Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Rich & Gertrude Lyons: Giving to Set Up Student-Athletes for Success
9/13/2021 8:12:00 PM | General
Rich & Gertrude Lyons were named 2020 Deacon Club members of the year for their generous contributions to Men’s Golf, Football, Student-Athlete Development, and Scholarship Matches.
Deacs Day of Giving 2021 | Scholarship Giving
The story of Rich & Gertrude Lyons' generosity begins before the duo was ever truly a duo.
You have to go back more than two decades to when Gertrude suggested to her then-fiancé Rich that they should take premarital counseling classes to begin growing and developing as a couple.
The idea came from Gertrude's boss at the time - and it took a little while for Rich to come around.
But the decision set them on their own individual and cooperative paths of growth and transformed how they view their lives to this day.
"That was the beginning of my own personal growth," Rich said. "We began doing personal growth work individually, and then bringing that back to us as a couple."
Those paths of growth began by getting involved in the Chicago-based Wright Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to grow leaders by investing in individuals' social and emotional intelligence.
Gertrude currently works there as a Senior Coach as has done so for the last 15 years. Rich is an active board member and instructor there as well.
It also happens to be the same organization where Rich & Gertrude took those first premarital counseling classes.
"Those paths evolved into this vision of asking ourselves 'How do we maximize our potential and our impact on the world individually and as a couple?'," Rich said.
Rich & Gertrude say the Wright Foundation is a fantastic place to maximize their impact on the lives of others. But after their eldest daughter, Morgan, began attending Wake Forest, the couple realized they had found another place to maximize their impact.
"Morgan fell in love with Wake the first time she visited," Rich said. "And we really fell in love with the way Wake operates. It was pretty spectacular. There's such a focus on education and focus on preparing students and student-athletes for the rest of their lives."
The Lyons family made its first contribution to Wake Forest Athletics in 2018, but in the last year expanded upon that generosity by making a sizable four-part commitment to Men's Golf, Football, Student-Athlete Development, and five scholarship matches for Wake Forest student-athletes.
Their contributions led them to be named the 2020 Deacon Club Members of the Year.
Those five scholarship matches fit perfectly with Rich & Gertrude's vision of helping others realize their growth. Not only did the matches provide five Wake Forest student-athletes with scholarships, but they also gave five other families the opportunity to contribute to providing a world class student-athlete experience.
Rich & Gertrude had the opportunity to meet those five families virtually and hear their stories.
"It was super sweet," Rich said. "It was so much fun. We were able to create a special opportunity for other families who wanted to give, too."
The Lyons' desire to impact how others grow is obvious. It is clearly marked by the way in which they live their lives. That answers the question of "Why Give?" for them.
But for two people who previously had no ties to the Old Gold & Black, it doesn't fully answer the question "Why Give to Wake Forest?"
That answer becomes clearer when Rich & Gertrude talk about the Wake Forest experience through the eyes of their daughters Morgan ('18) and Hannah ('21).
"I feel like Wake took care of my girls," Rich said. "I don't think there's anything I could say that's more important to me than that."
"It was a perfect college experience. Wake Forest over-delivered on expectations."
Rich & Gertrude watched Wake Forest set Morgan and Hannah on their own paths of personal growth, and while they were not student-athletes, Rich & Gertrude see Athletics as an outstanding way to impact people on their own personal paths of growth.
"We've had some great times going to games and have an opportunity to be together as family," Rich said. "I love the passion of college sports."
But for the Lyons family, it goes even deeper than that.
"At Wake Forest, it's student-athlete," said Rich. "It's great to be able to be an athlete, but not everyone goes pro. It's truly about molding and preparing these young men and women for life."
The impact of Wake Forest on Rich & Gertrude - and their impact in return - is clear. And both have been made better for it.
The story of Rich & Gertrude Lyons' generosity begins before the duo was ever truly a duo.
You have to go back more than two decades to when Gertrude suggested to her then-fiancé Rich that they should take premarital counseling classes to begin growing and developing as a couple.
The idea came from Gertrude's boss at the time - and it took a little while for Rich to come around.
But the decision set them on their own individual and cooperative paths of growth and transformed how they view their lives to this day.
"That was the beginning of my own personal growth," Rich said. "We began doing personal growth work individually, and then bringing that back to us as a couple."
Those paths of growth began by getting involved in the Chicago-based Wright Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to grow leaders by investing in individuals' social and emotional intelligence.
Gertrude currently works there as a Senior Coach as has done so for the last 15 years. Rich is an active board member and instructor there as well.
It also happens to be the same organization where Rich & Gertrude took those first premarital counseling classes.
"Those paths evolved into this vision of asking ourselves 'How do we maximize our potential and our impact on the world individually and as a couple?'," Rich said.
Rich & Gertrude say the Wright Foundation is a fantastic place to maximize their impact on the lives of others. But after their eldest daughter, Morgan, began attending Wake Forest, the couple realized they had found another place to maximize their impact.
"Morgan fell in love with Wake the first time she visited," Rich said. "And we really fell in love with the way Wake operates. It was pretty spectacular. There's such a focus on education and focus on preparing students and student-athletes for the rest of their lives."
The Lyons family made its first contribution to Wake Forest Athletics in 2018, but in the last year expanded upon that generosity by making a sizable four-part commitment to Men's Golf, Football, Student-Athlete Development, and five scholarship matches for Wake Forest student-athletes.
Their contributions led them to be named the 2020 Deacon Club Members of the Year.
Those five scholarship matches fit perfectly with Rich & Gertrude's vision of helping others realize their growth. Not only did the matches provide five Wake Forest student-athletes with scholarships, but they also gave five other families the opportunity to contribute to providing a world class student-athlete experience.
Rich & Gertrude had the opportunity to meet those five families virtually and hear their stories.
"It was super sweet," Rich said. "It was so much fun. We were able to create a special opportunity for other families who wanted to give, too."
The Lyons' desire to impact how others grow is obvious. It is clearly marked by the way in which they live their lives. That answers the question of "Why Give?" for them.
But for two people who previously had no ties to the Old Gold & Black, it doesn't fully answer the question "Why Give to Wake Forest?"
That answer becomes clearer when Rich & Gertrude talk about the Wake Forest experience through the eyes of their daughters Morgan ('18) and Hannah ('21).
"I feel like Wake took care of my girls," Rich said. "I don't think there's anything I could say that's more important to me than that."
"It was a perfect college experience. Wake Forest over-delivered on expectations."
Rich & Gertrude watched Wake Forest set Morgan and Hannah on their own paths of personal growth, and while they were not student-athletes, Rich & Gertrude see Athletics as an outstanding way to impact people on their own personal paths of growth.
"We've had some great times going to games and have an opportunity to be together as family," Rich said. "I love the passion of college sports."
But for the Lyons family, it goes even deeper than that.
"At Wake Forest, it's student-athlete," said Rich. "It's great to be able to be an athlete, but not everyone goes pro. It's truly about molding and preparing these young men and women for life."
The impact of Wake Forest on Rich & Gertrude - and their impact in return - is clear. And both have been made better for it.
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