Profile: Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars

It’s no secret that college or, for that matter, any post-high school education, is expensive for some. I use the term “expensive” because for some, this next step in the learning process is pricey to the point of being cost-prohibitive. What happens then? The individual in question - and I’ve known many over the past 40 years - doesn’t continue down the road to learning and then wonders, “What if?”

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to sit with a group of people whose mission, in large part, is to erase this so-called “What if” and replacing it with something much more positive; an “I did this,” if you will. Around the table at River Mile 38 sat a collection of local minds and talents, a collaboration of concern, the officers of opportunity. As stated on the organization’s flyer, Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars is “a scholarship program providing educational opportunities for the people of Wahkiakum County.” Sitting with me was President of the Board of Directors Steve McClain; County Commissioner Lee Tischer and wife Diane; Doug Martin, whom I know from his work with the local Warriors and Widows Salmon Derby, and Pat Kehrli, who serves as secretary for the collective.

“Basically, we raise money for scholarships for Wahkiakum high school students, whether it’s a trade school, two-year, or four-year college,” said Commissioner Tischer. “We’ve been doing this for 25 years now. The first fundraiser we had, everyone bought a $5 ball and we rolled them down Downtown (Columbia Street) Hill. We made, like, $600. It was a fiasco because all the balls went underneath cars everywhere.”

“Some went on down past the Rat Tap and into the river,” said McClain.

As a group of community-minded folk want to do, we talked. From them, I learned that for the past 25 years, the program has fielded some $630,000, all earmarked for local students wishing to continue their education after high school. In addition to the aforementioned infamous “ball roll,” fundraising efforts have included a sturgeon derby and the much-loved Rods ‘n Reels Rod Run organized by Tischer but, unfortunately, coming to a close with the 2018 gathering.

The past couple of years, the group has funded their efforts via an on-line auction. For 2025, Dollars for Scholars has scheduled a live event to be held on Saturday, June 28, from noon to 4 p.m. at River Mile 38 (515 2nd St.). This year’s event, McClain explained, will feature live and silent auctions, as well as a Rods ‘n Reels Rod Run Reunion. All are welcome to attend.

To the uninitiated, the scholarship program might seem a bit complicated; however, once explained, it became quite easy to interpret. The group of those earlier mentioned members, along with Marlena Silva, Bob Garrett, Shelby Garrett, Tammy Peterson, and Karen Fleming, hold a fundraiser. This year’s June 28 auction/Rod Run hopes to raise between $10,000 and $13,000, with those dollars to be passed along in bundles, per se, to graduating Wahkiakum seniors. In addition, the group serves as a brokerage, collecting donations from local individuals and businesses, and distributing those funds to applicants via a scoring process conducted by an Awards Committee.

How are students made aware of the various scholarships, and how to they apply? For one, both McClain and Silva work professionally at the high school, spending a portion of their time each winter making sure students considering a path of higher education both know of the funds available and the application process. Interested students then complete an application, along with sitting [through] an interview conducted by the program’s award committee. Finally, the applicants are scored, and those scores are evaluated and ranked, and the scholarships of varying amounts are awarded.

Individuals or businesses interested in donating to the Dollars for Scholars program can do so by contacting Diane Tischer at 360-562-6467 or by scanning the QR code located at the bottom of the fliers posted about town.

“We want to educate the people (reading the article) who we are, what we’re doing, and what we’ve been doing, and to hopefully (pique) the readership’s interest and get them involved,” said Kehrli.

“Young blood,” said Martin. “Get some younger blood involved, so we can keep the organization going.”

So get involved. It is, if you’ll pardon the cliché, for a most excellent cause. I personally know young people who wanted to learn, were eager to learn, and regretfully couldn’t; a tough decision based solely, as many are, on money, or the lack thereof. Wahkiakum Dollars for Scholars is here, as they have been for a quarter century, to help area young people move forward into tomorrow. Who knows what they might become with just a little help?