The Annunciation Award is bestowed upon those that have devoted immeasurable time, talent and treasure to sustain Catholic education at Notre Dame Regional High School. Glenn and Lee Ann Campbell embody every aspect of the award.

Through their work with the Booster Club, Home & School Association, strategic plan and Notre Dame Bingo, the couple have given selflessly to the school.

“The Annunciation Award is centered around those that have said ‘yes’ to the Lord’s call,” said Notre Dame President Tim Garner. “Just as Our Lady said ‘yes’ to the angel Gabriel, Glenn and Lee Ann have said ‘yes’ to the mission of Notre Dame Regional High School. We are honored to have them as Annunciation Award recipients.”

Glenn has been part of the Notre Dame Athletic Booster Club for many years, serving as the Booster Club president in 2020-2022.

“Glenn brought a business aspect to the Booster Board and helped us increase our fundraising efforts like we have never seen,” said Notre Dame Athletic Director Jeff Graviett. “He helped make our Bulldog March Madness event our staple fundraiser. It keeps growing, and because of his efforts, the sky’s the limit to what it may become in the future.”

During his time as Booster Club president, the school embarked on new digital scoreboards funded through advertising revenue.

“The digital boards would not be here if it wasn’t for Glenn’s influence,” said Graviett. “I put so much trust in him as a successful business leader on whether it would work or not here at ND. God always places people in the right spot at the right time, and that is exactly what happened with Glenn. Without his marketing knowledge and willingness to help us in the initial selling of the sponsorships, we would not be in the position we are today with the digital boards.”

While Glenn was president of the Booster Club, Lee Ann served as vice president and then president of the Home & School Association. Lee Ann also volunteered as a “counting mom” for Activity Week and for class dinners during her children’s time at Notre Dame.

“Lee Ann was the Home & School President from 2020-2022,” said Laura Halter, Notre Dame assistant principal and faculty liaison to Home & School. “She graciously accepted the role of president for a second year in the midst of our Covid rebound period, and was instrumental in getting new members and helping us build the association that we are today. She truly inspired us to think outside of the normal Home & School tasks and helped us ask, ‘what more can we do?’ We are more centered on how we can support and help our students and teachers because of her leadership. She is the truest example of someone who gave of their time, talent and treasure, and Home & School is what it is today because of her leadership and love of Notre Dame.”

Both Glenn and Lee Ann volunteered for Notre Dame Bingo, with Glenn calling bingo games and Lee Ann serving as a team captain for many years.

They were also both part of the 2022 Notre Dame strategic plan. Lee Ann was on the “Student Life” domain, while Glenn was a steering committee co-chair.

Glenn, and fellow co-chair Katie Fennewald, provided guidance and oversight for the strategic planning process. He spent many hours working with school administration, Partners in Mission organization, and over 75 members of the strategic plan committee.

“As one of the chairpersons of our strategic plan, Glenn was crucial as a leader and to the overall success of the process,” said Garner.

Lee Ann grew up in Columbus, Indiana, and attended Purdue University earning a degree in education. Her parents, Gary and Rita Green, both live in Cape Girardeau now, and she has a sister, Lesli, who lives in Atlanta.

Glenn is a 1983 graduate of Notre Dame. His father, Bill, passed away in 2008, and his mother, Dottie, lives in Kansas City. Glenn is the oldest of four siblings: Mike (Notre Dame ’85) lives in Kansas City; Todd graduated from Cape Central and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana; and Carrie who graduated from Cape Central and also lives in Kansas City.

After Glenn graduated from Notre Dame, he earned a business degree from Southeast Missouri State University, followed by working for Foot Locker for eight years. In 1995, Glenn co-founded the company Hat World, which later became Lids. He worked with Lids until 2019, and in 2023 he became the president, director of baseball operations, and minority owner of the Cape Catfish. Last year, he founded the custom headwear company Make My Cap.

Glenn was the 2017 SEMO Alumni Award winner for the Harrison College of Business. He sits on the Southeast Missouri State Foundation Board, The Bank of Missouri Advisory Board and the Marquette Tech District Foundation Board.

The Campbells, who are members of St. Augustine parish, have four children.

Their oldest daughter, Maryssa, is married to Tyler Essner, a 2007 Notre Dame graduate. She is a teacher’s aide at Oak Ridge High School.

Their son, Kyle, graduated from Notre Dame in 2012. He played basketball for two years and baseball all four years of high school. He now lives in Clearwater, Florida, and works for Rippling, a technology company.

Eli graduated from Notre Dame in 2019 and Southeast Missouri State University in 2023. He has worked at the Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation Department since earning his college degree.

Their youngest, Paige, graduated from Notre Dame in 2022. She was on the dance team for four years at Notre Dame, and is slated to graduate from Auburn University next spring with a nursing degree.

When asked why it’s important to the Campbells to support Notre Dame, Glenn said it changed his life when he was a student.

“All the basketball and baseball games we went to, the school dances, the plays, we were so involved in so many things in the 80s. The staff, the people, classmates, the culture, the foundation were very instrumental to who I became,” he said. “Teachers like Jerry Grim, Don Maurer, Debbie Govero, Lenny Kuper, Miss King, Brad Wittenborn and others all played a key role in my development.”

Today, the faculty and staff are still what makes Notre Dame stand out, says Glenn.

“People like Laura Halter, Tim Garner, Jeff Graviett, Paul Unterreiner, Deana Pecord…I could list 10 more names of people that played a role in our kids’ lives during their four years at Notre Dame,” he said. “They are names they will never forget. It’s such a special place during some of the most important and impressionable years. The fun, the faith, the family – it’s hard to explain to people unless you have been part of it.”

They have too many fond memories of their children’s time at Notre Dame to count, with Activity Weeks, sporting events, dance team, musical, Masses and more. But because of the educational and spiritual foundation Notre Dame has given to their kids, the Campbells say supporting the school is a no brainer.

“We will always support the school however we can,” said Glenn. “We feel it’s so important to this community to have a private Catholic school that provides not only an incredible education and experience, but teaches about Jesus Christ. I feel it’s so important to immerse your kids in as much faith as possible – to surround them with the teachings, the examples, the ministries, the retreats, the Christian Service – all of it. That faith can make a real difference in their lives.”

They say they have witnessed the school motto ‘Give us your child and we’ll return an apostle,’ in their own kids.

“We are so grateful for what Notre Dame has done for our kids,” said Glenn. “We want to make sure that the same thing happens for generations of kids to come. It’s up to all of us to assure that.”

The Campbells, who will be honored with the Annunciation Award at the Queen of Victory Evening of Excellence event on August 8, were humbled when they learned of their recognition.

“We’re not sure we deserve the award or the recognition, but we certainly appreciate it and are honored to receive an award that so many incredible people have won in the past.”