More than 100 distinguished guests, families, friends, and supporters of St. Mary School gathered at the Leland Lodge for the 51st St. Mary School Angel Celebration on April 27 with special guest, Bishop Jeffrey Walsh.
The annual event honors a service award recipient and benefactor of the year. This year, St. Wenceslaus Parish was honored with the Angel Service Award and Larry & Jackie Fleis were named Benefactor of the Year Award.
Hebrews 13:16: “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” This reflects the good works of St. Mary School neighbors and friends at St. Wenceslaus Parish, the 2024 Angel Service Award recipient. Through weekly collections and targeted campaigns, friends and neighbors of this community continue to provide support for a Catholic Education on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sending their children to St. Mary School, sharing proceeds from the annual chicken dinner and annual parish assessments, are all gifts that have funded the Guardian Angel Tuition Assistance Program, school building fund and other projects. St. Wenceslaus Parish allows the school to host fundraisers, share time at church, provide faith formation, support the annual auction, pancake breakfasts and daily Masses.
Larry & Jackie Fleis, benefactors of the year, are husbandand-wife team who have made a lasting impact on St. Mary School since they first started supporting the community. Larry and Jackie Fleis are dedicated proponents of Catholic education. Larry and his brother Ted, cofounded with their siblings, the Ed & Irene Fleis Education Fund, named after their parents. Many St. Mary students have benefited from the Fleis families’ generosity.
The evening began at 6 p.m. with appetizers, cocktails and live music by Ben Duperon. Quilt raffle tickets were available throughout the evening before raffling off a beautiful handmade quilt from Marcia Zelinski. A delicious plated dinner was served. A generous Leland Lodge gift package was auctioned off near the end of the evening, which concluded with a fun “Pass the Angel” game.
All proceeds from the Angel Celebration support the Guardian Angel Tuition Assistance Program and the St. Mary School Endowment Foundation.
