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Fairborn Education Foundation Holds Its First Fund-Raising Event ; Seven-Member Board Wants to Award Grants, Honor Contributors

Posted on: Friday, 5 August 2005, 00:00 CDT

FAIRBORN -- An education foundation started to boost Fairborn Public Schools held its first event, which it expects will lead to further contributions and interest.

The Gary E. Wright Memorial Golf Tournament, held Monday at Greene Country Club, was the first community event held under the auspices of the newly established Fairborn Education Foundation.

The golf tournament was held to raise money for a college scholarship fund for Fairborn graduates.

It was established in memory of Wright, who died last year in a car accident.

Wright, an attorney, was a 1970 graduate of Fairborn High School.

"The educational foundation is just getting started," said Ed Marrinan, executive director of the Greene County Community Foundation.

The Fairborn Education Foundation is under the umbrella of the Greene County Community Foundation.

Although student scholarships will be part of the foundation's workings, the major focus is to support curriculum-related issues, teachers and the district.

Marrinan said the foundation will do what many other similar organizations do: offer educational grants and other forms of support to Fairborn educators.

There also was a seven-member board recently selected to serve as an advisory group for the education foundation, Marrinan said.

The members are:

- Jack Gayheart, president: The 1958 graduate of Fairborn High School is on the leadership for the Greene County Community Foundation and their Fairborn Athletic Foundation.

- Laurel Mayer, vice president: Mayer is a professor of political science at Sinclair Community College.

- Catherine Barber, secretary: Barber, a Fairborn High School graduate, is an attorney and municipal judge in Fairborn.

- Ron Russell, treasurer. Russell is a certified public accountant in Fairborn.

- Dr. Michael Horton, board member: The 1965 graduate of Fairborn High School is veterinarian and has been active in the community.

- Lynn Wolaver, board member: The former Fairborn mayor served in the U.S. Air Force and served as Air Force Institute of Technology's first dean for research.

- Don Pugh, board member: The Fairborn High School graduate is president of the Fairborn school board.

"The purpose really is advancing educational programs in the Fairborn school district," Gayheart said.

Marrinan said the board of directors will probably meet frequently at first, but then probably four times a year.

Marrinan said the foundation is still forming goals. It is also awaiting further financial contributions. He said a large noncash gift is expected soon to help the foundation.

He would not give further details about the pending contribution.

"One of the challenges we see in the terms of an educational foundation is that people always think in terms of scholarships," Marrinan said.

However, he said, "those dollars really leave the community" as graduating students often choose to go to college outside Greene County.

Marrinan said the foundation, like those in nearby communities such as Kettering, would like to award grants to teacher and educators to improve instruction in Fairborn classrooms.

The foundation would also acknowledge those who have contributed to the district.

"There are other people who don't get the recognition in terms of science or artistic endeavors," he said.

Besides the Wright Memorial Fund, the David DeCarlo Memorial Fund, which awards scholarships to Fairborn students, will also be supervised by the education foundation, Marrinan said.

Marrinan said the education foundation is also considering starting or organizing a program that would encourage more volunteerism at the schools.

Source: Dayton Daily News

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