In addition, the Alumnae Association will announce that Karla Schmidt Blain, Susan Clarkson, Meredith Lintner Metzmeier ’91 and Nancy Ward Pendergrass ’69 are the Heart Award winners; Mary Beth Brown Brotzge ’82, Julia Warner Kiper ’77 and Anne Jones Nash ’86 are the newest members of the Valkyrie Hall of Fame; and that Jeniece Elder Bickett will be awarded an SHA Honorary Diploma.
The Mass & Brunch is open to the public, and reservations may be made by calling 896-8681. Brunch tickets are $30 per person; children age 4 to 12 are $12.50 and children 3 and younger are free.
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Alumna of the Year:
This award of highest honor is given to an alumna who has contributed significantly to her community and enriched the lives of those around her. As a graduate of Sacred Heart, her outstanding accomplishments bring distinction to the school and the strong foundation it fosters in young women.
Sr. Martha Buser, OSU (formerly Sr. Olga) – Sr. Martha Buser, a 1945 graduate of Sacred Heart Model School and a 1949 graduate of Sacred Heart Academy, joined the Ursuline Sisters in 1950. Buser taught at Sacred Heart Model School and SHA from 1962 to 1972. Her teaching assignments also included the former Ursuline Academy in Louisville and in schools in Omaha, Pittsburgh and Morgantown, WV.
After leaving education, Buser became the director of Ursuline life and formation. In 1979, she founded the Angela Prayer Center. In 1991, she authored a book on the spirituality of Saint Angela Merici, foundress of the Ursulines, Also in Your Midst, which has been published in five languages. She has led numerous retreats on Saint Angela throughout the United States and Canada, in several countries in Europe and in South Africa. In 1994, she co-founded the Company of St. Angela, an association for laypersons following the spirit of St. Angela, and in 1997, she became the first director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality.
Buser has the distinction of being the first and only woman to serve as director of the Permanent Diaconate program of the Archdiocese of Louisville from 1987 to 1994. In her retirement, Buser continues her ministry as a volunteer at Wayside Mission and as director of mission effectiveness for Marian Home, the Ursuline Sister’s nursing home.
Carol Kunk Butler – Carol Kunk Butler is a 1968 graduate of Sacred Heart Academy. She earned a bachelor’s degree in community psychology and a law degree from the University of Louisville. Presently, Butler is the president and chief operating officer of Butler Books, the Louisville-based publishing company she and her husband founded in 1990.
From 2003-2004, she was the senior assistant to Mayor Jerry Abramson and director of community relations and events; from 1997 to 1999, she was special assistant to Abramson and was director of special projects and events. Butler continues to serve on a volunteer basis as the Mayor’s official liaison to the University of Louisville and to Sister Cities of Louisville. Between the mayor’s administrations, Butler served as the special assistant to the president of the University of Louisville and was director of special projects and events.
Butler has been practicing law since 1977 and has been a realtor and industrial consultant since 1975. She was the first woman to serve as General Counsel to a Kentucky governor during the John Y. Brown, Jr. administration from 1980 to 1982.
In 1997, Butler as named an Outstanding Catholic School Alumna by the Archdiocese of Louisville. In the same year she was inducted into the SHA Valkyrie Hall of Fame. In 1996, she received the U of L Law Alumni Award for outstanding service to the university, and in 1994, Butler was honored with an SHA Heart Award for her service to the community. Butler is a former board member of Ursuline Campus Schools, Greater Louisville Sports Commission, Housing Partnership, Inc., Women 4 Women, Inc. and Boys and Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana.
Heart Award Winners:
Heart Awards are given to graduates or persons who have contributed in a significant way to the SHA community.
Karla Schmidt Blain (current parent) has been an active volunteer for nearly eight years while her daughters Erin ’04 and Kelsey ’07 attended Sacred Heart Academy. Blain has been involved in the Parent Association for six years and served on Interlude dinner/auction committees from 2003 to 2005. For the last seven years, she has coordinated the annual recruitment Open House reception. In addition, Blain has been an avid backstage volunteer during SHA theatrical productions for nearly eight years. Blain is a 1978 graduate of Angela Merici High School.
Susan Clarkson (current parent) vigorously supports senior daughters Courtney’s and Caroline’s high school endeavors. Clarkson has been involved in numerous school activities and committees, including Interlude, Ursuline Campus Schools’ largest annual fund-raising event. She has also put much of her efforts into the SHA field hockey team, scheduling and planning tournament dinners and trips and attending all games. In 2006, she chaired the 2006 Apple Tournament, an annual fundraiser for the SHA athletic department.
Meredith Lintner Metzmeier ’91 has served as a Class Representative since her graduation, helping to keep classmates connected and to plan reunions. She served on the SHA Alumnae Board for five years and was president for three years. Most recently, Metzmeier served on the Ursuline United “Spectacular” committee that was instrumental in the public announcement of the Ursuline Campus Schools $9.55 million capital campaign.
Nancy Ward Pendergrass ’69 served on the SHA Alumnae Board for 16 years. Under her leadership, the alumnae jewelry and merchandise program grew considerably. Pendergrass continues to support the Sacred Heart community by attending an array of SHA and Ursuline Campus events.
Valkyrie Hall of Fame Inductees:
Former athletes, who are alumnae of 10 or more years, and former coaches, who demonstrate exceptional character and athletic achievement while at SHA and continue to show true sportsmanship to family and friends, are chosen annually for the Hall of Fame Award.
Julia Warner Kiper ’77 won the Kentucky State trampoline championship in 1973-74, the last year the Kentucky High School Athletic Association sanctioned gymnastics. Kiper was also the one-meter diving State champion in 1976 and 1977. She was on the basketball, volleyball and track teams. In 1976, Kiper was named SHA Athlete of the Year. Kiper went on to dive at Southern Illinois University and was twice named All-American. Kiper capped off her collegiate career by being named SIU’s female Athlete of the Year. In 1983, she was inducted into SIU’s Hall of Fame.
Mary Beth Brown Brotzge ’82 lettered four years in field hockey and basketball. She was an All-State field hockey player and was a member of the 1980 and 1981 Apple Tournament championship teams. Brotzge was on the first field hockey team to win a title at the National Field Hockey Festival in Fla. in 1981. She played collegiate field hockey at Eastern Kentucky University. As a basketball player at SHA, Brotzge was named All-District and was captain her senior year.
Anne Jones Nash ’86 was a member of the 1984, 1985 and 1986 Regional and State championship golf teams. Nash attended Auburn University on a golf scholarship. She lettered each of her four years in college. The Auburn Tigers finished seventh in the NCAA her senior year and won the prestigious South Eastern Conference tournament.
SHA’s Honorary Diploma:
Jeniece (Jeni) Elder Bickett will receive an Honorary Diploma. This honor is given to individuals whose devotion to SHA is equal to completing the requirements for a diploma. Bickett would have graduated with the Class of 1970 had it not been for illness that kept her from completing the credits necessary to graduate.
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Sacred Heart Academy (SHA), founded in 1877 by the Ursuline Sisters, is a member of Ursuline Campus Schools, and is a college preparatory secondary school for girls. Sacred Heart is the only Catholic high school in Kentucky to offer the International Baccalaureate program, and 99 percent of SHA graduates attend hundreds of colleges and universities across the country. In addition to being a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, SHA celebrates more than 70 state athletic championship titles. In 2006, SHA’s graduating class earned $9.2 million in college scholarships. The Academy has more than 10,000 alumnae worldwide.
Find SHA online at http://www.sacredheartacad.com/.