The Oneida Education Foundation announces eight new endowed funds that will help the organization fulfill its mission of providing grant funds for teachers in Oneida County’s four schools and of providing scholarship funds for graduates of Malad High School.

In 1988, the first permanent endowment fund was established at the time the Oneida Education Foundation was organized. The children of William H. and Cecelia D. Rutter set up this fund as a permanent memorial to their parents.  Since then, donors have helped the OEF establish 49 endowed scholarships and 5 curricula/class endowed funds.

In the past year, eight new endowed funds have been set up by families, friends, and community members to support the students and teachers of Oneida County schools. When these funds reach $1000, they are invested in secure mutual funds through Edward Jones Investments.  With earned interest and ongoing donations, these funds will last in perpetuity to support Oneida County schools and students as stipulated by the donors. They also become a permanent legacy for the persons and organizations for whom the endowments are named.

(In the unlikely case of an endowed fund running out of money, it is closed. To date, only three scholarship funds have been closed due to lack of funds.)

The family, friends, and colleagues of Erin Hawkes, a long-time teacher at Malad Elementary School, set up the Erin Jones Hawkes Memorial Elementary School Curricula Endowment immediately after she died of the cancer from which she had suffered for several years. That fund will be used to award classroom and curriculum grants to teachers in Malad
Elementary School.

Friends and former students of Lucile Harrison, who taught at Malad Elementary School for over 40 years, established the Lucile Harrison Memorial Elementary School Curricula Endowment to provide supplies and equipment for Malad Elementary School classrooms and teachers.

A third classroom/curriculum grant was recently set up by Doug John to honor his mother, Myra Jean John. Mrs. John was well known throughout Oneida County as the accompanist for the Malad Valley Community Chorus, playing for church and community events, and providing the music for innumerable funerals until she moved to be nearer her daughter. The Myra Jean John Family Music Endowment will be used to support the band and choir programs at Malad Middle and High Schools.

To honor his grandmother, who was the music specialist at Malad Elementary School for many, many years, Doug John and his extended family and friends established the Mary E. (Mae) and John M. Williams Family Memorial Music Scholarship Fund last year. Recipients of this scholarship will have been involved in music programs throughout their Malad school years and plan to continue in a music field.

Graduating classes from Malad High School have begun to establish scholarship funds.  Last year the MHS Class of 1973 joined the Class of 1971 and the Class of 1962 in establishing scholarship endowments.  Usually these funds come about at a class reunion when class members decide to establish a permanent endowment with the generous donations of their fellow class members.

Sometimes a graduating class honors a classmate who died too soon.  The Malad High School Class of 1984 established the Justin Gilgen Memorial Scholarship Fund so that Justin’s friends and family members can contribute to this permanent fund in his memory.

Similarly, many families have established scholarship funds to memorialize the lives of their loved ones.  The family of Kenny Ward plans to set up the Golden Kenneth Ward Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor Kenny, a Malad High School athlete who later learned he had an inherited auto-immune disease that took his life.

A few years ago, Gene and Kay Caldwell wanted to honor the veterans of Oneida County by expanding the “red book,” compiled by Swede Hanson and Bill Byrd, that contained pictures of World War II veterans; they envisioned a new book that would include all veterans of the military from Oneida County. They enlisted the help of computer expert Brent Bowen to colorize the pictures of over 1500 veterans for the book entitled Oneida County Idaho Military Veterans.  With 300 copies of the hard-cover book now distributed, Gene, Kay, and Brent generously decided to establish the “Spirit of America” Scholarship Fund with the donations they received in addition to the payments for the books. This scholarship will go to students planning on military careers or to the children of Oneida County veterans.

The OEF works with donors to establish the criteria for the awarding of teacher grants or student scholarships. Without the generous donations from families, friends, community members, organizations, and businesses, these awards would not be possible. These endowed funds become permanent legacies for family members and friends so that their memories continue while benefitting Oneida County teachers and students.