Elisa and Bobby Ezor

Pace Academy Life Trustee ELISA EZOR says the Greek proverb "A society grows great when old men and women plant trees whose shade they shall never sit in" has motivated her to make charitable donations throughout her life.

With this message of giving in mind, Ezor and her husband, BOBBY EZOR, recently arranged a charitable bequest to Pace through their wills, becoming members of The Castle Circle.

"We have given to Pace since our son, ZACHARY "ZACK" EZOR '06, entered Pre-First," Ezor says. "We feel that when an organization has counted on you for many years, it is important to continue to give—even after your death. A planned gift provides that opportunity."

The couple's son and daughter, DANIELLE EZOR '09, are both Pace Lifers. "When we became a Pace family, I was so grateful to those who had come before us, laying the foundation that made Pace such a great institution," she shares.

The Ezors' connections to Pace extend beyond their own alumni children. "We are truly a Pace family," Elisa notes. "All five of my parents' grandchildren attended Pace—in addition to my two children, my nieces, LINDSEY ZWECKER '13 and HALEY ZWECKER '12, and my nephew, MITCHELL ZWECKER '17, were all Pace Lifers," she says. "My daughter-in-law, LARA GOODRICH EZOR '09, and her two siblings, PETE GOODRICH '03 and CAITLIN GOODRICH JONES '00, were also Pace Knights.

Ezor found many opportunities to support the school while her children were students. "In 2001, I chaired the Annual Fund (now the Pace Fund)." She recalls, "At Parents Night, Bobby, Zack and three other wonderful volunteers performed the Temptations song Ain't Too Proud to Beg. We set a new school record that year in donations."

Over the course of their 16 years as Pace parents, the couple avidly supported Pace's financial aid and college counseling programs and, as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2003-2010, Ezor chaired the Board's first diversity committee. The Board named Ezor as a Life Trustee in 2011.

The Ezor family has witnessed tremendous growth and change at Pace over the years. "When Zack enrolled in 1993, the Fine Arts Center was just opening. After that came the Middle School and natatorium," Ezor says. "Since Zack and Danielle became alumni, Pace has built a new Upper School, expanded global education and added the Riverview Sports Complex. Now construction is underway for the expanded Lower School! True to its motto, Pace never stops striving for excellence."

Ezor admits feeling sentimental about her children's time at Pace. She lives nearby and drives by campus often. Watching the construction of the new Kam Memar Lower School, where the Randall House—the former Lower School administrative building—used to sit, stirs memories. "I remember [former Head of School] MIKE MURPHY and [former Head of the Lower School] ANNA VALERIUS greeting my kids with a firm handshake every morning at the front door of the Randall House."

Nonetheless, Ezor "doesn't want to see Pace slow down." Just as her own children benefited from the gifts of earlier Pace families, she wants "future generations to continue to benefit from the seeds that have been planted."

Through their wills, the couple is doing its part to make this possible. As Ezor reflects on the school's future, she hopes that Pace is always welcoming to all, and always small enough to focus on the individual child.