THE FLATS – As part of Athletics Initiative 2020, former Georgia Tech swimming and diving student-athlete Richard L. Bergmark and his wife, Toni, have made a commitment to endow the swimming and diving head coach position at Georgia Tech, director of athletics Todd Stansbury announced on Thursday. The position, held by Courtney Shealy Hart, will now be titled the Toni M. and Richard L. Bergmark Swimming and Diving Head Coach.
“We are incredibly grateful to Dick and Toni Bergmark for becoming the first donors to endow a head coaching position at Georgia Tech,” Stansbury said. “The Bergmarks’ generosity will provide Georgia Tech swimming and diving with additional strategic annual revenue to compete at the highest level of collegiate swimming.”
Richard L. “Dick” Bergmark was a Georgia Tech swimming letterwinner from 1972-75 and graduated from the Institute with a degree in industrial management in ’75. He went on to earn an MBA from the University of Oklahoma and became a Certified Public Accountant in Texas before embarking on a career that culminated with him serving as executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Core Laboratories NV.
He continues to serve Georgia Tech as a member of the Alexander-Tharpe Fund Board, the GT Foundation Board and the Scheller College of Business Advisory Board, and is a member of the A-T Fund’s Golden Jackets Society, in recognition of more than $1 million in lifetime giving to Georgia Tech athletics.
“We would like this gift to provide Coach Hart with the resources to develop her student-athletes in the pool and the classroom, in preparation for their successes in life beyond their time at Georgia Tech,” the Bergmarks said.
Richard L. “Dick” Bergmark (right), pictured with Georgia Tech swimmer Caio Pumputis (left) and head coach Courtney Shealy Hart (middle) was honored prior to a Georgia Tech football game in 2019.
By making the commitment to endow the swimming and diving head coach position, the Bergmarks also hope to inspire others to support the Georgia Tech athletics programs that they are passionate about.
“I am especially grateful to Dick and Toni Bergmark for their generous contributions to the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams,” Shealy Hart said. “Dick and Toni Bergmark are true friends of the swimming and diving program, and the head coach endowment will be a legacy of the Bergmarks’ love for Georgia Tech athletics and our swimming and diving teams for decades to come.
“Dick and Toni are fantastic advocates of the Georgia Tech swimming and diving program and consistently reach out to fellow alums and friends of the program to encourage them to engage in the support of our swimmers and divers,” Shealy Hart continued. “We are extremely happy that the Bergmark family believes so strongly in what we are trying to accomplish at Georgia Tech.”
For more information about transformational giving, contact the A-T Fund office at (404) 894-5400 or visit atfund.org. For more on AI 2020, Georgia Tech athletics’ $125 million fundraising initiative for endowments, facilities and operations, visit ramblinwreck.com/2020.
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