Legacies

Keeping Our Past Alive: The Peter Conomikes Memorial Endowment Fund

This Fund, established by John Reilly (Epee ’78) and funded by dozens of fencing alumni and other donors, has raised over $50,000 in donations and is now fully established. It is managed by the College. The Fund’s annual earnings will allow the club to improve and make investments in our equipment and tournament fees, as well as make travel costs easier to bear. The College’s allotment will not be offset against the Fund’s additional support, so its yearly income will accrue completely to the Club’s benefit.

It’s not too late to join the Campaign! There is no better way to express gratitude for everything Pete did for fencing at the College than to support his legacy through the Fund. To make a donation online, click here.

You can also pledge your support by e-mailing jreilly410@aol.com with an amount and a payment schedule, and John will respond with detailed instructions on how to fulfill the pledge.

“Pete left a towering (if largely unsung) legacy at the College, from which each of us has taken lasting benefit. One of Pete’s greatest gifts was to mold gangly novices (like me), who started with nothing more than an interest in the sport, into skilled swordsmen and swordswomen. Whatever success any of us went on to enjoy as fencers, few accomplishments rank higher than when we each won that first bout in competition, and began to believe that we could actually amount to something on the strip. That moment obviously wouldn’t have happened without Pete’s teaching and encouragement.”

John Reilly (Epee ’78)
jreilly410@aol.com