Photo: Kelly Edwards and Ill. Stan Schmidt, 33°,with the Oregon S. R. Education Foundation with the check from the Eugene Consistory.
The Northern Oregon Reunion was bustling with energy this spring. Brothers from all around the state came through to catch up with each other and support their new Scottish Rite brethren. The event was hosted at the beautiful Valley of Portland building where members were provided with a strong demonstration of the degrees.
One surprising note that spurred a wave of excitement was a very generous donation from Valley of Eugene to the Education Foundation and the KidTalk speech therapy clinic of $50,000 each. (KidTalk is the name of Oregon Scottish Rite’s language clinics.) Bros. Dale Vanderpool, 32°, Fred Hasse, 32°, and Ill. Howard Woods, 33°, traveled from Eugene to give a portion of the funds raised from the sale of their building to support two of the Orient’s causes. Bro. Vanderpool said that giving it to the foundations in a lump sum would allow them to invest it in the way their leaders thought best. Both Karen Aguilera, Director of the KidTalk Clinics, and Ill. Stan Schmidt, 33°, Director of the Education Foundation, were taken by surprise at the display of generosity exhibited.
Karen Aguilera, head of KidTalk for Oregon, has been instrumental in driving forward positive action within the organization. Now with more cash flow she can cover the much-needed operation costs associated with giving children the gift of speech. Stan Schmidt’s work with the Education Foundation also represents a critical resource to the community by aiding students in covering the soaring costs of education, while informing the educated public at large about the Scottish Rite’s mentoring and moral training. This donation represents another example of the spirit of coming together the Orient of Oregon has been experiencing. With successful charity dinners and new initiatives, the future looks very bright for the whole community.
—Submitted by Richard Nowacki, 32°
