Barbara and David Koch Honored with Sed Vitae Award
It was “with grateful hearts” that Barbara and David Koch accepted the 2009 Sed Vitae Award from an appreciative Visitation community at the seventh annual Sed Vitae Society Dinner on Wednesday, October 28. Alongside 200 Visitation parents, alumnae, grandparents, faculty, staff and friends at the Mendakota Country Club, Babs and Dave celebrated Vis and the thousands of supporters of Visitation.

About the Sed Vitae Society
The Sed Vitae Society was created to recognize those donors who have made leadership gifts to the DeSales Annual Fund demonstrating their commitment to ensure Visitation achieves its mission “to provide an excellent education within a Catholic environment rooted in Salesian Spirituality.” Members are recognized at the annual Sed Vitae Dinner in October. Created in 2005, the Sed Vitae Award is presented to someone who has taken philanthropy at Visitation to a new level. The recipient of this award has, through service or leadership giving, set an example for others and in doing so has inspired other to the same heights.

About the Kochs
The power of word of mouth brought the Kochs to Visitation. According to Babs, at a United Way board meeting more than 30 years ago, she was “sitting next to a wonderful gentleman, George McClintock, who began telling me about his daughters and the school they attended—which was Visitation. During our conversation that day, George laid out a compelling case for Dave and me to send our children to Visitation—even with the consideration that it would require us to drive our children, twice-a-day, the 45-mile round trip.” Visitation is indebted to Mr. McClintock for his persuasive skills.

Since enrolling three of their four children at Visitation in 1975 (Carol Kaylin ’82, Eann ’83 and Stephen ’78), the Kochs have become an important component in the building of today’s Visitation. This school would not be in the healthy fiscal position it is in today without the efforts of Babs and David in encouraging so many others to join them in their philanthropic support of Visitation. Indeed, for this couple, no job was too big or too small. Babs has served terms on the Board of Trustees, has chaired capital campaigns in both a working and an honorary capacity, and has even alphabetized VHS tapes in the AV room. Dave was the featured speaker at the 1982 commencement; the student speaker was his daughter, Kaylin.

Kaylin recalls that her initial reaction to attending Vis was less than enthusiastic based on the fact that she “would NOT wear a Peter Pan collar uniform shirt!” As soon as she started at Vis, “I fell in love with the school too. I clearly remember the day I thanked my parents for choosing Visitation for me, Peter Pan collar and all.”

Babs sums up her family’s Visitation story best: “Visitation taught us how to love God more deeply… What began as an educational choice for our children so many years ago became a spiritual journey for our whole family. We believe strongly in Visitation and the priceless gifts—both academically and spiritually—they continue to give to us and our community. We are committed more than ever to their vision and commitment to the Catholic Tradition.”

Join the Sed Vitae Society
All are invited to join the Sed Vitae Society by making a leadership gift of $1,250 or more to the DeSales Annual Fund on an annual basis. Participation at this level plays an increasingly vital role in providing high quality, value-centered education for Vis’ students. To make a gift to the DeSales Annual Fund, click here. For more information about the Sed Vitae Society, contact the Development Office at 651-683-1704.