Jeff Leahy: Bar Fork Ribbon Cutting Speech

Standing here with me representing the leadership of the board are Stan Wattles ‘80 and Mags Miller ‘90, our current and future board chairs, and representing the leadership of the capital campaign are alumna/alumni-parent Cory Ritchie ‘92 and alumni-parent Pete Louras.

A project like this takes so many people to bring to a successful conclusion. I want to thank the incredibly generous donors who made this all possible, as well as the board of trustees, A4 Architects and FCI – all of whom – are responsible for the community space we enjoy today.

This building was constructed in 1964 and has served the school as a community center ever since.  Unfortunately, after over 60 years of use, the Bar Fork had outlived its original design. When we considered the remodel for this space, it was very important to us that we maintain the buildings original character to ensure a continuity between the past, present and future. 

Through the creativity of those who are with us today, we have breathed new life into the Bar Fork.  It is hard to imagine now that less than a year ago, we had a leaky roof, tar-stained ceilings, and plastic buckets on the floor next to plastic tables and chairs. This project has renewed the foundational beauty and natural elements of what has always been and will always be a special building on this campus.  

Sustainability has always been an important value at CRMS, and by maintaining many of the original features, we have not only lessened this remodel’s environmental impact, but we have also preserved so much of its history and character.

The Bar Fork completes a community quad that is bordered by every phase of our school program: the Solar and Lodge dorms, the active center, the Jossman academic building, and our library. Additionally, this remodel will better support our connection to the organic garden that provides us with the resources we need for nourishing meals; this relationship between garden and kitchen is an important symbol of how our work program supports our community.  

As you enter the main doors from the West, this space leads with the CRMS art program – the center gallery will put on display student artistry and creativity, and the bright and expansive upstairs offers a third space for our student body to socialize, connect, and build community.  

Thank you to our incredible staff who helped this project move forward – our development and business offices who brought this vision into reality, and our kitchen, maintenance, and housekeeping – who did exceptional work navigating a construction zone for ¾ of the year.  It was not easy to do their jobs in a construction zone.

Thank you as well to all our community members: students, faculty, staff, and families for your patience and support.  Since its opening after spring break, it has been exciting to see how the dining hall and the upstairs floor have transformed the way in which we gather and spend time together. 

And while I love the immediate impact it has had on our community, the writer John Ruskin reminds us that when we build, and when we build right, the best designs are the ones that impact generations: 

Ruskin says, “… let it not be for present delights nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us [for], and let us think… that a time is to come when these stones will be held sacred and the community will say as they look upon the labor, and the wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our [benefactors] did for us!’”

I am confident that this Bar Fork will sit alongside our Barn as two of the most important places and that they will endure for generations of students and within them hold the identity and values of our school.

Thanks so much, everyone!  

Now our current and future board presidents and CRMS alumni, Stan Wattles ‘80 and Mags Miller ‘90 will do their official duty in cutting the ceremonial ribbon.  

Let’s keep raising the bar, CRMS.