School Now Within $2.8 Million of Their Goal!

There were a lot of happy people when Steve and Barbara Slaggie decided to donate $1 Million to the Marco Island Academy during the Million Dollar Match phase of their capital fundraising campaign.

“So nice to see that happen so early in the campaign,” remarked Mark Melvin, who pledged the $1 Million Match for the capital campaign. “It took only about a month.”

Melvin was impressed with the Slaggie’s generosity. “It’s an incredible gift and the benefit to the school is priceless. It was definitely great to see it happen all at once.”

Jane Watt, Chairperson of the MIA Board Of Directors, is understandably thrilled over the Slaggie’s generosity.

“It’s unbelievable,” Watt exclaimed, “we were raising the funds, and moving the bar up little by little—and we were excited by that—then we had Steve and Barbara Slaggie come forward. That took us over the top. Which was exciting, to say the least. The Slaggies are new donors. People who I didn’t know. We were completely surprised. It was out of the blue. Sometimes I can’t even believe—it’s so amazing and so wonderful that you just can’t even believe it.”

So, what was it that moved the Slaggies to come forward with such a generous donation?

“I guess probably because we’re so interested in children and education and their lives,” explained Barbara Slaggie. “We’re very impressed with the way Marco Island Academy has grown. And the work that has been put in, too. And the accomplishments so far. We thought that it was a good investment in the future of our young people.”

“We’ve been on the island for a number of years,” Steve Slaggie said. “We’ve seen the progress of the school. The growth in the excellence of the academic programs. And now, in the last few years, with their athletic accomplishments, where they’re really maturing as a very viable high school. We don’t do our philanthropy solely based on need. We like to look at vision.

“What’s the vision of the recipient going forward? The vision of Marco Island Academy is extremely positive. It is a success story. With our assistance, especially in the athletic aspect, on the field, we hope to bring that excellence more to fruition in the future. When we see a project that looks very inviting, and suits the goals that we have, we do like to proceed and participate in the success story going forward. It is and will continue to be a great success story for Marco.”

MIA’s athletic field will be named in the Slaggie’s honor. The Slaggies have a long history with the island. It’s a relationship that’s grown over the years.

“We’re out of the Midwest—Minnesota,” Steve Slaggie stated. “I was one of the originators of an industrial distribution company that I worked with for many, many years. We have been visiting Marco Island since our children were very much youngsters—staying in the various hotels. Then it branched out from there. We were able to get away from home a little longer, and we started getting into rentals. Some years ago, we did purchase and we’re now permanent residents of Marco Island. We like to get involved in the things here that strike our fancy.  And education is really at the forefront of that.”

Capital Campaign Chairperson Marianne Iordanou is very pleased with how things are going. The total goal of the campaign is $12,500,000. They are currently $2.8 million from their goal.

“We’ve worked hard,” Iordanou said. “We tried to speak to as many people as we could. We had our weeks of frustration. We pounded the pavement, and sometimes we had no fruits for our labors. We talked to them, talked to them, talked to them. Then in one week, we get a call and we’ve raised $5 Million. Eventually, people came around. I think they’ve gotten it now. What this means to the community.”

For Iordanou, it all goes back to the kids. “For me, watching what they’ve created with the little that they have has been very amazing. They’re working out of trailers. They’re a top school with very little funding from the district. They’ve done everything themselves. These kids go out and volunteer. And I think the older members of the community are saying, ‘Wow, these are really a bunch of good kids. Look at what they’re doing.’ It’s very exciting to see what the future holds. I’m very proud of this project. We’re so close. I think at this point we’re there.”

“We needed 4.8 Million before we ran the match,” Watt said. “We still have 2.8 Million to go.”

Watt said construction will continue whether the entire campaign goal is met or not.

“We’re still full steam ahead no matter what,” she said. “Our worst-case scenario is that we will borrow the remaining amount. But we’re really, really hopeful that we’ll be able to raise the necessary funds to do that. This is a really challenging time, so I don’t know what’s going to happen. But we always remain hopeful. I’m just very, very grateful for all of the support from the community. I’m overwhelmed and especially grateful. I just feel like in the time we’re in now it’s just nice to have something positive. I feel like this is something really positive.”