COUUNTING OUR BLESSINGS

Benedict’s at its Finest

2026 Hall of Fame benefits the Annual Scholarship Fund

Each Hall of Fame inductee represents what it means to give everything you have to something bigger than yourself. Once a Gray Bee, always a Gray Bee.  

Watch the video narrated by Hank Cordeiro ’72.

The 2026 Hall of Fame Dinner benefiting the Annual Scholarship Fund was St. Benedict’s Prep at its finest. The celebration of community, legacy and future promise, held on April 22 at Nanina’s in the Park, honored six alumni — Peter Dowd ’69, Mario Garrubbo ’59 (posthumously), Cedric Hill ’90, Joseph Lee ’93, Rory McAuley ’87 and Justin Scapone ’87 — as well as two teams, the 1994-1995 Wrestling Team and the 1996-1997 Basketball Team. 

Honorees were recognized for the extraordinary contributions made in athletics and the arts while students at The Hive. An evocative video preceding the Induction Ceremony, emphasized the larger purpose of the Hall of Fame, a commitment to standards and representing something bigger than yourself. “It’s never about performance, it’s about who you become because of it,” intoned the video’s narrator, Hall of Famer Hank Cordeiro ’72. 

Gray Bees, who are currently making their own mark at The Hive, introduced the inductees. Once inducted, the Class of 2026 members delivered funny, poignant remarks about coming of age in a community driven by purpose, where all generations past and present, carry a responsibility and accountability to one another. 

Those values came alive during the first-ever Paddle Raise. “Our community exists because of the work and giving,” said Peter Elias ’90 who emceed the live event. “Everyone gives.” Alumni and friends responded generously and committed to gift levels ranging from $15,000 to $100 to benefit the Annual Scholarship Fund. In approximately 20 minutes, the Paddle Raise totaled an outstanding $103,950 that will help ensure financial assistance to 85% of Gray Bees. Mr. Elias seized the teachable moment. “You see what’s going on here,” he told members of the Girls and Boys Prep Divisions. “You’ll be back here in a few years after college doing the same thing.”