We have been in business since 2000

The mission of Naches Valley Dollars for Scholars is to expand access to educational opportunities for Naches Valley Public School students through scholarships and academic support.

Chapter Officers & Board Members for 2022-23:

President:    

Ken Gregorich

Vice President:

Lonnie Welch

Secretary: 

Laurel Sorenson

Treasurer:    

Brandon Flory  

Asst. Treasurer:

Kathy DeMoss

1-Year Board:

Denise Cuillier, Sarah Flory

2-Year Board: 

Dee Huck, Stephanie St. Martin, Dave Desmarais

3-Year Board:    

Stacy Young, Phyllis Steele, Kerry Stout


Our Current Brochure:  Click Here for more information

History of Scholarship awards given:

YEAR  -   NUMBER OF RECIEPIENTS   -   DOLLAR AMOUNT AWARDED

2001                    19                                      $16,600

2002                    25                                       $29,225

2003                    38                                       $42,450

2004                    36                                       $48,921

2005                    39                                       $52,150

2006                    39                                       $58,000

2007                    43                                       $78,700

2008                    44                                       $87,650

2009                    40                                       $72,100

2010                    49                                       $61,558

2011                    42                                       $74,000

2012                    46                                       $82,040

2013                    44                                       $85,495

2014                    49                                       $87,040

2015                    47                                       $100,000

2016                    51                                       $100,000

2017                    40                                       $100,000

2018                    46                                       $100,000

2019                    40                                       $100,000

2020                    46                                       $100,000

2021                    33                                       $100,000

2022                    50                                       $150,000

2023                    34                                       $140,000

 

HISTORICAL TOTALS

Years:     Students:        Scholarship $:

23              950                 $1,865,929


Chapter History:

The Early Days of Naches Dollars for Scholars

In the fall of 2000, a few good hearted and ambitious members of the Greater Naches Valley Community got together and formed Naches Dollars for Scholars. There is a letter in the committee's archives stating that Naches Dollars for Scholars became an affiliate of Scholarship America on November 13, 2000.  

The first minutes found were dated Dec. 6, 2000.  They were just getting organized and seeking other people who would be willing to serve.

Present at this meeting were Buzz Rowe, Nick Eddy, Andy Simkus, Dave Mulalley, Ted Cowan, Paul Kauzlarich, Phyllis Steele, Micki Robison, Dee Huck, Roberta Gabbard, Rich Rouleau, and Charles Westfall.

The next meeting was five days later on Dec. 11, 2000.

Officers were elected and they were:

President:           Paul Kauzlarich

Vice President:   Chuck Westfall

Secretary:           Frank Wesselius

Treasurer:            Flo Lawyer

Awards to 19 of 107 seniors were given at graduation in June of 2001.  There were 27 different awards that were funded by contributions from 8 donors. The awards totaled $16,600.

Through the years the efforts of our group has grown and we now are able to provide a lot more financial help to our seniors.  Our name changed in 2013 to Naches Valley Dollars for Scholars to better represent our school district and our community.

In 2013, 44 of the 105 graduating seniors received scholarship through Naches Valley Dollars for Scholars.  There were 96 scholarships totaling $85,495 from a total of 29 donors. 

In both years, 2015 and 2016 we gave out over $100,000 in the form of scholarships to graduates of Naches Valley High School.  We also surpassed the One Million Dollar mark in total scholarships given out since our beginning.

What a huge boost the community has been towards helping our high school seniors further their post-secondary education.  We are very proud of the impact that Naches Valley Dollars for Scholars has made to students in our school district.

Naches Valley Dollars for Scholars holds two major fundraisers each year.  In March we have a Crab Feed that sells out well before the event.  Naches Valley Dollars for Scholars members, high school students and community members all pitch in to make our Crab Feed one of the best around.  In recent years we have gotten Crab Feed sponsors.  With their financial help we have most of our costs covered so our profits are now much more than in previous years. 

Our second fundraiser, a Golf Tournament, is held in May at a local golf course.  Besides being a golf tournament, we have a raffle, a steak dinner and an auction.   We get very nice donated raffle items and sell many hundreds of dollars of raffle tickets.  The auction items are often golf trip packages, use of cabins or condos, dinners for a group, etc.  With a lot of hard work we make this a very profitable venture.  We often net almost $20,000.