Gifts Received to Endow the Motorized Artillery Fleet

Culver Academies is pleased to announce the establishment of the Motorized Artillery Endowed Fund, a new endowment created to provide permanent, dedicated support for the Artillery and Four Gun Drill programs for generations to come.

 The fund will ensure lasting care for Culver's recently restored M35 and M37 Artillery vehicles and provide sustained resources for the cadets, staff and motor pool team who keep these programs running, thus securing the future of an experience that has shaped the Culver community for nearly a century.

The endowment was launched through lead gifts from three active generations of one Culver Artillery family: James ’66 (Battery B) and Donna Brooks; their children Scott ‘93 (Battery A) and Amanda Brooks, and Tiffany ’91 and Pablo Bernal. Tiffany and Pablo’s son, Samuel (Battery B), graduated with the Class of 2026 as a fourth-generation Artillery and Four Gun Drill cadet. James F. Brooks ’42 (Artillery I) was the family’s first artillery alumnus.

“We’re very thankful for the generosity of the Brooks family,” Head of Schools Doug Bird ’90 (Battery A), said. “Like my own family, they are a multi-generational Artillery family and the endowment represents the kind of long-term thinking our Artillery and Four Gun programs deserve.”

Today, Culver counts more than 3,000 alumni who participated in Artillery or Four Gun Drill as cadets.

“I think this initiative will resonate with many of our alumni, and coming off the full restoration of our Artillery trucks, the formation of this endowment is ideal timing,” Bird added.

The project’s roots trace to 2023, when Christian Knutzen ’93 W’88 and Scott Brooks, Battery A classmates, returned for their 30th reunion and witnessed Artillery trucks break down during parade and Four Gun Drill performances. The two partnered with Culver leadership and the motor pool team to create a plan and secure the funding to restore the Artillery fleet.

“With a generous donor stepping up to fund the restoration, the next mission was to ensure the fleet is maintained at a high level consistent with everything the Culver experience represents,” said Scott Brooks. “We are interested in building something with generational durability – an endowment representing the thousands of past artillery alumni in support of the thousands more to come.”

Culver's Artillery Fleet vehicles have served numerous generations of Culver cadets in Artillery and Four Gun Drill (Artillery's honor organization). Each year, the two programs offer lessons on responsibility, empowerment, and leadership to roughly 165 and 45 cadets, respectively. The original Artillery vehicles were provided by The Culver Fathers Association in 1936, before fire claimed them in 1947. They were replenished in the 1950s. These are the same vehicles now in the process of being restored. The Motorized Artillery Endowed Fund will build on that restoration, providing for the vehicles' ongoing maintenance and care while supporting the Artillery and Four Gun Drill programs as they look to grow their collective impact at Culver.

Thanks to these founding gifts, Culver is well positioned to reach its initial goal of $3 million in support of this endowment. If you wish to learn more about this project, please contact Jason Petrovich, Chief Advancement Officer, at jason.petrovich@culver.org.

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