Academic endowment recognizes past achievements
There have been so many noteworthy achievements lately by our local high school students. Not only athletic excellence, but also many recent articles on yet another state championship for the speech and debate team, another high-octane stage performance, science fair triumphs, recognition to the state’s top mathematics student, the recent art showcase at Montana Coffee Traders, students attending the state math competition, accomplishments in music — excellence abounds at Columbia Falls High School.
Accolades are due not only to these students but to the teachers, mentors and coaches who are motivating and stimulating these outstanding achievements.
With this in mind, we want to acquaint the community with the newly-launched Columbia Falls High School Alumni/ Community Academic Endowment. School District 6 residents have built over more than a decade the robust and greatly beneficial Wildc/kat Athletic Endowment.
The Academic Endowment will neither compete with nor supplant that vibrant, dividend-paying continuing project. Rather, it will invite the same proud booster spirit and opportunity for excelling to academics — to the arts, language curricula, to sciences and math, industrial and career arts, social studies, and technology.
Excellence happens when a school has a source for funding those needs that lie just outside and beyond the operations budget, funds for field trips, a ceramics kiln, sheet music and instruments, cutting-edge technology, upgrading lab equipment.
Every school has a “wish list” for things that would enhance teaching and learning. Colleges have endowments. More and more private and public schools are establishing endowments. Now is time for CFHS to do the same.
A well-managed endowment can grow, earn and provide funds for needs beyond the basics that foster excellence and provide even more momentum for life and achievement beyond high school. Early donations have already enabled the endowment trustees to allocate transportation money for the math student competition in Missoula last February.
An endowment is a means of giving back, recognizing that each generation’s success was enabled by the generations before them who sacrificed, invested and created opportunity. It’s an avenue to pass on the good deed, create advantages and better lives for today’s and tomorrow’s students.
The first annual CFHS Alumni/Community Academic Endowment fundraising celebration will be an exciting and entertaining evening graciously hosted by Truby’s at Meadow Lake Resort on Thursday, May 1, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. There will be finger food and a cash bar, both silent and live auctions of art, and valuable donations of merchandise and services from our community. Come enjoy student entertainment and a showcase of students’ art on display. Original art by Allen Jimmerson, Greg Trenerry, Rusti Warner, and Nellie Lutz will highlight the auction.
Tickets are limited by the facility’s size, and cost just $15. Tickets can be purchased at the CFHS office, NAPA of Columbia Falls, RE/MAX Mountain View, or from any of the trustees. If you cannot attend but would like to make a tax-deductible donation to this new endowment, please mail to CFHS ACAE, c/o School District 6, P.O. Box 1259, Columbia Falls MT 59912.
Contributions may be honorary or in memoriam of a significant teacher or staff member, or perhaps of a classmate/friend lost but dearly remembered. Reasons to build this endowment are innumerable, but every reason to enhance the educational opportunities of today’s and tomorrow’s CFHS students is a good reason.
Bill Dakin, of Columbia Falls, is a trustee of the Columbia Falls High School Alumni/ Community Academic Endowment. Other trustees include Jeff Henning, president, and Alyson Dorr, Denise Falkner, Tara Norick, Cami Stolte, Rich Thompson and Vicki Wirkus.