BUD & SHIRLEY MINGLEDORFF ’64
When Bud Mingledorff, a 1964 Savannah Country Day graduate, toured the SCDS campus after living and working in Atlanta for decades, he was impressed by the new Lower School and Middle School and surprised to see that many of the buildings he studied in as a high school student in the early ‘60s were still in use.
“I was shocked,” he admits. “Many of the Upper School buildings are the exact same facilities as when I was there. You can’t compete for students and teachers with outdated buildings.”
Bud, who is now the proud grandparent of two Lower School students, Lindly and Mae Keever, generously gave a lead gift to the Investing in Excellence capital campaign to help fund the construction of a new state-of-the-art Upper School building.
“Your legacy isn’t the stuff you own. It’s what you leave behind.”
“An early gift can help give credibility and bring a project to life,” he says. “I decided to go in early and to go in large. It’s an investment in future generations of students. I believe that Savannah Country Day is essential to the growth and prosperity of Savannah.”
A successful businessman and chairman of the board of Mingledorff, Inc., Bud understands the importance of a solid return on investment and is proud that the new Upper School library will bear his family’s name.
“A good-looking campus makes a strong first impression,” he says. “Buildings make a statement about the credibility of the school.”
Ultimately, Bud’s decision to support the Investing in Excellence campaign served as a meaningful way to honor his granddaughters and to leave a lasting legacy at his alma mater.
“I’m looking at what I can leave behind when I leave this world,” he explains. “To me, the real legacy isn’t the building. It’s the group of students walking down the sidewalk. They’re the future.”