Recently on a grey Saturday morning, I was cleaning and organizing our Education Foundation files and notebooks. Reviewing old files from earlier years of the Cook County School District 166 Education Foundation, I came across the names of individuals like Mike Carlson, Jeanne Rysdahl, Chuck Futterer, Dick Furlow, Diane Booth, Sid Backlund, Dale Tormondsen, Doug Anderson, Barb Coe, Ben Petz, Hyla Napadensky, and Kaye Tavernier, just to name a few. Reflecting on the names of former board members and restaurants who have worked to make EATS happen each year, there is a strong community tradition of supporting our students’ learning by providing unique opportunities outside of what can be provided by the traditional school budget.
Also in the “archives” which I examined were many pages of local businesses and individuals who have provided items for the annual silent auction, lists of wonderful musicians (including staff, students and other community members) who provided entertainment, and an obvious representation of our county from Grand Portage on the Canadian border to Schroeder down near our border with Lake County for both businesses and ticket holders attending the annual EATS event.
In a day and age where society is fast paced and constantly changing, it is reassuring to see the decades of commitment to our young people and community traditions, such as EATS, providing on-going support and involvement year after year. Thank you not only to those restaurants, businesses, and individuals who contributed and participated this year, but thank you to everyone who has been involved in some fashion creating and sustaining this great tradition for many decades.
Ann Sullivan
Grand Marais
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