so generously.”
Coincidentally, one of the popular silent auction items each year is Fr. Earl's bobblehead. One year, a TMP-M family donated a box of popular Priest bobbleheads.
Father Earl laughed at the idea and always agreed to autograph bobbleheads when buyers asked.
lots of unique items
In addition to the silent and live auctions, people will be waiting for several raffles throughout the night.
One of the popular big-ticket items is the vehicles donated each year by Dick and Kay Worth of Auto World Used Cars.
Another popular product is Penny, where for every $1 a donor raises, they donate an ACE equal to 1 penny (160 excluding verbal auctions).
And then there's Item 160 itself, which is always targeted to specific school needs. This year's funding for this item will provide the financial foundation for the future of Catholic education.
The ACE Committee added several items specifically for the 50th anniversary.
Approximately 500 participants were presented with special wine glasses engraved with “Golden Anniversary ACE 2024.”
Copies of all 50 program covers were displayed on the wall just outside the gymnasium. Many people look for a specific year of his ACE or for different themes across the decades culminating in his 50 year cover in black and gold with the words “Cheers to the next 50 years!” I enjoyed talking with you.
Each year's program cover also includes the amount you earned that year.
One of this year's special events was live painting.
Lakin Denny, a Kansas State University student from Colby, spent two hours completing an oil painting of the Virgin Mary during Friday night's preview party and Saturday's dinner and auction.
“I planned and estimated how long the painting and prep work would take,” she said. “I've never done a 'live' show before. It was a lot of fun.”
Denny completed the painting just as her item number was put up for auction.
Travis Rojean's son Landon, who met Denny through connections at K-State University's St. Isidore Catholic Campus Center, sold the oil painting for $1,375.
Rosine said, “Bidding for the painting was a great opportunity to support TMP and connect with children through St. Isidore's.”
Item 160 is still accepting donations
Anyone who would like to contribute to Item 160 can contact the school at 785-625-6577. All donations of $50 or more will have your name placed on a golden legacy plaque that will be displayed throughout the school.
Walter and Marie DeChant started Item 160 this year with a donation of $102,500. The Leo J. and Albina Dreiling Trust is contributing up to $250,000 in matching funds, and the items alone had raised more than $500,000 before the auction began.
“TMP alumni are some of the most loyal people I have ever seen,” Ruder said. “We are definitely blessed.”