10/13/2017 For the third year, alumni were inducted into the TMI Hall of Fame, a Homecoming event, and a beloved faculty member was presented with a Distinguished Servant Leader Award. The honors were given at an Oct. 7 luncheon in the TMI Refectory, with a posthumous award given at a special chapel that morning.Inductees are honored within one of the Four Pillars of a TMI education: Academics, Athletics, Military and Spirituality. The late Rev. Canon A. Nelson Daunt, TMI headmaster from 1976 to 1987, received a Distinguished Service Award in Spirituality for his longtime commitment to the school and its people, accepted by his granddaughter Lesley Netting-Reichert ’87. Father Daunt helped plan the move from Alamo Heights and broke ground in 1985 on our current Alkek Campus.

At the luncheon, Joseph Murguia ’89 was inducted in Academics. At TMI, Joey consistently made the Dean’s List while playing varsity soccer. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and master’s degrees in counseling and education and is now assistant principal of Clark High School, a career educator with 18 years of experience as a behavior consultant, campus administrator, counselor and classroom teacher. Recently, he was elected to an honorary life membership by the Texas Congress of Parents and Teachers.

Also in Academics, former TMI Spanish and Latin teacher Mario Rivela, who taught at TMI from 1967 to 2000 received a Distinguished Servant Leader Award for his longtime commitment to TMI and its students. Besides teaching, he coached varsity soccer, was a dorm parents and drove the bus for soccer games and other student travel. The TMI chapter of the National Spanish Honor Society is named in his honor. He has been honored at the school’s annual Stars gala and the Alumni Holiday Party and is the namesake of a school garden.

Athletics awards went to the TMI 1967 varsity basketball and golf teams, winners of that year’s Texas Preparatory League championships. Basketball co-captains Hook McCullough ’67 and Gary Richards ’67 accepted awards, and the golf team was represented by classmate Giddings Brown ’67.

Also inducted was John Lombardo ’92, a multisport athlete at TMI who served as captain of both the varsity football and baseball teams, was recognized as a member of the all-city honor team in baseball and set school and city records. He went on to play baseball for Trinity University, where he was named to regional and conference honors. After earning a master’s degree in Sports Administration from Ohio University, he went to work for the Texas Rangers in player development and is now a professional scout for the Boston Red Sox and was named Professional Scout of the Year in 2013.

The championship varsity soccer teams of 1974 through 1995, coached by Mario Rivela, also were honored. Teams during this era won seven championships in the different conferences in which TMI competed at that time.

The Rev. Scott Brown, TMI’s current headmaster, was master of ceremonies for the event, attended by family, classmates and former students of the honorees; and Athletic Director Becky Geyer presented the Athletics awards.