This fall, David Gillespie started a new role on the GDS advancements team, serving as the special gifts officer. The move comes after his announcement last year that he would leave his role as athletic director.
His new role as special gifts officer will consist of fundraising and community engagement. It will involve connecting with alumni, parents and different members of the community.
During Gillespie’s tenure as athletic director of the high school, GDS found lots of success. The school won four state championships, five ISL titles and five MAC titles in various sports.
Gillespie told the Bit that he was “proud of the way we have improved our facilities here on campus” during his time as athletic director. “In the last five years, we completely renovated the fitness center. We redid our turf field and got a new scoreboard on that field.”
When administrators posted the application for the role, Gillespie jumped at the opportunity. “It was something new and exciting, and I’ll be able to help all areas of the school, not just athletics,” he said.
“It will be a lot of connecting with alumni and parents to bring in the funds that are necessary to run a school and have new projects,” Gillespie added
The advancement team coordinates social events with alumni, parents and other community members to help fundraise for the school. “The school always needs some people to reach out to parents, alumni and parents of alumni to talk about what the philanthropic needs of the school are,” Director of Annual Giving Ashley Doherty said.
The advancement team is made up of 12 members across three different focus groups: communications, development, and community relations. Gillespie is part of the development team, along with five other members.
According to Doherty, the board of trustees sets an annual fundraising goal for the advancement team. “It’s roughly three or more million dollars by the end of every year,” she said.
During his time as athletic director, Gillespie brought in Pam Stanfield as associate athletic director and Derek Brunn as sports information and operations manager. Brunn helped build the athletic department at GDS, creating banners for senior athletes and helping run social media for GDS athletics. Stanfield worked to improve the middle school athletic department, which has helped add to middle school athletes development and the high school’s athletic success.
Gillespie also pointed out the shift in school spirit in his time as athletic director. “The student spirit at games, like the Pack the House Night, has increased tremendously since when I arrived,” he said. “I hope that that momentum continues.”
“From the very first time he [Gillespie] took over as athletic director, he’s shown a lot of trust in me as a coach,” Anthony Belber, a history teacher and head coach of the cross country and track and field teams, said. “He respects all the head coaches and makes sure that they are given the trust and responsibility to run their programs the way they want to run them.”
Belber, who has been coaching at GDS for 27 years, mentioned that, during Gillespie’s time as athletic director, “there has been some kind of recognition from the school that we can develop our athletic program without taking away from other programs in the school.
“David’s long-standing role at the school as a teacher and a coach before he became an athletic director gave him a lot of institutional knowledge, which is essential,” Belber added.
Belber said he has always admired Gillespie. “His blood runs green and white with GDS, through and through,” he said.
Before serving for five years as athletic director of the high school, Gillespie served as athletic director of the GDS middle school while coaching high school and middle school sports teams, including soccer and lacrosse.
Gillespie said he is looking forward to being a part of the advancement team. “I am coming in with a different lens from an athletic point of view,” he said. “I have connections with constituents, parents and alumni, which could help me in my job.” He said he hopes all of those connections he has made in past years will help him in the years to come.
Mike Brooks, a former athletic director at Saint James and William Penn Charter School, replaced Gillespie this fall as the new director. Brooks also previously served as the director of athletics and men’s basketball head coach at Cazenovia College in New York.