AS SOON AS NEWS BROKE on Aug. 27 about the school shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minnesota, some 1,500 miles away in Los Alamitos, California, St. Hedwig Catholic School Principal Chris McGuiness was on the phone.
His second call that morning, after the Los Alamitos Police, was to Mike Jowdy of the school’s Kilt Society.
MARVIN WAIDER, CENTER, A.D. HALE AND SEAN O’NEILL, RIGHT, MEMBERS OF THE ST. HEDWIG KILT SOCIETY, HIGH FIVE STUDENTS AS THEY MAKE THEIR WAY INTO MASS ON SEPT. 10. PHOTO BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Composed of St. Hedwig dads, including a number of current and former law enforcement officers and firefighters, the Kilt Society is a parent organization that, among its activities, informally gathers to make sure kids attending the school’s weekly Masses feel safe and are protected.
The day of the Minnesota shooting, in which two children were killed and 21 churchgoers were injured, was also coincidentally the first day of scheduled school-wide Mass at St. Hedwig, a 502-student TK-8 school in northern Orange County.
MEMBERS OF THE ST. HEDWIG KILT SOCIETY WAIT FOR STUDENTS TO ATTEND MASS.
Soon after McGuiness’ call, Jowdy helped gather about 10 to 15 Kilt Society members to safeguard the campus and the weekly service.
“Within 10 minutes, there were 15 guys here,” McGuiness said.
ON PATROL
Jeff Allee, the school’s volunteer safety and security coordinator, said he is happy to have the Kilt Society on campus.
“It’s amazing to see all the dads involved, and great to see them come out,” he said. “We all get along and mesh well. We all understand the mission.”
At a recent school Mass, Scott Sanzaro, a former firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority, was conducting a perimeter sweep and encountered a homeless man walking down an alleyway while the weekly Mass was underway. The man posed no risk, and Sanzaro, who is an alumnus of St. Hedwig, was able to guide him off campus without incident.
“About every other month we encounter homeless people (on campus),” he said.
Most are simply searching for aid or services, and Kilt Society members often guide them to nearby providers or link them with a police liaison officer. Not all of the activities of Kilt dads are so consequential. Although the Society also provides traffic control and patrols school events, they also engage in plenty of social activities.
On campus they are perhaps best known for running the Beer Garden at the parish’s annual Autumn Festival. Society members proudly note that their booth regularly takes the prize for funds raised at the annual event.
The Kilt Society, which by some estimates has raised about $250,000 since its founding in 2007, donates sports equipment, scholarships and this year also helped support the family of an ailing faculty member.
“Whatever the school needs,” Sanzaro said. They also get together regularly to socialize.
“This is a tight community,” said Carlos Sotomayor, the longest-tenured member at nine years. “The dads are always available to help out and volunteer.”
A HAPPY ACCIDENT
The spontaneous and unforeseen origin of the Kilt Society dates back to nearly 20 years. At the time, Brad Hooper, whose daughter attended the school, volunteered to step in as the auctioneer for the St. Hedwig’s School Gala in Long Beach.
On something of a lark, Hooper showed up decked out in black tie and kilt. He wore a custom men’s kilt made by Sport Kilt in Signal Hill with a pattern that matched the skirts worn by girls at the school. When fundraising lagged at the auction, on a whim Hooper offered up not the shirt off his back but the kilt instead, which was delivered a day later to the winning bidder.
“We got $2,500 for the kilt, so that’s how it all started,” Hooper said.
In succeeding years, the kilts became more popular at the auctions and, at the suggestion of fellow dad Eric Kramer, a patch was added to signify the clothing. Gradually the kilt wearers became a formalized group and continued to grow under Matt Knabbe, who helped further brand the group with t-shirts and memorabilia.
“It was really such a spontaneous and creative thing,” Hooper said. “It just happened organically, and fathers became passionate about it as a way to build community. That’s what makes me so proud and happy.”
The Kilt Society now numbers more than 80 members, including an all-time class of 12 newcomers this year. The only requirements for men to join are having one or more children enrolled in the school and attending the school gala, where $1,500 buys the distinctive kilt and inclusion.
Membership is also the only ticket to being a volunteer at the Beer Garden, which the dads consider a pretty big perk.
For all the enjoyment club membership draws, recent events have underscored that these dads play an increasingly important role in school life.
“We’re always on high alert,” McGuiness said. “Times have changed, and we’ve had to change with it.”
Arriving on campus the day of the Annunciation shooting was a bit of an epiphany for Jowdy.
“It was an awakening that what we do really does matter,” he said.