Support Webster

[Orchestral music begins.]

Text on screen: Legacy Gift, An Expression of a Lasting Impact

[A three-leave tree sprig appears on screen.]

Text on screen: Laura House Herring, ’70, Webster Board Chair Emeritus, Founder, The Impact Group

[Herring, sitting in chair, talking.]

Herring: I'm Laura House Herring, and I graduated from Webster in 1970.

[Three old photos of Laura from the 1970s with eight other people.]

Words on screen: BA in Social Science ’70

Herring: It's been a part of my life forever. I really believe that Webster and the Conservatory helped me become the person I am today.

[Four more photos with 20 people in all.]

[Herring, sitting in a chair, talking.]

Herring: I learned to speak, I learned to act, I learned how to project myself, what my needs are, and I knew how to ask for what I wanted. And as a result, I grew a company from 0 to 50 million dollars, and I really believe I owe that all to Webster University.

[Photo of Herring holding a binder that reads Momentum.]

[Headline and profile photo of Herring from a Newspaper: Most Influential Business Women 2004: Laura Herring Founder, president, The Impact Group]

[Herring, standing next to several shelves with awards and books on them while she holds a large book in her hands. Awards and books are named “Inc. 500,” “No Fear Allowed,” “This Side Up,” “Top 50,” “Best,” etc.]

[Footage of Herring and her husband, Mike walking past the Thompson Music House on a nice day.]

Herring: Mike and I discovered a legacy gift when we were trying to bring Peter's fundraising for the Conservatory to the end of the line. And what we found out the only way we could do it is if we left something for Peter's Conservatory in our will and that is called a legacy gift.

[Herring, sitting in a chair, talking.]

[Herring and Dean Emeritus Peter Sargent hugging in his office.]

[Footage of Herring, her husband and Sargent talking in the lobby of the Loretto-Hilton Center. The bust and the placard of Sargent is off to the side.]

Herring: What I want for Webster University is to thrive like it's never thrived before.

[Photo of Sargent with Laura and Mike Herring in the Loretto-Hilton Center.]

[Photo of Webster University Founded in 1915 marquee in front of Loretto Hall on campus in the spring with dogwood and crab apple trees in bloom, and tulips blooming around the marquee.]

Herring: I want them to be able to give students scholarships who never would have been able to get scholarships. Because we have gracious, generous donors. And I want people to know that they can make a difference in other people's lives just like Webster did in mine.

[Footage of some students and a professor in a circle talking. Herring, sitting in a chair, talking. Footage of three students walking down the steps on the north side of Emerson Library on campus. Footage of Herring standing next to the bust of Peter Sargent located in the Loretto-Hilton Center.]

Herring: I love the message of Webster. I love the whole feel of Webster. They really match my value system. They want to make a positive difference in the lives they touch, and that's Mike's and my philosophy, our philosophy.

[Footage of students forming a big “W” in the quad. Footage of the east side of Emerson Library and the light poles along the walkway with Webster University Go! Go Gorloks banners. Herring, sitting in a chair, talking.]

Herring: We want to support organizations that make a difference in other people's lives.

[Footage of spotlights. Footage of photos of Marsha Mason, one with nuns and students at the construction site for the Loretto-Hilton Center]

Text on screen: Marsha Mason, ’64, Actor, Director, Webster University Donor

Marsha Mason: It was Webster College, in my day.

[More orchestral music plays in the background.]

[Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her.]

Mason: It was a vital department with wonderful people.

[Photo from a theater production. Two others on stage with Mason.]

Mason: I had an incredible education, a theatrical education.

Text on screen: BA in Speech and Drama ’64

[Photo of Mason and another performing on stage.]

Mason: I got personal attention from the teachers.

[Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her.]

Mason: I was supported. I was encouraged. I had opportunities. I got to play wonderful roles, and I just had the best time.

[Photo of Mason performing on stage. Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her.]

Text on screen: Sr. Marita Woodruff Chair of Theatre Arts 1959-1969

[Photo of Woodruff.]

Mason: And Marita, in particular, for me — she told me early on that she thought I had talent. That I had innate timing, which she felt couldn't be taught, and she really pushed me and gave me the confidence to believe that I could do and be successful.

[Photos of Mason in performances and in front of the poster for the play, “South Pacific.”]

Mason: So much so that as soon as I graduated, I went to New York.

[Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her.]

Mason: I thought it was important to give back. I wanted to honor, uh, Marita. I, just because she was — she just meant so much.

[Photo of Woodruff standing in a classroom of students.]

Mason: I get emotional because when you when you get that kind of support for something like acting of all things.

[Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her.]

Mason: You know, where your parents are not necessarily going to be very enthusiastic. I just wanted to give back, so I started out by, um, you know, making a scholarship because I too knew what it was like when you have to put yourself through school.

[Photo of Mason putting on make-up. The old logo and name appear Webster College 1963. Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her.]

Text on screen: Marita Woodruff Scholarship

[Photo of Woodruff at the chalkboard in a classroom teaching. Mason sitting in a chair talking. There are some full bookshelves behind her.]

Mason: And then years later, I was going to a friend's show, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”

[Playbill of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” cover shown. Text from cover and inside credits page shown. Photo of Norbert Leo Butz in a performance.]

Text on screen: Norbert Leo Butz, ’90 Photo credit: Carol Rosegg]

Mason: Norbert Leo Butts was there, and he told me he told me that. He came running up and threw his arms around me and thanked me because he got to go to school at Webster.

[Butz on stage during a performance.]

Text on screen: Norbert was a recipient of the Marita Woodruff Scholarship.

Mason: And here he is this, you know, fabulous, uh, performer and actor. So it's just thrilling — it’s thrilling.

[Photo of Butz in a theatre production.]

Text on screen: Tony Award-winning actor

Text on screen: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Photo Credit: Carol Bosegg

[Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her. Footage flying over Webster Hall, Loretto Hall, Winifred Moore Auditorium, and Maria Halls.]

Mason: The whole aspect of the estate planning for me was in the spirit of my experience and the people that I've met who continue to help.

[Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her. Mason in a photo with Karen Luebbert, from same graduating class, when they came back for a homecoming on campus. Mason in a photo with another classmate laughing at a dinner party. Mason in a photo with former Chancellor Beth Stroble. Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her.]

Mason: Uh, Webster may now be a university and a worldwide university. I just felt it was very important to be a small part of that continuum — helping students get a first-rate education with the kind of support I had from the staff.

[A video of the campus outside the Loretto-Hilton Center where the waterfall is located. Footage of a dance class in the Loretto-Hilton Center; footage of a student working on a stage backdrop. A photo of two students in a performance on stage in costumes. A video of a student putting on makeup. A professor working with a student in a classroom.]

[Mason, sitting in a chair with bookshelves behind her.]

Mason: That they now have all over the world, and I just think it's a very forward way of thinking about education and universities.

Text on Screen: Write Your Own Legacy, LEGACY SOCIETY

[A three-leave tree sprig appears on screen.]

[Orchestral music swells up for ending.]