The following is a press release courtesy of Mercersburg Academy:
Mercersburg Academy—which has produced more than two dozen Olympians in swimming and is a regular contender at the prestigious Eastern Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships—is thrilled to announce that the school’s new aquatic center will be named the Lloyd Aquatic Center in honor of Board of Regents member Philip A. Lloyd ’65, his wife, Peggy, and their daughters, Kim ’90 and Bebe ’94.
The facility will be approximately 40,000 square feet and include an Olympic-size 50-meter, 10-lane pool with a diving well, in addition to locker rooms, seating for spectators, and office space. Groundbreaking is scheduled for February 2018, with completion anticipated by the start of the 2019–2020 academic year. The aquatic center will be located directly east of the Nolde Gymnasium complex.
(Mercersburg Academy is a coeducational boarding and day school in Mercersburg, Pa., with approximately 440 students enrolled in grades 9-12 and postgraduate. The student body represents 29 states and the District of Columbia as well as 44 nations of the world.)
The Lloyd family has a long history of involvement with Mercersburg’s swimming and diving program. Phil Lloyd has served on the Board since 1994, where he has worked closely with other members of the Board and school leadership in planning for the aquatic center. Kim Lloyd was a six-time All-America swimmer at Northwestern University; she is in her fourth year as an assistant swimming coach at Denison University. Bebe Lloyd was a four-year member of Mercersburg’s diving team and went on to compete for Kalamazoo College.
“Of all the schools they’ve attended and the education they have received, our daughters really loved Mercersburg,” Phil Lloyd says. “Swimming and diving have been such an integral part of their lives, and continues to be today.
“The aquatic center will allow Mercersburg to compete with the top programs in the country—and having a 50-meter pool allows for it to be used simultaneously by several groups of students for different uses. It will be a great facility for the school.”
The aquatic center has been designed to benefit all students—those competing for the Blue Storm’s swimming and diving teams; students participating in lifeguard and emergency rescue training, Mercersburg Outdoor Education (kayaking, canoeing, and other activities), physical therapy, rehabilitation, and strength training; and the school community as a whole. Funding the aquatic center was a priority in the school’s $300 million Daring to Lead Campaign. Peggy and Phil Lloyd, along with Board of Regents President Deborah Simon ’74, made a lead commitment in support of the aquatic center and other campaign priorities.
“We are grateful to the Lloyds—and other leadership donors—for their tremendous support of Mercersburg and the aquatic center,” Head of School Katie Titus says. “It says so much about the collective pride our alumni and friends have in our school. Generations of students to come will enjoy the opportunities and features of the aquatic center, which will be one of the premiere facilities of its kind anywhere.”
Bowie Gridley Architects of Washington, D.C., designed the aquatic center. The firm, of which Bill Gridley ’69 is a principal, also handled design for the Hale Field House, Davenport Squash Center, Smoyer Tennis Center, the 2010 renovations to Nolde Gymnasium, and numerous other projects on campus.
“Having a new facility will give Mercersburg increased training space and allow for multiple activities,” says Glenn Neufeld, the school’s director of aquatics and head swimming coach. “It will help attract high-level student athletes and allow us to host meets that will have a positive impact on swimming in the Mid-Atlantic region.”
Phil and Peggy Lloyd, who live in Akron, Ohio, were members of Mercersburg’s Parents’ Advisory Committee for several years while their daughters were students. In addition to his service on the Board of Regents, Phil Lloyd was a member of the Daring to Lead Campaign Executive Committee and received the school’s Alumni Council Medal for Distinguished Service in 2015.