BEST Scholarship fund helps seniors venturing out after graduation
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By Amber Hayden
BOYCEVILLE — In 1988, at the 30th high school reunion for the class of 1958, Capt. James Harvey, USN, presented the idea for a scholarship foundation that would include the involvement and guidance of several past graduates as well as friends of Boyceville High School.
“The Boyceville Education Scholarship Trust (BEST) was established in 1993,” said Samantha Phillips, Program Manager at the Community Foundation of Dunn County. “The first scholarships were awarded to the Class of 1995, with five students receiving a $200 academic scholarship.”
When BEST began, there was a handful of loyal alumni and dedicated community members volunteering their time and talent to get the program off the ground for many years.
BEST became a 501c3 non-profit with their own board members, which in turn allowed them to operate as their own foundation for the first twenty years.
In 2013, BEST transferred its family of funds to the Community Foundation of Dunn, according to Phillips, and has since taken advantage of professional investment management and relieving the burden of IRS reporting a filing each year.
“The Community Foundation has helped manage the BEST scholarship cycle each year,” said Phillips. “And have awarded around $9,000 each year split amongst 12-16 Boyceville graduates, still with the help and participation of the BEST advisory committee.”
Phillips explained that in 2018 there were changes happening with BEST that included the loss of longtime chair, Ron Grutt, and the number of students applying for the scholarship was dropping.
Members Carrie Green, Merlyn Jones, Joe Pieters, and Ellen Carlson worked together to enhance the marketing efforts to best get the word out about the foundation and the work they had been providing for many years.
BEST amped up their presence during the 2018 Pickle Festival parade with the “BEST” inflatable bulldog, along with bright handouts, recurring articles in the school newspaper, and letting festival goers know that BEST was now on Facebook.
It was also at this time that Capt. Harvey became aware of the Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association (AOPA) initiative where the high school Aviation STEM curriculum is provided free to high schools that demonstrate a capability to teach the STEM curriculum.
“Jim and Merlyn took the opportunity to come to us at the Foundation to talk about more options and ways that we may be able to spark energy into the BEST funds, or open new funds to bring more opportunities to Boyceville,” Phillips commented.
The timing was right, as Merlyn’s own family fund, Merlyn and Shirley Ann (MASA) Fund was approaching maturity, Phillips said, and would be able to make its first grant to the school district in 2020.
After the meeting the Community Foundation began to look at examples of other school foundations in the area that were doing great things to support education.
“Once we started thinking about BEST as being one larger network of funds to support Boyceville schools, much like a typical school foundation operates, the opportunities felt infinite,” Phillips stated.
Phillips credits Capt. Harvey’s passion for aviation and seed funding, along with the school’s insight and expertise, for the opening of the new BEST Career Exploration Fund.
This fund will make grants to directly support curriculum development, field trips, and enrichment activities to promote job readiness in high-demand and emerging careers.
As with all of the different funds, anyone is able to make a charitable donation to support the Career Exploration Fund.
There are also eight other funds under the BEST family of funds as well as an Administrative fund for BEST.
The funds include, BEST Academic Scholarship Fund, William and Leona Amundson Memorial Scholarship Fund, Alan J. Carlson Memorial Fund, Lee Fruit Memorial Scholarship Fund, Ron Grutt Memorial Scholarship Fund, Janelle Clark Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund, Peoples State Bank Scholarship Fund, and Jared Schutz Memorial Scholarship Fund.
“There are also three other scholarship funds that are available to Boyceville graduating seniors through the Community Foundation of Dunn County that were not created through BEST,” explained Phillips.
The Community Foundation has also offered Community Impact Grant funding for teacher mini grants for the Boyceville School District, and have seen other school foundations opening funds to help students pay for school lunch, a school spirit fund, and a fund to help purchase musical instruments.
The Community Foundation is hopeful that a teacher mini grant program will get up and running for Boyceville that would allow teachers to apply through the foundation.
“Grant recommendations are made by a standing committee of members from the Wisconsin Retired Educators Association – Dunn County,” Phillips commented.
Since the beginning of BEST there have been 400 academic scholarships awarded to Boyceville High School graduates, totaling $212,100.
“They see scholarships as a way to recognize students and their accomplishments, but also as a gesture to show these graduates the warmth and support of the Boyceville community as they venture out to achieve their dreams,” said Phillips.
Seniors can apply for the BEST scholarships by visiting http://www.cfdunncounty.org/best-scholarships/”www.cfdunncounty.org/best-scholarships/ with a deadline of April 1 each year.
