Larry Koehler and Connie Koehler Murphy have been named Scholarship Supporters of the Year for 2024.
Lawrence and Pearl Koehler were raised in South Dakota where they were high school sweethearts. Soon after graduation they married and moved to the Sky Valley where they lived the rest of the lives.
They spent much of their lives helping others. Raising two kids, Butch and Connie, but actually their Sporting Goods store was a home away from home for many kids. While the goal of any business is to make a profit, there were many kids who wanted to play sports but couldn’t afford the shoes or other equipment needed. Or they didn’t have transportation to practice or needed to wait at the store after practice for someone to pick them up. Funny thing, but these kids always had shoes, gear, rides and a safe place to be.
Pearl and Larry were both sports fans. Sultan Turks and professional sports. In 1986 the bond was passed to build the high school. It had failed several times before it finally passed but by then it was the bare bones stripped down version that didn’t include an athletic facility. In 1996 several community members decided that the kids had done without for too long so ‘lets get something done’. Larry spent 100’s of hours on the bulldozer clearing and shaping the land that would become the baseball field at the high school. That kind of volunteer effort wouldn’t be allowed these days as the laws have changed but that’s how we started the process of getting the athletic facility you see on site today.
Butch and Connie continue to share the goals of their parents by supporting a scholarship fund to help Sultan students in the next level of their education. It could be college, trade school, or any certified vocational program. We’re all hoping that these students will understand the gift they’ve been given and pay it forward in the spirit of the Koehler family.
Mayor Russell Wiita, a proud Sultan Alum, was recognized for his ongoing support of the Sultan Education Foundation and Sultan Schools.