A Legacy of Loyalty:
The Winston Family

Larry and Sally Winston at the dedication of the Student Center’s Winston Room early in 2005.

Lawrence J. Winston
Chair, St. Lawrence Board of Trustees

The theme for this year’s Report of Appreciation, a theme inspired by the occasion of St. Lawrence’s 150th anniversary, touches me deeply in many ways. As I approach my own milestone of association with St. Lawrence (50 years), I too have a Legacy of Loyalty story to tell you, and, as important, I sit in a special position to appreciate the many, many Laurentians who have shaped their own stories of loyalty to a special place that continues to engender unparalleled affection and pride.

I was a first-generation Laurentian. I attended St. Lawrence thanks to a combination of resources, most of which came to me as a result of people at St. Lawrence giving me the chance to work hard and learn much. After I graduated and married Sally, we continued to work hard to create a wonderful family and life together, a life that has allowed us, as a family, to be generous to the University in proportion to our gratitude. In addition, Sally, in her own right, has established several charitable programs at St. Lawrence, having adopted the University as her own.

Our family includes three daughters, including Donna, who graduated from St. Lawrence in 1985. Donna had a very successful experience on campus and has taken her fine arts degree and converted it to a high-level position with a major Wall Street firm, Goldman Sachs. We are very proud that Donna has recruited, advised and guided dozens of Laurentians in her role as a volunteer and in her professional responsibilities, which are in human resources. I believe that Donna is responsible for launching the careers of many of today’s and tomorrow’s Laurentian leaders.

You can imagine our continuing pride two years ago when our granddaughter Danielle Weaver (daughter of our eldest, Deborah) chose St. Lawrence. We are thrilled to watch Danni blossom into a leader, serving as president of the Class of 2007 for this year and next and helping to plan the annual student leadership conference.

St. Lawrence has indeed become a family affair for the Winstons. Our numbers may not be as large as those of some of the other families you’ll get to meet on the pages of this report, but our loyalty is as strong as any.

The Winstons, a three-generation Laurentian family, include Board of Trustees Chair Lawrence J. Winston ’60, center; his daughter Donna Winston ’85, left; and his granddaughter (and Donna’s niece) Danielle Weaver ’07.

In 2001, I accepted the honor of serving as chair of the Board of Trustees, having been a member since 1987. In those years, I met and worked with so many of the great names among Laurentians. At each meeting of the Board, I look at the engraving on the box that holds the chairman’s gavel: the names of all my predecessors are etched there, reminding me of the very awesome responsibility I have to help this college move forward as we travel into our second 150 years.

Following giants such as Owen D. Young, E.J. Noble, Homer Vilas, Arthur Torrey, Al Viebranz, John Hannon, Bruce Benedict and E. B. Wilson, to name a few of the most recent chairs to hold the gavel, compels me to vow to do my best. These giants brought St. Lawrence to a very prominent place in higher education. With your help, I will offer to my successors an even stronger St. Lawrence, one that they — again with you as their partner — can bring to even greater heights.

This Report of Appreciation is filled with examples of loyalty. Some stories — such as the ones about the families of many generations of leadership or others highlighting the volunteerism among other families’ members — speak of unstoppable momentum. But every name in this Report — every gift donated, every volunteer role assumed — assures us that St. Lawrence’s future is in great hands. You energize our momentum every day. You are St. Lawrence’s greatest legacy, and we thank you for your place in our family history.