Terry Sexton is a CEF Board Member and a partner at Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP. Terry and his wife Michelle are chairing this year's Gaudeamus Committee.
Pope Francis consistently encourages Catholics to view the world around us with an eternal perspective. He reminds us that the meaning in our lives is not found in spending and consuming for ourselves, but in loving and giving generously to others. In this way, we can reflect the Father’s inexhaustible mercy for a world that desperately needs it.
It is so fitting, then, that Tom and Sandy Long have been selected as CEF’s Angels Among Us honorees for 2016, the Year of Mercy. The Longs have a strong track record of putting others first and themselves last, especially when it comes to providing a Catholic education for every family that wants it, regardless of ability to pay.
Tom and Sandy have been married for 47 wonderful years. Their 3 adult children and 13 grandchildren are a loving testament to the Longs’ generosity. And despite the frenetic activity you would expect in a family that size, Tom and Sandy have always made time to give back.
Indeed, even as they were raising their own children and sending them to Catholic schools, Tom and Sandy have invested deeply in their parishes and high schools. Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Nativity, Miege, Aquinas and Rockhurst have all benefitted from the Longs’ generosity with their time, energy and resources.
The Longs have also been involved with the Catholic Education Foundation from the very beginning. They served on the committee that organizes Gaudeamus for 11 years, and chaired the committee for 7 years. Additionally, Sandy served on the Board of Directors for CEF for 8 years. It is so appropriate that Tom and Sandy will be honored at a benefit dinner they have made such a beautiful evening for so many CEF families and so many other honorees over the last 13 years.
Please join us for Gaudeamus on October 29 at the Overland Park Convention Center. Help us honor a couple that has always been willing to work hard today for a brighter tomorrow for CEF schools, students and families.
