Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
1998 Sacred Heart graduate, Nick Nolte, died twenty years ago on November 24, 2024. A Marine Sergeant, Nick, was a member of the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, part of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. As a member of the Presidential Helicopter Squadron, Nick guarded both President Clinton and President Bush. He enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Falls City Sacred Heart in 1998 and re-enlisted following his original four-year commitment. Sergeant Nolte died November 24, 2004, from injuries suffered when a roadside bomb hit his vehicle in Iraq on November 9.
Nick was a student-athlete at Sacred Heart. He was not the top athlete in his class, but he had a great attitude and a great work ethic. Nick was often matched up against players that outweighed him. He was a 122 lb. Freshman and developed himself into a starting lineman his junior and senior seasons. Even then, he weighed all of 165 lbs. as a Senior. He was “Lifter of the Year” and through his hard work, he was able to get the job done against much bigger opponents. He was one of the smaller linemen I have ever coached but one of the fiercest competitors. His hard work paid off as he was named First Team All-Conference his Senior year. Much of his success can be attributed to his work in the old Sacred Heart weight room.
On December 20, at our home basketball games versus HTRS, we will dedicate and name the Roh Activity Center Weight Room in memory of Nick Nolte. This ceremony will take place right after the girls’ varsity game and before the varsity boys’ 20-minute warmup. Many of Nick’s family will be here for this special night. Nick made the ultimate sacrifice for his country and for all of us. The signage will be on the mezzanine wall. “Nick Nolte Memorial Weightroom. Class of 1998. Died in service to his country – November 24, 2004”.
We hold up Nick as an example of what it means to truly maximize one’s potential. Nick, in his short life, accomplished much. His accomplishments were the result of relentless effort. A heroic effort at times. This is a lesson we can all take stock in. We all have our special talents and gifts from God. Work hard to develop them and use them to be your best.
November 23 was our final seatback game for the 2024 Husker football season. This was the fifth of sixth seasons for Sacred Heart’s seatback fundraiser. There were no seatbacks sold in 2020 due to covid. For the 2024 season, we had 507 volunteers. This was not 507 different people as there are several who volunteered for more than one game and some who volunteered for all seven games. Thank you! Husker Seatbacks raised a record $63,375 this year. Altogether it has raised $198,405. This helps pay our teachers’ salaries. This helps keep our tuition low. This helps pay our utilities. These funds have helped us install a new playground surface, renovate school restrooms, purchase an activity bus, and school vans. All our families and students have benefited from this fundraiser. Tony Ahern and Scott Magdanz were the first chairpersons for this fundraiser. They did a lot of leg work with UNL to get this started. Kim Schawang and Robbie Sipple have chaired this fundraiser the past four years. Thanks Tony, Scott, Kim, and Robbie. Some may think this is “extra” money for our school. It’s not. It’s become an important source of income to fund Sacred Heart School. That’s why I send out pleas for volunteers each and every game. Thank you to all of you who have helped the past six years. Next year, UNL will not oversee concessions/seatbacks as they are contracting it out. There is uncertainty if we will get to continue this fundraiser. We hope it continues. As always, the hope is to get more of our families involved in volunteering and participating in our fundraisers for our school.
Sacred Heart School – a family educating heart, mind, body, and spirit for this life and the next.
