Pat and Bob Bondurant; Molly and Bob Stockley
What started with a single phone call has resulted in one of the Valley’s most anticipated spring galas.
“When you get a call from the bishop, you just can’t say no,” says Pat Bondurant, president of the Bondurant Racing School, about an unexpected phone call that truly inspired her.
Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, entrusted her and Molly Stockley, vice president of Hospital Growth at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, to co-chair the 30th anniversary of the Crozier Gala, taking place April 14. With their lifestyles both revolving around their loyalty and commitment to their faith, they graciously accepted this prestigious honor.
The Crozier Gala is an esteemed program of the Catholic Community Foundation, the foundation established to support the religious, educational and philanthropic objectives of the Diocese of Phoenix and a thank you to all of the Catholics of the diocese. This year’s theme is “Pearls of Grace” to commemorate Catholic servant leadership, humility and grace.
For the last three years, the Crozier Gala has raised money for The Crozier Catholic School Scholarship Fund. As a result, nearly $1 million dollars and 2,000 scholarships have been provided to support educators, maintenance workers, administrative personnel, bus drivers and other employees in sending their own children to Catholic school.
The duo’s passion and drive has lead them to work consistently for nine months to bring color and life back to the event while continuing the gala’s original and essential sentiments and elements. With their same values instilled in their children, the Stockleys, with the help of the Bondurants, decided on two ways to include children in their event planning. The first is an audition process for choir students from Catholic schools throughout the Valley to earn the chance to sing alongside a celebrity guest. In addition, a committee will select the top 32 pieces from school art contests themed around love, faith and beauty to be featured in the silent auction at the gala.
“One of the things I am most excited for is to see Matteo, Andrea Bocelli’s son, provide a moving musical experience at the kick-off party Sunday, March 11,” says Bondurant. She continued with “this exclusive cocktail party will be a way of exciting the extremely influential attendees for the gala, and we will announce the auction package.” The auction package, created by the Catholic Community Foundation, the Patron of the Arts in the Vatican Museum and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, features a trip to Rome, a gala at the Vatican Museum, an intimate mass in the Pope’s private chapel, a beyond-the-walls tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the chance to meet Andrea Bocelli and other once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Proceeds from the auction collaboration with the Catholic Community Foundation and Bocelli Foundation will aid the Patron of the Arts for Vatican architectural and art renovations and will also benefit the Andrea Bocelli Foundation’s work in Haiti. Their work consists of building schools and completing projects that improve the community and their lives.
The Bondurants and Stockleys strive to provide servant leadership and use their blessings to make a profound impact locally and internationally. With their innovative collaboration and passion, they have done just that.
