This fund is supported by a charity softball game between the Fire Department and the Police Department. The scholarship goes to a student who is interested in a career as a First Responder.

The story I want to tell you begins in 1992 when an elderly man named Ralph Naas passed away in Oak Harbor.

He & his wife, Dorothy Naas, had roots in the Sky Valley but hadn’t lived here for a long, long time. Both Ralph & Dorothy were raised in strong, hard working families. It was during their childhood years they learned the importance of a strong community and the value of education. You probably recognize the Bayspoole name. Dorothy’s mother, Muriel was key in establishing Sultan’s library which is named in her honor. Ralph’s mother, Sophia, instilled a strong work ethic and a love of education in her son.

At Ralph’s death Dorothy contacted the Sultan School District to establish a scholarship fund in his name only to find we didn’t have a vehicle for handling cash gifts. The District contacted several community members who worked to establish what has become the Sultan Education Foundation. The Foundation exists because of the Naas family’s $10,000. Gift. The Foundation has grown a lot since 1993.

Dorothy passed away in the spring of 2005. She continued to believe in the importance of education and Sky Valley families. By including the Foundation in her will she insured that every spring Sultan Graduates will be introduced to four Sky Valley residents who sincerely cared about this generation’s future and success, they are Ralph and Dorothy Naas, Muriel Bayspoole, and Sophia Naas.

Many generations of Sultan students will benefit from the Naas family’s gift and we are truly grateful.

The Bridges Scholarship was originally set up by Colleen Moore and Nick Hakiel for the express purpose of providing a scholarship for a student who have worked through an IEP or 504 Plan in High School demonstrating their perseverance and determination.

This scholarship fund was originally set up by Joyce Wolter and Milt Nieffer. Joyce passed away in the fall of 2021. Their families asked the Foundation Board to take on the responsibility of making sure this program continued. The Reunion is held the 3rd Weekend in August. Proceeds from alumni donations go to support a current SHS graduate.

This scholarship fund was set up to encourage local youth to believe in themselves and to continue developing the gifts that God has given them.

What's the most daring activity you've ever done? Is there something you'd love to try that you'd consider as being daring or exciting to you?

Gage Galle had a contagious smile and an energy for life. He was a kind and caring person to his family and friends and anyone who met him usually had a story to tell. He was adventurous, always looking for the next limit to push. He was humble, never looking for accolades and always looking for that next adventure.

Gage graduated from Sultan High School. He was a good student and an athlete in varsity football and varsity soccer all four years. At that time skiing was his passion and back country skiing is what he liked the most. He was a good role model and admired by his teachers, coaches, administrators and fellow students.

Western Washington University is where he began attending college and then transferred to the University of Hawaii where he graduated with a degree in meteorology. He competed in triathlons and marathons on the island and while attending school in Hawaii he learned how to skydive and that began a career that soon became his passion.

Gage began competing in swooping or canopy flying and became a member of the PD Factory skydive team. He earned a spot on the USA canopy flying team for the last three years of his life, competing all over the world in Canada, UAE, Denmark, Poland and France.

If your dream for a career is out of the ordinary or follows your passion for daring activities the Gage Galle Memorial scholarship is one you should apply for.

Harold Zwaschka passed away in 2003. The man behind the Zwaschka Scholarship.

The Zwaschka Scholarship honors a man who worked in Sultan and Startup for almost all of his long career as a teacher, principal and school superintendent.

Born in Bellingham in 1913, Had Zwaschka was christened Harold but became “Had” as soon as he started school. He began teaching in 1936, immediately after graduating from Bellingham Normal—now Western Washington University. In 1938, Mr. Zwaschka moved to Startup with his wife, Lucille. For the next 18 years he taught seventh and eighth grades and was the principal there. It was a time and place in which principals taught, directed plays, coached (his 1949 basketball team won its league championship in three overtimes), re-roofed three-story school buildings, and worked in the woods during summer vacations.

In 1956 he became the principal at Sultan Grade School. In 1966 he was selected as Superintendent of the Sultan School District, a position he retained until retirement in 1973.

After retiring he used his administrative skills to obtain grant money that built a town library and two parks for Sultan. He also served as a city councilman for nine years.

With all of that he still found time to fish, play baseball, and become a steadier golfer than most left-handers. He also enjoyed fruit and vegetable gardening on a half-acre scale.

Of all the tasks he performed during his long career in education, teaching was his solid favorite. In the pre-Zerox era he often wrote entire tests on the blackboard in a beautiful cursive script. Afternoon classes always began with Mr. Z reading from Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn or some other classic as a way of enticing his students into the rewarding world of literature.

He followed the careers of his former students, taking great pride in their accomplishments and their lives as good citizens.

His older daughter, Harolyn, lives in the Napa Valley in California. His younger daughter, Karen, lives in Redmond, WA.

Jack graduated from Sultan High School just in time to head into World War II. Upon his return he went into the business community in California. Eventually he started a chain of banks among his many entrepreneurial endeavors. He always credited the Community of Sultan for giving him such a great start and always stayed in touch. He set his criteria himself: Self motivation, good moral character, good teamwork skills, leadership traits, min GPA 3.00. Jack’s no longer with us but his legacy lives on.

Josh passed away in 2020. His mother, Michelle Vincent, and many friends have committed to continuing this scholarship in his memory.

Josh was a student for 12 years with Sultan School district graduating in 2002. Playing and watching / attending all sports were one of his passions. He participated in basketball, baseball and football. Lettering in all three. Football was his passion and he excelled as quarterback for the Sultan Turks. Lettering all four years.

He attended Rocky Mountain College in Montana for two years suiting up for football and upon return volunteered assisting coach for a local Snohomish county school.

In later years he established his own construction business.

Joshua was a very caring and giving person. He encouraged all to strive to their fullest potential in whatever they pursued.

Lawrence & Pearl Koehler were born near Plankinton, South Dakota. They were high school sweethearts. Soon after graduating and getting married they moved out west and lived rest of their lives in the Skykomish Valley (most of those years on Main St. in Sultan).

Lawrence & Pearl raised two children both of whom attended schools in Sultan. They were known by most through their business. They operated Sultan Sporting Goods in Sultan for 47 years. While being a valuable asset to fisherman “Koehler’s” was an impromptu day care as many area youth spent much of their time hanging out at the store watching TV, playing pool or enjoying a cold soda on a summer day. While the goal of any business was to make a profit, there are many stories of kids who couldn’t afford new shoes to play sports being helped out by Lawrence & Pearl to make sure they could play that sport. There were also many kids through the years who didn’t have transportation to and from practice who were given rides or allowed to hang out at the store until someone could pick them up.

In addition to the store and raising a family, Pearl was involved in many other things. Pearl was a huge Mariners fan and loved spending time with her grandchildren. In addition to raising her kids, working at the store, doing all the paperwork for the store, she also retired from Seafirst Bank in Monroe (currently Bank of America) after 29 years of service. She passed away at her home on Dec. 27, 2009 after a 15 year battle with Alzheimer’s just a month short of her 90thbirthday.

Lawrence was also very busy and involved in the community. Lawrence was a semi-professional baseball player into his late 20’s and also spent much of his early years logging in and around the valley. This came to an abrupt end when a tree fell on him and causing him to be in a coma for nearly one month. This caused him to look for other avenues of work. In addition to the store, he opened a construction company with his brother Jim. They did a lot of excavating work with big machinery. He was also very active in Sultan politics. He served on the school board in addition to many terms on the town council and 12 years as Mayor. He did a lot of volunteer work around town and spent many hours volunteering on the high school baseball field. He was often seen in his later years watching basketball and football games at SHS. He was an avid sprint car racing fan. He sponsored several cars at the Skagit Speedway and spent many Saturday nights with his son Larry and grandson Matt up at Skagit. Lawrence passed away at the age of 84 on April 9th, 2006. He suffered from diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Lawrence and Pearl spent much of their lives helping others. There were many good things that happened in this community due to their generosity with their money, compassion and time. This scholarship you been awarded is a way for them to give back to the youth of our community even after their passing.

The Monroe Kiwanis fund was established in 2021 to support a student who has performed community service with a goal of helping other students and if possible, a first in the family to attend higher education. Their Motto is: “For the Children”

Sponsored by his friends at Snohomish County District 5 Fire Department.

Rich Rode was a firefighter with Sultan Fire District 5 from 1975 through 2006. He also served as Fire Commissioner (1987-1992) where he advocated for the change from a City Department to a Fire District. At the time this was a very controversial idea ultimately proving to be the single most prescient change to the organization since 1911.

Rich was an excellent firefighter, very skilled, very physical and a natural leader. Rich had a rare ability to admire and respect tradition and also embrace progress. He was a mentor to many and an example to all.

No description of Rich is complete without acknowledging that he was a devout Christian who practiced his beliefs in ways that were a tribute to his faith and a blessing to those he touched.

Rich was a man loved, admired and respected in the extended fire service family and in the community at large.

The Rotary Club of Monroe is proud to support many local organizations as well as provide hands-on service for our neighbors and friends in need. Rotary’s international motto is ‘Service Above Self’ and we’re proud to live this out in our neighboring communities.

The Club supports a scholarship every year. They prefer someone going into recreation, forestry, animal science or a related area of study.

Margaret Biggs established this fund in 2021 to honor the legacy of her Sky Valley family members.