Deb Schulte retired this summer after 20 years as director of B.O.L.T., a gala fundraiser for the benefit of Pius X High School. For 33 years, B.O.L.T. (Building Outstanding Leaders Today) has supported the Pius X High School mission and has worked to Restore All Things in Christ by financing capital improvements which maintains affordable tuition for all students and their families.

[When planning an event,] “I think what you first need to figure out is, is it a party or a fundraiser or something to promote. What is the purpose of the event? If it’s a fundraiser, then decide how you’re going to make that money. There are lots of different ways to do it. I have had a lot of different people in the community come to me to ‘pick my brain’. What I’ve told them is, “You need to find your own hook. Pius’ hook is the auction. You need to find your own hook.

“The important thing is you surround yourself with good people. My vendors … I have complete trust in. They all know what I expect. They know the bar is set at a certain height, and if they don’t make it they aren’t coming back. And volunteers. Without great volunteers you can’t get it done. (Editor’s note: In addition to Deb Schulte, the 2018 B.O.L.T. Executive Committee included Fr. James Meysenburg, Steve & Anjilynn Antonelli, Brent & Tammy Bunz, Pat & Wendy Goracke, Michael & Monica Henkenius, Pat & Sarah Hodge, John & Jody Olsson, Mark & Cindy Schilmoeller, Ryan & Shelly Theil, and Bert & Sue Wilkinson.)

“We have a lot of people from the community that come. We are trying to promote Pius X, get them into our building, see what we are doing, and in that respect we do a good job.

“We get to have a couple of days to decorate. Part of what makes [B.O.L.T.] more fun is that we do pick a theme from the save the date, [that is consistently communicated from] the invite, to the night of, so that anticipation is still there.

“Food is an important thing. We charge $150 so I expect food to be a certain quality. Every three years we bid it out and give someone the opportunity to [cater] our event. We’ve always had a split entrée. The first requirement is that the food taste good, then it must be hot, and it must be presented well.”

“During the event you do not stress about everything. If you panic, everyone else stresses around you. I always have a plan b and c, and that’s always in the back of my mind. That’s the way I work because I have to know … what if this doesn’t work? I guarantee you something is going to go wrong. It depends on how you respond to that that will make a different to how others react. If you do it right, most people aren’t going to know anything even happened.

“Pius is a place where we strive for excellence in anything we do. We can put on a wonderful event, but if people don’t come and support it, the community and parents, then it doesn’t work. I feel [B.O.L.T.] has become a pretty big social event. [Hundreds of people] come here and see someone they have not seen for a while.

“I am ready to relinquish the reigns. I’ve done it, and I have enjoyed it. I would have left a whole lot sooner if I didn’t like what I was doing. The perk of this job is all the people I have met throughout the year. That has been a real blessing. I think some of those friendships I will have forever.”

Deb has “handed the reigns” of B.O.L.T. over to Kathryn Bergen, who joined the Pius X Foundation team as special events and volunteer coordinator in April 2019. Deb is currently traveling with her husband and enjoying her retirement.