"I was attending our Lions Club meeting in December of 1988 when a member of the Mora DFS team came to request funds for their chapter. We told them we would discuss it after they left. One of our Lions said, 'why should we give our money to Mora, can't we give it to our chapter?' I told them we didn't have a chapter. Somebody then said, 'I nominate Rick to start one' and the vote was unanimous, so that's how I became the first president of DFS in Ogilvie. I went around asking the best people I knew to help with the initial organization and found almost everyone (mostly parents of potential recipients) eager to help. Early on we made most of our money for scholarships through fund raisers such as coed volleyball and softball tournaments, which the community greatly supported. Then we got several big donations from two Ogilvie alumni, made some good investments, and with the stock market being quite good then, we grew very well financially as they are today."
- Rick Gerber
"In 1988 Rick Gerber invited me to a presentation he was going to give on the organization Dollars for Scholars. Its purpose was to find ways to make scholarships for our students going on to tech. school or college. I was very interested as we had a daughter graduating in 1990 who planned on going to college. The group decided to form an Ogilvie Chapter of the Dollars for Scholars. We were challenged to find ways to raise money. Rick agreed to sit on the dunk tank at our Back to Ogilvie celebration. Then we decided to host a supper, every fall on the same night as the homecoming football game. Elaine and Bud Caswell were noted for their grilling abilities at other functions and agreed to grill pork chops for us. Elaine had a 'special spice' that made them taste really good. As time went on, people who had a connection to Ogilvie -in the present and the past- set up scholarship funds through the Dollars for Scholars. As time has gone on, these donations have increased considerably, for which we are very fortunate."
- Arylis Munsterteiger
"Gene Stritesky & Rick Gerber approached me about being a part of the Ogilvie Dollars for Scholars. I was the Treasure for a number of years. We had only the promise of some funds from the program it was to get us started. On that promise we awarded scholarships that year. A leap of faith! We've been fortunate in gifts from alumni too. One in mind was Carl Ahlgren, who invited our board to visit the Swedish Institute and his home (to get to know how the program would work). We have had the pork chop supper before Homecoming games as a fundraiser - which had been supported by locals. It is great benefit for our school - I am proud to have been a part of it initially."
-Arlene Michael
Our first meetings were upstairs on the Lion Dens, with Rick Gerber, Gene Stritesky, Arylis, Darcee, Beth, I think Arlene Michaels and Maurice Besser and myself. Don't recall any others. Rick filled us in on what we might be able to accomplish and the grant money. We all thought it was something we wanted to tackle. The girls were to get students excited and help with fundraiser. The Girls had a dunk tank at Corn on the curb and a table with info, the adults started thinking of ways to raise more money we did Volleyball and Softball tourneys selling hot dogs and goodies and then added basketball and finally the pork chop feed. We added new members as we went along and tried to get student involvement as well. Our first year we actually awarded scholarships on good faith of receiving our Grants. We did a lot of things on Faith and guts as we all felt strongly in the program. Meeting with Carl Ahlgren and his wife having a private tour of the Swedish Institute and then receiving a very generous donation for a Scholarship in his Parents name. Two years later we received another donation in his and his wife's name. I think working the pork chop dinners with Percy and Bud and getting the "secret recipe" was probably some of the best times. Second best would be awarding the Scholarships.
-Rose Ryan
