SMA breaks ground on new event center

San Marcos Academy representatives joined Joe Jamail Jan. 25 to break ground on the Lee Hage Jamail Special Event Center on the Academy campus. (Photo by Don Anders)

San Marcos Academy celebrated the groundbreaking of the Lee Hage Jamail Special Event Center Jan. 25 with a crowd of students, staff, friends and supporters in attendance.
Construction on the 31,000 square foot center is set to begin within the next month under the direction of Eaton Commercial, LP of San Antonio, general contractor for the project.
Joe Jamail of Houston, who provided the lead gift for the Special Event Center in memory of his wife, Lee Hage Jamail, was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony, along with two of his sons and three nieces. Mrs. Jamail was a 1944 graduate of San Marcos Academy, where she attended school for 10 years.
“Lee's formative years were spent on the Academy campus, from the time of her arrival as a very young child, all the way to her high school graduation,” Mr. Jamail said. “I know first hand that she received an excellent education there from a faculty and staff of caring people-an education that served her well all of her life. The greatest honor you could ever give to me and my sons is honoring Lee.”
The Lee Hage Jamail Special Event Center will consist of two wings, one for athletics and one for fine arts.
The athletic wing will feature a varsity gym, locker rooms and coaching offices, while the fine arts area will provide band and choir rehearsal and performance space, individual practice rooms, a music library, a student lounge and storage space for the music department.
“We are grateful to Joe Jamail for his significant gift and for the generous support we have received from Lee and Joe Jamail at San Marcos Academy over the years,” Academy President John Garrison said. “The Special Event Center, to be named in memory of Lee Jamail, will provide much-needed space on our campus for athletic events, fine arts programs and other special activities.”
Founded in 1907, San Marcos Academy is a Christian college preparatory school for seventh through twelfth grade students, located on a 220-acre Texas hill country campus.