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DARLENE VINSON
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| Eating dinner before returning to their volunteer duties at the Parkrose Educational Foundation Auction and Dinner are Parkrose School District food service workers. On the left, from front to rear are Food Service Director Joan Opp, Shaver Elementary Food Service Helper Rodena (Rhodie) Smith, Parkrose Middle School Food Service Helper Shelly Garvin, Russell Academy Lead Cook Rena Mauldin and Shaver Elementary Lead Cook Char Frymark. On the right, from front to rear are Food Service Director’s Assistant Gail Volk, Parkrose High School Food Service Helper Connie Rader, and with turned head is High School Lead Cook Jena Atwood; all donated their time and energy to the annual Foundation Auction and Dinner event. |
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| Earl DeKay holds his “Lifetime Achievement” plaque honoring decades of his patronage to Parkrose schools and for his involvement with the Parkrose Educational Foundation at the Foundation’s annual auction and dinner held last month at Parkrose High School and Community Center. |
| MEMO PHOTOS: TIM CURRAN |
In the spirit of the evening, Earle DeKay received special recognition as the first president of the Foundation. A 1945 Parkrose graduate whose father taught in the district, DeKay has two sons and a grandson who are Parkrose graduates and two grandchildren currently at the high school. His wife of 49 years was a teacher at Parkrose High School early in her career and before beginning their family. When approached to head the new educational foundation in 1995, DeKay saw the need and agreed to help.
The new Foundation’s first money-raising project was ‘Name Bricks’ for the courtyard at the then new high school. For a small donation, students, staff, alumni, neighbors and other supporters could have their name etched in a brick for posterity. DeKay remembers that money going for field trips and to purchase a digital camera requested by a second grade teacher at Russell Elementary. That camera has since been made available to all teachers in the district.
Since that time the Parkrose Educational Foundation has assisted in acquiring playground equipment at Sacramento Elementary; purchased team athletic equipment and uniforms, supported high school choir trips, student leadership activities and the original and longest running senior all-night party in the state.
Current board Foun-dation Board President John Di Pasquale says the group built on successes of the first auction dinner held last year and described this year’s process as being more organized. He is grateful to Pat N Pat Auctioneers who he said provide great contacts and was helpful to the committee long before auction night rolled around.
Even more impressive is the commitment the Parkrose Educational Foundation received from the caterer; with their support a Prime Rib buffet was offered for only $10 per person attending. Chartwells, the contractor providing food service for the district donated the service of two school cooks to assist at the event. Of the district’s 23 food service workers, nine volunteered their time at the event to make the dinner a success.
Because the Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization, all donations are tax deductible. And because it is governed by an all volunteer board of individuals who live, work or attended schools in the district nearly all money that comes under its control goes back out to students. The 2005 auction raised $10,000. Because the Foundation cannot fund all requests, it has developed an application process. For more information contact the Foundation at 403-408-2108 or www.parkroseedfdn.org.
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