b'Whittemore-Prescott Education FoundationHillman Flag Pole FundThree Alumni Band Together to Help the Next in Line What do a cruise line communications director, a Barrons Top 100 financialadvisor,andaconservationist/successfulrestaurateurhave in common? For one, they are all graduates of Whittemore-Prescott High Schoola small school system on the border of Iosco and Ogemaw counties. All incredibly successful in their respective careers, and now retired, there is a soft spot for the school that started them along a successful path in life. Now they are giving back to help kids at their alma mater have success as well.Dennis (Denny) Fuerst, John Kulhavi and Keith Charters have stayed in touch since their high school days, and each credit their small-townupbringingandeducationasasignificantpartoftheirpathtosuccess. Until they joined forces, there was no education foundation resourcefortheschoolthatstarteditall.Thefirstopportunitytostart one slipped away in 2010, and when it presented itself again in 2016, the three men concurred, if not us, then who?Denny says it was at that point they derived a plan to support their alma mater, but in a different way than many of the surrounding districts had done. They had the strong support of the schools superintendent, Joe Perrera, and the backing of Gary Gillings, an alumnus living in the Whittemore area who could serve as a strong local connection and help pull together an effective board. They set up a meeting with the Community Foundation to get started, and did so in a slightly unconventional way.They were aware that many schools start education foundations to support their students through scholarships, but they did not want to see their funds leave the community and the school.We knew that while it would certainly help a student with college expenses, a scholarship through a local foundation wouldnt be the deciding factor on whether or not a kid went to college, said Denny. We wanted to make sure the funds we raised could support every student at WP, so thats what we set out to do.Keith Charters added that the hope for their Foundation is to give Whittemore-Prescott students the same opportunities as those from wealthier areas, with a goal of enriching and enhancing the experience of all students at the school. They would do this through grants directly to the classrooms, programs and needs of the school.Growing up the way I did, if it werent for busing, I never would have been able to play sports, said John Kulhavi. These are the types of things we aim to support so budget shortfalls dont have to impact what a student can or cannot do.Once the decision was made to establish the Whittemore-Prescott Education Foundation (WPEF), they partnered with the Iosco County Community Foundation in late 2016 to create an endowed Passion with a Purpose 11Passion with a Purpose 7'