Built by Finneytown: Watch the 2026 Legacy Celebration
On Saturday, September 26, 160 alumni, parents, and neighbors filled The Grove for the third annual Legacy Celebration. We welcomed four new members into the Finneytown Hall of Fame, heard what's being built on campus right now, and spent a night with people who still show up for this place.
If you were there, thank you. If you couldn't make it, we saved you a seat. The full evening is below.
Every gift to the Legacy Projects is matched dollar for dollar through December 31, 2026.
Four new members of the Hall of Fame
They come from different decades and took different paths, but they tell the same story. Finneytown gave each of them something, and they carried it with them for the rest of their lives.
Darryn Chenault, Class of 1991. A four-year varsity baseball player and a three-year football captain, Darryn kept finding his way home. He came back in 2009 to lead the varsity football program for five seasons, and again in 2024 to give the commencement address. He has coached for more than 30 years and served more than 25 in public safety, today as community engagement officer with the University of Cincinnati Police Division. In his words: "Legacy is simply what you pour into people."
Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar, Class of 1975. She arrived at Finneytown shy and found her footing in the orchestra, the choir, and on stage in the musicals. She went on to earn a doctorate from the University of Cincinnati, work on International Space Station operations at Boeing, and become the founding president and CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration. Her advice to the room: "Change begins locally. I learned that here too."
Steve Immelt, Class of 1970. Football captain and student council president, Steve went from Finneytown to Yale and then into a career in law that led him to serve as CEO of Hogan Lovells, a global law firm. Today he teaches leadership at Howard University School of Law. His message to future leaders: "Do it for the impact you can have."
The 1976 State Champion Soccer Team and Ball Girls. Fifty years ago, the Wildcats faced a defending state champion that had won 28 straight games, and beat them 2 to 0. It was Finneytown's second state title in three seasons under the late Coach Bob Muro. Before the final, a reporter asked him about all the goals the other team scored. His answer: "Nobody is going to score that much unless my kids give up, and my kids never give up."
What's being built
The new building for grades 7 through 12 is scheduled to open at the end of December. Two spaces from the old campus are staying, and those two are ours to build as alumni and community: the Competition Gym and the William R. Swartzel Performing Arts Center.
Phase one of the gym is already done, with a new floor, new lighting, new bleachers, and new heating and air. Next come new locker rooms, bathrooms, a concession stand, a spirit shop, and a lobby that tells Finneytown's story before tip-off. The Performing Arts Center is getting a new front entrance, theatrical lighting and sound, a ticket office, and a lobby twice the size of today's. Work on the Performing Arts Center is scheduled to begin this winter, and both projects are on track to be finished by spring 2028.
This started with 11 donors. Today more than 300 people have given, and together we've raised $3.2 million toward a $5 million goal. The core of these projects is covered. They are happening. What's left to decide is whether these spaces end up good or great. We believe our students and this community deserve great.
You can still be part of it
You didn't have to be in the room to help build what's next. Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, every gift to the Legacy Projects is matched dollar for dollar through December 31, 2026. There is no cap. Whatever you give is doubled, and 100% of it goes to the Competition Gym and the Performing Arts Center.
There are three ways to help:
Give today. Make a gift at finneytownalumni.org/give.
Make a pledge. Spread your gift over three years, through 2028, at any amount.
Start a conversation. For a gift of stock, a gift from an IRA, or a donor advised fund, email Mike Steel at mike@finneytownalumni.org.
Thank you
Thank you to our Hall of Fame honorees and their families, to every speaker and volunteer, and to everyone who showed up. Thank you to the sponsors who made the night possible: Meyer Brothers and Sons, ADM, UBS Triad Group, and Beacon Electrical Contractors.
We spent the night looking back at what this place gave us. The point is to make sure the next generation gets something just as good.
You were built by Finneytown. Come help us build what's next.
Know a Wildcat who would love this? Send it their way.
