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Milton Hershey School president to retire in July

     HERSHEY, Pa. - The president of a school for needy children founded by chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey announced Friday that he plans to retire next year.

     Milton Hershey School President John O'Brien said he felt the school had largely accomplished his goals of increasing its enrollment, better preparing students for life after graduation, and ensuring that it fulfills its mission of serving the country's most disadvantaged children.

     O'Brien made the announcement at a school assembly and said his retirement would be effective July 31. He is a 1961 alumnus of the school, which provides free education, housing and health care to about 1,800 children.

     "My devotion, my reverence for this school, starting in 1947 until I take my last breath, will always be with the school," O'Brien said. "And so I care deeply enough about Milton Hershey and all of us to let it go."

     O'Brien was appointed president in 2003 after seven months as acting president. He arrived at the height of a long-running conflict between its alumni association and its board of directors.

     The alumni association argued at the time that the school was straying from its mission of helping children from poor and broken families and focusing too much on academically talented students looking for a hot prep school.

     The association has since repaired its relationship with the school's administrators and board of directors, association president Robert Heist said Friday.

     Heist praised O'Brien's implementation of a transitional-living program to help high-school seniors learn how to live independently and another program called Springboard Academy to help new middle school students adjust to the school.

     "He had set out a plan when he came in, and he had fulfilled that plan," said Heist, a 1982 graduate.

     Board chairman LeRoy Zimmerman said a nationwide search has begun for a new president.

     Hershey and his wife, Catherine, who were unable to have children, founded the school as the Hershey Industrial School for orphaned boys in 1909. The school now serves boys and girls is funded through a charitable trust into which Hershey poured most of his fortune.

. . . .

Information from: The Patriot-News, http://www.pennlive.com/patriotnews

Johnny O'Brien's Letter to Alumni:

November 14, 2008

Dear Alumni:

     Today, November 14, I announced my intention to complete my tenure as president of the Milton Hershey School – effective July 31, 2009. The attached letter to our School community outlines the rationale for and timing of my decision.

     It has indeed been a privilege and humbling honor to serve as a caretaker of our Home during these challenging times. As an alumnus, I hope you derive satisfaction from the fact that:

• Your alma Mater has been restored to its Founder's Mission.
• We are a year-round Home again for terrific kids from the toughest of circumstances.
• We are serving and saving the lives of 50% more children. (1800 students today).
• We have shifted from a culture of entitlement to one of accountability, pride, and gratitude.
• All of the School's focus is on student success through high moral character and strong work ethic.

     I accepted the stewardship of MHS only to help lead us to this place. Our beloved “Home – The Milt” is so much bigger and more significant than any one of us. And, with my role largely complete, I turn to our very capable and dedicated Leadership Team and a School Family which is poised to take MHS to an even higher level of operational excellence.

     Many challenges remain as we prepare to launch our second hundred years. We will need a vibrant School-Alumni relationship and your help more than ever before. The MHS Alumni Association's leadership is reaching out to the School and to all graduates to forge a working partnership that will add significant value to MHS students and our youngest alumni. I have always said that, as a one-of-a-kind “Home,” we should have the best School-Alumni relations in the world. As we prepare to enter Milton Hershey's second century, that lofty goal is within our reach.

     I hope you will elect to get involved in our upcoming Centennial celebrations and help to build this union of “Home-Milt-Alumni” in honor of our Founders, and our noble mission.

In service of MHS,

Johnny O'Brien ‘61

Johnny O'Brien's Letter to the School Family:

11/14/08

Dear MHS Family Member,

     Six years ago, when given the humbling honor of coming back to guide this Home which had saved my life, I vowed to do four things:

1)  Restore MHS to Mr. Hershey's Mission of being a year-round home for terrific children from the toughest of circumstances.

2)  Serve and save many more of these precious children as called for in the Deed of Trust.

3)  Create a program which focused all energies and resources on student and young graduate success, and

4)  Develop a unified, adult community where all staff are dedicated to our noble MHS mission.

     Working hard and together, we, the MHS Family, have largely achieved these monumental goals. We are a year-round Home (with a great School) for kids who desperately need us and we are miraculously serving and saving 50% more children today. The MHS program is truly focused on developing our students' moral character and producing excellence in academic and life skills. And you -- our sensational staff -- have demonstrated a level of devotion to our children which is unparalleled. We are beginning to pull together in a way that fiercely loving families do.

     So it is a tribute to your dedication and sacrifice that I can confidently pass the mantel of MHS leadership to a worthy successor this summer, 2009. It is because you are more than ready to take MHS to the next level, I am ready to step aside.

     When I arrived in December 2002, I made it clear to the Board, our senior management, and my bride that I would labor every day to get the School back on mission, get it healthy and serving more kids and then get out of the way. So it is time for me to pass the torch. You know the adage that if you genuinely love someone or something, you love “with open arms.” I have loved my “Home” for over 60 years and always will. I care deeply enough about MHS to let her go.

     Because the state of our Home and School is so healthy, this will be a positive transition. The School's direction and program are on the right path. Our Board of Managers agrees and they have vowed to continue on it. The senior managers on our Leadership Team are the most effective and dedicated team of leaders I have ever worked with. Anchored by Pete Gurt, Vice President of Student Life, our Leadership Team consists of devoted servant leaders who have positioned MHS for operational excellence and, with your help, will assure that we go from being very good to being great.

     But I repeat that Milton Hershey is only as good as the exceptional people who choose to dedicate their hearts as well as minds to our noble, child-saving mission. We are fully back on our Founder's mission. We have a shared vision of student success. We are making our Sacred Values sacred. And we have you, our remarkable and devoted staff who will raise our amazing children together to reach new heights. I have absolute confidence in you and nothing but bold optimism for our School's future. I will depart in July with humility, fulfillment, and inner peace.

     But there is still time on the scoreboard. I may be deep into my “fourth quarter” but this is the most critical time of all for stewards. I intend to finish strong because completing what we start is more important than beginning it. And because that is our Spartan Way. I need your help to make the next eight months part of the best year ever for MHS. Together we will complete this firm foundation to support the next 100 years of serving and saving childrens' lives.

     Onward and Upward Spartans!

Your dedicated MHS servant,

Milton Hershey School Press Release, Friday, November 14, 2008

     “There is no question that Milton Hershey School is Mr. Hershey's greatest and most enduring legacy. Thanks to Johnny O'Brien, Milton Hershey School today is healthy and headed in the right direction, and ready to launch its next 100 years of service.”

     O'Brien, a 1961 graduate of the School, was named president in July 2003. During his tenure, Milton Hershey School grew to serve 1,800 students, the highest number of children ever enrolled at the School. O'Brien also oversaw the renovation of the School's flagship building on Pat's Hill into the new Catherine Hall for middle school students; instituted a Transitional Living program aimed at helping seniors learn independent life skills before leaving the School; and created Springboard Academy to help new middle school students adjust to the highly structured life at MHS. Transitional Living and Springboard are among the most significant innovations in Milton Hershey School's history.

     “It has truly been a privilege to serve as president of the place I call home,” O'Brien said. “Our single focus during these past five years has been the success of our students and young graduates, and everything we have done has been with that end in mind.”

     “When I arrived back home, I set three major goals for my tenure: restore the School to Mr. Hershey's Deed and Mission, serve and save many more children, and position the school for excellence and student success.

     “I consider myself blessed to have worked with this deeply committed staff and our amazing and resilient students who have made it possible to reach all of these goals. My retirement is a tribute to the dedication of our houseparents, teachers and support staff, and to the ability of our Leadership Team. The School will be in very capable hands.”

     A grandmother enrolled O'Brien and his older brother, Frankie, into the School after their father murdered their mother. O'Brien was not yet four years old.

     O'Brien eventually graduated with a scholarship to Princeton University. He was the founder and president of Renaissance Leadership, a management consulting company specializing in change leadership and executive coaching. O'Brien also previously served as Education Policy Fellow at the National Institute of Education and as Associate Director of Admissions at Princeton University. He is currently on the Board of Trustees of Princeton.

     “We know that Mr. Hershey wanted the community he founded to work together for the common good. Milton Hershey School is a key part of that community, and Johnny has revitalized those connections,” Zimmerman said.

     “While I am saddened to see Johnny go, I know that he leaves Milton Hershey School in a terrific position for the future.”

     Zimmerman said that, with O'Brien's help, the board has launched a national search for his successor.

     One of the primary objectives of the new Milton Hershey School Alumni Association website/portal is to facilitate communication among members of the Milton Hershey School Family, including communication to, from and through your alumni association.

     For example, to facilitate responses to formal questions of the alumni association Board, we have initiated the “Ask the Board” area, as one means of ensuring the democratic nature of your association.

     Another example is your association's need to facilitate communication among members of a particular class year (including reunion class years) and other association communities.

     To ensure that the communication feature of the website is as effective as possible, and that our contact information is as up-to-date as possible, periodically the website will send a regular or test email to all who are registered users of the website. If a particular email address is either non-functioning or the email account rejects communication from MHSAA, we will suspend access to the website, and the user will be required to notify us when a functioning e-mail address is restored.

     Please feel free to send your comments on, or questions regarding, this policy through the Ask the Board function.

 ***The names highlited in red will be memorialized at Homecoming 2009

     The MHSAA Online Store is now open.  Please click on MHSAA Online Store to review available items.  Note that each order must also order the Shipping and Handling in order to take advantage of the $5.00 flat rate per order.  See Shipping and Handling for details.

Hershey PA  17033

Re: Robert G. Davis, Class of 1941

Dear Sir/Madam,

It is with much regret that I announce the passing of my father, Robert Glenn Davis, on October 15th, 2008.  He was 84 years old.

My Father came to Hershey as a half orphan in 1937 when he was 13 years old. In 1941, he graduated and was sent to Chicago to work at Link-Belt Company.  He was 17 years old and was given $500 and a new suit of clothes.  More than that, he was given an education and upbringing that allowed him to be a successful electrician, father, husband, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, and friend.

One of his fond memories was seeing Mr. Hershey (yes, Milton S. himself!) come by the farm in a car.   Mr. Hershey would wave and sometimes would stop and chat.

My Dad always spoke very highly of his time at Hershey and it definitely changed his life for the better,

Thank you so much.

jmbrbdavis@comcast.net

     After your "Ask the Board" question or concern has been received, you will receive an acknowledgement and then someone will get back to you soon thereafter, depending upon the nature of your question.

Sincerely,

MHSAA

     Earlier today, MHSAA was setting up certain technical aspects of the dues that become effective January 1, 2009. Somehow this inadvertently triggered an unintended block to accessing the site for some of our members.

     We were able to determine what was happening and the unintended block has been removed.

     There has been no decision to block access to the site if members do not pay their member dues.

     If anyone is still having problems accessing the site, please contact John Halbleib '71, VP-Communication at johnhalbleib@johnfhalbleib.com.

     Sorry for any inconvenience.

     As the site is more fully developed, unintended technical issues may arise. Please be patient.

The Names highlighted in red will be memorialized at Homecoming of 2009.

Here are the winning class years for the Annual Appeal Class Competition 2008: