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A LETTER FROM COACH
MAAS, July 6, 2006
- This is an open Thank You letter to all of you people
who have supported the scholarship and helped us reach our goal of
$100,000 in ten years. A special thank you to our founders, President
Pete Veldman, Vice President Dr. Manny Steil, and Director Frank
Gallagher.
- Pete and Manny, with the help of their "wives", Arlene
and Deanna, have carried the bulk of the load in conducting the affairs
of the fund. Pete, with taking care of over 600 individual donations
and Manny with his letter writing and all of our correspondence. All of
our program has been conducted by volunteers. No on has been paid.
- To date, we have given 26 scholarships with a value of
$30,000 to deserving ALHS students. Keep in mind that we only spend the
interest of our money and not the principal so we can perpetuate the
fund for years to come.
- My wife Lillian and I are still living in the condo on
the north end of Broadway (the old Johnson Laundry Building). I am 88
years old and my wife is 86. We will both be a year older in September.
We just celebrated our 66th anniversary on June 7th. My wife is not
well so I am the care giver so we can avoid the rest home and or the
nursing home.
- This is the status of our fund. We still take donations
including memorial money for loved ones or friends who have passed
away. At the present time we have three people who have the scholarship
as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy in a will and in a trust.
If you are interested, this is a good way for you to leave a legacy for
ALHS students for generations to come.
- I would like to share with you a special moment that I
experienced a short time ago. Chuck Smith, one of our former wrestlers
and a supporter called me and asked if I would like to join him in
attending an open house for one of the wrestlers we gave a scholarship
to. I was happy to join him.
- When we got there, we met the student and congratulated
him and he then introduced me to his father. Chuck and I the went into
the garage where the party was. All of his trophies were on on wall. I
was happy to see that our plaque was proudly displayed. This should
make us all feel good.
- When Chuck and I were leaving, a woman ran up to us and
said "Mr. Maas, I heard that you were here", and with a tear in her
eye, she said "From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for
giving my son a scholarship". She then gave me a hug. That made the day
for me. Each one of you should have shared this experience. I was your
representative. You are the ones who make the scholarship possible.
- The boy is a state champion and we gave him a $2,500
scholarship. WE gave 6 scholarships this year and received thank you
notes from 4 of them including the one above. One shocking realization
came to me when I got home and my wife asked me if I saw a lot of
people I know. I said I did not know any of them. Now this is rare. I
then realized that I have my generation, Chuck is the second
generation, the parents were the 3rd, and the boy was the 5th. This
means that the boy is 4 generations behind me.
- It is comforting to know that this scholarship is
already reaching 4 generations and will continue for years to come. I
wish each and everyone of you God's richest blessing
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- Coach Maas
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- FOOT-NOTE: One person who is vital to the success of our
program is LarryJohnson, class of 61, who is our web
master. The web-site makes it possible for all of you
donors across the country to keep informed on the scholarships we give
to deserving ALHS students from year to year.
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- We want to thank Larry for the excellent job that he
does for us.. Our web-site is:
www.lmaasscholarship.org
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