Anchorage International Rotary Club Memorial Scholarship Fund
The AIRC Memorial Scholarship Fund is a 501(c) (3) exclusively for
educational grants to new high school graduates in Anchorage. The members
of the Memorial Scholarship Fund include all of the members of Anchorage
International Rotary Club.
Incorporated in 1994, the Fund is a direct descendant of the Virgil Knight
Scholarship Fund. Knight was a charter member of our Club, a Past
President and Alaska's first District Governor. Back then we were known as
Spenard Rotary. In 1964, the Earthquake took the life of his wife Leeora,
and it also took his leg from the knee down. Virgil credited the heroics of
nurses and doctors for his survival and in gratitude he donated $30,000
(about $120,000 in today's dollars) from an insurance settlement to start a
Spenard Rotary scholarship fund exclusively for the healing arts. This
later became known as the Virgil Knight Scholarship Fund.
When Virgil passed on, his long time faithful friend and fellow Rotarian Al
Opp (President 76-77) stepped in to run the Fund and maintain the focus on the healing arts.
Worth noting, Al was our Club President for the 1976-1977 year. Eventually younger members of the Club felt the need to expand the
scope of the scholarships to include all worthy vocations. Ultimately Al
embraced the change and in 1994 the Virgil Knight Scholarship Fund was
closed and all of its assets were moved to the new 501(c)(3) AIRC Memorial
Scholarship Fund. The new focus on all worthy vocations is a reflection of
the great strength of Rotary and is one of our primary avenues of service.
Al Opp died in 2002 at the age of 94 and left $50,000 for the
Club's Memorial Scholarship Fund. This large contribution added to the
appreciated value of the Virgil Knight Fund and was a major boost toward the
financial goal of a sustainable endowment to support future
scholarships.
Most recently, our friend, Past President and Past District Governor Ted
Trueblood encouraged us to take a step further and engage the services of
the Alaska Community Foundation. With a generous $15,000 gift from Ted, we
opened an account with ACF in December 2017. Through ACF, we now can receive
PFD Pick-Click-Give donations as well as real estate, vehicles and other
property donations. We are just getting started with this new opportunity,
and thanks to Ted our future has many new possibilities.
Equally vital to our success have been the thousand smaller contributions we
have received from Club members and others in the community. Since the mid
1990's, our major fund raising activity has been the Pie Auction at King
Career Center, now King Tech High School. We have raised nearly $250,000
through the Pie Auctions and have granted approximately 200 scholarships for
Anchorage Area High School graduating students. In 2018 we granted ten scholarships to students throughout Anchorage.
Trustees of this fund are elected for a three-year term and each year we elect
about one third of the Board at our Annual General Meeting in October.
The General Meeting is held as a brief interlude within a normal Club meeting. Trustees
are expected to attend Board meetings in October and February, participate
and contribute at the Pie Auction, and help with the selection of
scholarships. The work is fun and rewarding but focused on a few tight
schedules. In addition to enthusiasm, a Board member must bring a commitment
to participate.
The AIRC Memorial Scholarship Fund is a 501(c) (3) exclusively for
educational grants to new high school graduates in Anchorage. The members
of the Memorial Scholarship Fund include all of the members of Anchorage
International Rotary Club.
Incorporated in 1994, the Fund is a direct descendant of the Virgil Knight
Scholarship Fund. Knight was a charter member of our Club, a Past
President and Alaska's first District Governor. Back then we were known as
Spenard Rotary. In 1964, the Earthquake took the life of his wife Leeora,
and it also took his leg from the knee down. Virgil credited the heroics of
nurses and doctors for his survival and in gratitude he donated $30,000
(about $120,000 in today's dollars) from an insurance settlement to start a
Spenard Rotary scholarship fund exclusively for the healing arts. This
later became known as the Virgil Knight Scholarship Fund.
When Virgil passed on, his long time faithful friend and fellow Rotarian Al
Opp (President 76-77) stepped in to run the Fund and maintain the focus on the healing arts.
Worth noting, Al was our Club President for the 1976-1977 year. Eventually younger members of the Club felt the need to expand the
scope of the scholarships to include all worthy vocations. Ultimately Al
embraced the change and in 1994 the Virgil Knight Scholarship Fund was
closed and all of its assets were moved to the new 501(c)(3) AIRC Memorial
Scholarship Fund. The new focus on all worthy vocations is a reflection of
the great strength of Rotary and is one of our primary avenues of service.
Al Opp died in 2002 at the age of 94 and left $50,000 for the
Club's Memorial Scholarship Fund. This large contribution added to the
appreciated value of the Virgil Knight Fund and was a major boost toward the
financial goal of a sustainable endowment to support future
scholarships.
Most recently, our friend, Past President and Past District Governor Ted
Trueblood encouraged us to take a step further and engage the services of
the Alaska Community Foundation. With a generous $15,000 gift from Ted, we
opened an account with ACF in December 2017. Through ACF, we now can receive
PFD Pick-Click-Give donations as well as real estate, vehicles and other
property donations. We are just getting started with this new opportunity,
and thanks to Ted our future has many new possibilities.
Equally vital to our success have been the thousand smaller contributions we
have received from Club members and others in the community. Since the mid
1990's, our major fund raising activity has been the Pie Auction at King
Career Center, now King Tech High School. We have raised nearly $250,000
through the Pie Auctions and have granted approximately 200 scholarships for
Anchorage Area High School graduating students. In 2018 we granted ten scholarships to students throughout Anchorage.
Trustees of this fund are elected for a three-year term and each year we elect
about one third of the Board at our Annual General Meeting in October.
The General Meeting is held as a brief interlude within a normal Club meeting. Trustees
are expected to attend Board meetings in October and February, participate
and contribute at the Pie Auction, and help with the selection of
scholarships. The work is fun and rewarding but focused on a few tight
schedules. In addition to enthusiasm, a Board member must bring a commitment
to participate.