Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Spring 2010 | Page 4

School News

TA Announces Plans And Support
for Outdoor Athletic Project
Thornton Academy officials in
November announced a $1.2 million plan to make major improvements at the Dr. Paul S. Hill, Jr. Stadium and nearby tennis courts. The
school has already received more
than $733,000 in project support.
The plan is to install artificial
turf and lights at Hill Stadium, to
renovate the Hill Stadium track and
to rebuild four tennis courts. In
January, TA brought these plans to
the city of Saco’s Planning Board.
Hundreds of students each year
as well as members of the general
public will benefit from the outdoor
facility enhancements. The project
should be completed by the fall of
2011 during the school’s bicentennial year.
“This is certainly a wonderful
time at Thornton Academy,” said
Headmaster Carl Stasio, Jr. “TA was
founded in 1811 with 50 students
and today we have nearly 1,500 students on campus. As Thornton continues to grow we look forward to
providing our young people with a
wide range of opportunities in academics, athletics and the arts.”
The project will make it possible to extend the athletic seasons
and usable hours at Hill Stadium,
give students more opportunities
to participate, and make playing
sports safer for students. It also
opens up the possibility of hosting
additional state and regional competitions at the Thornton Academy
campus and will allow use by additional community groups.
At a press conference last November, Board of Trustees President Eric Purvis ’81 announced that
the project is being made possible
through the generous support that
has been critical to Thornton Academy’s success for nearly 200 years.
Gifts toward the project include:
•A major bequest of $175,000
from alumna Mary Virginia Yates
Allard ’32 and her husband Charles
Allard, who deceased in June 2006
Postscripts

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Photo by Ben Nasse ‘93

Hill Stadium and four nearby tennis courts, shown here in an aerial picture
taken last fall, will get an overhaul thanks to Thornton Academy supporters.

and September 2009, respectively.
The gift was made through the 1811
Society, whose members provide for
the school in their estate plans. The
Allards previously made donations
to the Thornton Fund each year, and
upon Virginia’s death, her husband
of 59 years gave a memorial gift to
the school. According to her yearbook, Virginia had “a pleasant word
and smile for everyone through her
four years at Thornton.”
•100 percent participation from
Thornton’s Board of Trustees, who
are making significant multi-year
donations.
•A major gift of $100,000 from
Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution, a longtime supporter of the
school.
•Several gifts to the Thornton
Fund so far in 2009-10. Annual giving and auction proceeds for this
year and the following two fiscal
years will be devoted to the outdoor athletic projects.
Growth in TA’s student popu-

lation has historically called for
growth in our facilities:
Year
1811
1913
1984
2010

Enrollment
50
230
861
Nearly 1500

On average, 30 percent of all
Thornton high school students
(350-400) participate in interscholastic athletic teams every season.
Two seasons require outdoor facilities. Nearly 40 percent of all
Thornton Academy Middle Sechool
students participate in outdoor athletic activities as well.
Private philanthropy is a cherished tradition at Thornton Academy, which as a private school is
ineligible for public construction
funds. Thornton Fund donations
from alumni, parents, faculty, staff,
parents and businesses have provided more than $1.5 million for
the school since 2003.