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Archbishop Wilton Gregory, Michael Messner and Principal Steve Spellman at Graduation 2006

     Many times the lives of families become entwined with St. Pius X Catholic High School and form a lifetime bond. This year the school celebrates and honors one of the families that has played a role in St Pius history from its beginning right up to today.

    George and Bettie Messner moved to Atlanta in 1959 with their 6 children from Chattanooga, Tenn. They settled in a newly built neighborhood and began to send the kids to Immaculate Heart of Mary School.  Their first child Mary, was enrolled in St.Pius in the fall of 1960, a time when I-85 ended abruptly at Clairmont Rd. and St. Pius X was surrounded by fields full of dairy cows. A grandson namesake of the patriarch of that family, graduates 45 years later in the Class of 2006. . In between these dates this family, the late George, mother Bettie, their children Mary, George Jr. Ann, Till, Michael and Molly were a part of St Pius. Molly married Jeff Lane'73 and have sent their two sons George '06 and Jeff Jr '08 to St. Pius. Each in their own way have contributed their considerable talents and treasures as parents, students and athletes, and then as alumni, parents, grandparent, and students once again. They have participated in some of the greatest moments of the school from the building of the stadium in 1963, to the State Football Championship in 1968, and then to the rebuilding of the stadium in 2004 and many other memorable moments in between.

We award the Distinguished Alumni Award each year to someone who exemplifies the ideals of St. Pius, generosity, achievement, wisdom and courage. We give this award to one of our great supporters in a family of great supporters, in honor of all the Messner family, who have steadfastly been a part of this institution for most of its rich life. Our Distinguished Alumnus for 2006 is Michael Messner from the class of 1971.

Mr. Messner holds a BA in Sociology from The University of Pennsylvania, a BS in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a Masters in Civil Engineering from in MIT. His first job was with the Reading Railroad. He was has worked for the Boston and Maine Railroad and Pioneer Investments. In 1995,  he co-founded Seminole Capital Partners. He and his wife Jenny live in New Youk City and have three children, George III is a lieutenant in the US Navy serving on the USS Ronald Reagan in the Persian Gulf, Rob is an analyst at Seminole Capital, and daughter Rebecca is a sophomore at Johns Hopkins University . 

Remarks from Alumni Director David Buechner