Lehman Family donates $1.5 million to USA Wrestling’s new Women’s Olympic Wrestling program
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
David Lehman (center) poses with U.S. women wrestlers and coaches during a training session at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Earlier this year, USA Wrestling received a commitment for a $1.5 million donation covering three years for a new program, Women’s Olympic Wrestling (WOW), sponsored by the Lehman Family.
The donation was initiated by David Lehman, president of the Lehman Family Charitable Foundation, established by Lehman, his late wife Patsy, and daughter Lisa Lehman, a successful businessman and wrestling leader. The family has decided to support USA Wrestling’s women’s wrestling program as a way to pay forward to the sport he loves.
This is the largest single gift in the history of the USA Wrestling’s women’s program, and will provide substantial support for the development of young athletes in their crucial early years in the sport.
“The greatness of any program starts with the roots and its base. We have a grassroots level in the United States, but we haven’t had the resources to get international experience and technical knowledge. We haven’t had the money to do the things we wanted to do with our elite young athletes to accelerate their performance. With the Lehman Family stepping forward with this gift, it is a game-changer for us,” said Terry Steiner, USA Wrestling’s National Women’s Coach.
Women’s Olympic Wrestling, sponsored by the Lehman Family, covers four key areas which will greatly impact the development of age-group women’s programs of the organization. The donation will assist in enhancing the Cadet and Junior Training Camp experience, support the ability of quality volunteer coaches to participate in training camps, support operational expenses of the women’s freestyle wrestling program at Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania and provide an additional international tour for Senior women athletes.
“Now we can not only get overseas, but we can bring foreign teams in. We all struggle with the same thing with budget constraints. Now we can go to foreign federations and say if you fly here, we can cover the cost of your stay while you are here. To get a European or Asian country here, there has to be something special about it. They can jump across countries like we jump across states, and financially they can do that. To bring them to the United States to help us get the experience that we need, it has been a hard sell. Now we can do that. We can also take longer trips overseas where we can get not only into foreign competitions but also into foreign camps, where we can really learn the international style of wrestling. We are excited about the possibilities of what we can do together,” said Steiner.
The Lehman Family donation has already impacted USA Wrestling’s women’s program during the 2018 season, the first of three seasons which the financial support will be utilized in the specific project areas. David Lehman has spent time with USA Wrestling’s women athletes during training this year, meeting the athletes and expressing his support for their wrestling and personal development.
Lehman hails from Lancaster, Pa., and was the first member of his family to attend college. He wrestled four years for Franklin & Marshall College, a Div. I school in Pennsylvania. He received a geology degree at F&M, and went on to serve in the U.S. Army. He continued his education, receiving a Phd in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Lehman has become a highly successful businessman in the oil and gas industry. After many years in key executive positions with Exxon, Lehman founded a number of successful businesses in the industry. He currently serves as President and CEO of DJR Energy , LLC.
“I was a farm kid in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. My parents wanted us to go to college, but we didn’t have a clue about how to get into college. During my senior year, I asked my wrestling coach if he could help me get to college. He wrestled at Franklin and Marshall. Within a week, he got me an interview on campus, and I fell in love with the place. A couple weeks later, I had an admissions letter, all because of wrestling. I felt like I had won the lottery. I studied geology there, got into the oil and gas business, and have had a nice career. It all started for me with wrestling. I have a tremendous indebtedness to the sport,” Lehman said.
He has been an active supporter of wrestling during his life, including providing a major gift to endow the wrestling program at his alma mater, Franklin & Marshall. In 2017, he was elected as an Outstanding American by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“I met Helen Maroulis at the nationals three years ago, and was impressed hearing her talk about how much wrestling meant to her and how it developed her. Since then, I have met Adeline Gray and many other women wrestlers. I have been very excited about the job that Terry Steiner has done with the USA Wrestling’s women’s team. I was impressed with the program that Terry and (Chief of Donor and Alumni Relations) Steve Fraser have laid out for me about what they want to do. I admire what they have done and the vision they have about where they want to go with the program. I would like to see some girls come up through the Cadet and Junior program, catch on fire and join the Senior team,” he said.
Lehman is very motivated to be able to make a major difference in women’s wrestling as it continues to grow and develop in the United States.
“Women’s wrestling is now just catching on. It is clear to me that eventually it will be a booming sport and there will be a lot more people interesting in sponsoring it. I saw an opportunity. This is what I like to do in business, to get in early before somebody else sees the opportunity, and make an investment. I saw the same thing with women’s wrestling,” Lehman said.
It all comes back to his enjoyment, respect and appreciation for the sport of wrestling.
“One of the things I like best is that wrestling is unlike other sports. Wrestling is a blue-collar sport. You meet people from really humble backgrounds that have done well for themselves. I like the people in wrestling. Some days in wrestling, you feel like quitting, because I used to. But if you want to make something of yourself, you are going to face those kind of days, when you wonder if you can stick with it. That is a trait I learned in wrestling. Persistence, determination and sticking with it is the most important thing you can learn,” Lehman said.
Earlier this year, USA Wrestling received a commitment for a $1.5 million donation covering three years for a new program, Women’s Olympic Wrestling (WOW), sponsored by the Lehman Family.
The donation was initiated by David Lehman, president of the Lehman Family Charitable Foundation, established by Lehman, his late wife Patsy, and daughter Lisa Lehman, a successful businessman and wrestling leader. The family has decided to support USA Wrestling’s women’s wrestling program as a way to pay forward to the sport he loves.
This is the largest single gift in the history of the USA Wrestling’s women’s program, and will provide substantial support for the development of young athletes in their crucial early years in the sport.
“The greatness of any program starts with the roots and its base. We have a grassroots level in the United States, but we haven’t had the resources to get international experience and technical knowledge. We haven’t had the money to do the things we wanted to do with our elite young athletes to accelerate their performance. With the Lehman Family stepping forward with this gift, it is a game-changer for us,” said Terry Steiner, USA Wrestling’s National Women’s Coach.
Women’s Olympic Wrestling, sponsored by the Lehman Family, covers four key areas which will greatly impact the development of age-group women’s programs of the organization. The donation will assist in enhancing the Cadet and Junior Training Camp experience, support the ability of quality volunteer coaches to participate in training camps, support operational expenses of the women’s freestyle wrestling program at Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania and provide an additional international tour for Senior women athletes.
“Now we can not only get overseas, but we can bring foreign teams in. We all struggle with the same thing with budget constraints. Now we can go to foreign federations and say if you fly here, we can cover the cost of your stay while you are here. To get a European or Asian country here, there has to be something special about it. They can jump across countries like we jump across states, and financially they can do that. To bring them to the United States to help us get the experience that we need, it has been a hard sell. Now we can do that. We can also take longer trips overseas where we can get not only into foreign competitions but also into foreign camps, where we can really learn the international style of wrestling. We are excited about the possibilities of what we can do together,” said Steiner.
The Lehman Family donation has already impacted USA Wrestling’s women’s program during the 2018 season, the first of three seasons which the financial support will be utilized in the specific project areas. David Lehman has spent time with USA Wrestling’s women athletes during training this year, meeting the athletes and expressing his support for their wrestling and personal development.
Lehman hails from Lancaster, Pa., and was the first member of his family to attend college. He wrestled four years for Franklin & Marshall College, a Div. I school in Pennsylvania. He received a geology degree at F&M, and went on to serve in the U.S. Army. He continued his education, receiving a Phd in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Lehman has become a highly successful businessman in the oil and gas industry. After many years in key executive positions with Exxon, Lehman founded a number of successful businesses in the industry. He currently serves as President and CEO of DJR Energy , LLC.
“I was a farm kid in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. My parents wanted us to go to college, but we didn’t have a clue about how to get into college. During my senior year, I asked my wrestling coach if he could help me get to college. He wrestled at Franklin and Marshall. Within a week, he got me an interview on campus, and I fell in love with the place. A couple weeks later, I had an admissions letter, all because of wrestling. I felt like I had won the lottery. I studied geology there, got into the oil and gas business, and have had a nice career. It all started for me with wrestling. I have a tremendous indebtedness to the sport,” Lehman said.
He has been an active supporter of wrestling during his life, including providing a major gift to endow the wrestling program at his alma mater, Franklin & Marshall. In 2017, he was elected as an Outstanding American by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“I met Helen Maroulis at the nationals three years ago, and was impressed hearing her talk about how much wrestling meant to her and how it developed her. Since then, I have met Adeline Gray and many other women wrestlers. I have been very excited about the job that Terry Steiner has done with the USA Wrestling’s women’s team. I was impressed with the program that Terry and (Chief of Donor and Alumni Relations) Steve Fraser have laid out for me about what they want to do. I admire what they have done and the vision they have about where they want to go with the program. I would like to see some girls come up through the Cadet and Junior program, catch on fire and join the Senior team,” he said.
Lehman is very motivated to be able to make a major difference in women’s wrestling as it continues to grow and develop in the United States.
“Women’s wrestling is now just catching on. It is clear to me that eventually it will be a booming sport and there will be a lot more people interesting in sponsoring it. I saw an opportunity. This is what I like to do in business, to get in early before somebody else sees the opportunity, and make an investment. I saw the same thing with women’s wrestling,” Lehman said.
It all comes back to his enjoyment, respect and appreciation for the sport of wrestling.
“One of the things I like best is that wrestling is unlike other sports. Wrestling is a blue-collar sport. You meet people from really humble backgrounds that have done well for themselves. I like the people in wrestling. Some days in wrestling, you feel like quitting, because I used to. But if you want to make something of yourself, you are going to face those kind of days, when you wonder if you can stick with it. That is a trait I learned in wrestling. Persistence, determination and sticking with it is the most important thing you can learn,” Lehman said.
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