Wednesday, May 27, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
HENSLEY: Scholarship
program boosts
Sisters graduates
Continued from page 1
so high now,= she said.
By all measures, her
wishes are coming true.
The work that Hensley
has poured into establishing,
maintaining, and expanding
GRO since 2006 has ben-
efited hundreds of Sisters
High School graduates to
achieve their post-high
school dreams.
The class of 2020 will
receive $212,000 dispersed
among 57 different gradu-
ates. That total is about six
times the amount available
than when Hensley arrived
on the scene.
Hensley9s path to making
GRO happen began when
she moved to Sisters from
Salem with her husband,
Tim, in 2005, which was in
the middle of a population
boom in the school district.
Her son, Steven, a junior at
the time, enrolled at Sisters
High School, and Hensley
wanted to find a way to be
involved, so she signed on
with the ASPIRE mentor-
ship program as it was just
getting underway. One thing
led to another, and she began
to help another parent volun-
teer, Laurie Adams, work on
the local scholarships already
being offered in Sisters. At
that time, there was no orga-
nizing body.
<Within a short time of
arriving in Sisters I rec-
ognized the community9s
uniqueness in how it sup-
ported the schools and
thought a more robust
PHOTO BY SEEMA HAMID-AMICO
Karen Hensley.
scholarship program was
totally attainable,= Hensley
said. <With the growth in
population I realized we
needed to beef things up.=
Hensley, Adams and
school leaders approached
the Sisters Schools
Foundation to find out
whether a scholarship pro-
gram could become a part of
the SSF non-profit, but that
idea could not be worked
out, so the group decided to
create GRO, which formally
came into existence as a
non-profit on November 10,
2008.
Hensley became presi-
dent, Adams vice-president,
and Karen Lord treasurer
in the fledgling organiza-
tion. Shortly after, the group
changed the lead title to
chairperson, rather than pres-
ident, according to Hensley.
<The title 8president9 just
didn9t9 seem to fit,= she said.
Hensley stepped down
as chair in November 2019,
but remains on the board in
emeritus status and contin-
ues to contribute in many
CONGRATULATIONS
MICHAELA
MILLER
Time to put on your
“big girl ” hat!
2020 Graduate,
California Baptist
University
Bachelor of Science,
Health Science,
Summa Cum Laude
We are so proud of your
accomplishments!
Parents: Drs. Kevin & Eden Miller
Sister: Lexie Miller
Grandparents: Col. John & Kathy Miller, Dorothy Judd
Fiancé: Nate Tucker
Academic Honors:
• Sisters High School Valedictorian 2016
• Sisters High School Athlete of the Year 2016
• CBU Dean’s List 2016-2020
• CBU President’s List 2016-2020
• CBU Division 1 Soccer Coaches Award 2019-2020
• CBU Presidential Scholarship 2016-2020
• Pac West Academic Honors 2016-2018
• WAC Academic All-conference 2018-2019,
2019-2020
• NCAA Division 1 CoSIDA All Academic Honors;
Google Cloud District 8 Second Team 2018
practical ways.
A number of current
board members have been
part of GRO for many years
and credit Hensley with lead-
ing the organization to where
it is today.
Karen Lord, who knew
Hensley from when both
women lived in Salem,
recalled having lunch with
Hensley after both had
moved to Sisters.
<Karen (Hensley) knew
my background as a CPA and
asked if I was interested in
helping form a non-profit,=
she said. <One thing about
her is that it is very diffi-
cult to say 8no9 to her. Karen
Hensley is generous, reliable,
gracious and fiercely deter-
mined to make a difference
in the future for Sisters stu-
dents. She is forever modest
about her own contributions
while making others feel val-
ued and recognized.=
Another long-time board
member, Ann Thompson,
said, <My recollection is of
the hours and hours 3 actu-
ally days 4 we put in, in the
early years, judging schol-
arships, using all kinds of
rubrics to make selections.
<We did nearly every-
thing, down to cutting out
and pasting some of the felt
college banners to decorate
the Commons for the Senior
Celebration. Karen always
had a smile and a good word,
even under some of those
dire conditions,= she said.
Lori Larson, another
board member said, <Karen
is the unsung hero with a
heart of gold, instrumental
in providing Sisters High
School seniors with schol-
arship dollars for higher
education. Parents in our
community should count
their blessings for Karen9s
passion and vision in support
of Sisters kids!=
The GRO board voted
earlier this year to rename
a s c h o l a r s h i p o ff e r e d
by the organization the
<Karen Hensley Service
Scholarship,= according
to current board chair Tim
Ross. <She certainly deserves
to be honored,= he said.
As to the future of GRO,
Hensley continues to be
amazed at the generosity
and support the community
shows to Sisters9 youth. She
visualizes a time when more
and more graduates come
back and want to contribute
to the next generation, and
also that families will form
trusts which will allow GRO
to develop an endowment
fund.
<Also, considering we are
called the Graduate Resource
Organization, maybe some-
day we will have funds to
help adults seeking higher
degrees, well after they grad-
uated from high school,= she
said.
Hensley is grateful for
all the relationships she has
formed over the years with
students, school personnel,
donors, and her fellow board
members.
<The board is so talented
and dedicated,= she said.
<I can9t say enough about
them.=
Looking back, Hensley
has only appreciation for
what she has gotten from her
investment into the Sisters
community.
<My philosophy is 8when
you give, you receive9, and
I have received a lot,= she
said.
11
Sisters GRO
adds 11 new
scholarships
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
Sisters GRO (Graduate
Resource Organization), the
local non-profit that man-
ages dozens of scholarships
for graduates of Sisters High
School, has announced the
addition of numerous new
awards for the class of 2020
and beyond.
Behind the efforts of
Susan Parker and other mem-
bers of the GRO board of
directors, an additional 11
awards will be available for
this year9s senior class.
Board members worked
together to identify business
groups, organizations, and
individuals, who looked like
natural and viable supporters
of new awards.
Individuals and families
stepped forward to fund the
following awards: Lieutenant
Chris Salisbury USMC
Memorial Scholarship;
Rietmann Family Legacy
Scholarship; and the
Linda Douthit Memorial
Scholarship.
A number of businesses
and groups of profes-
sional practitioners also got
involved including Sisters
Athletic Club; Sisters Coffee
Company; Sisters Veterinary
Clinic; Hayden Homes (Art);
Sisters Country Realtors;
and Sisters Festival of Books
See SISTERS GRO on page 15
CONGRATULATIONS
Brogan Petterson
Recipient of the
Outlaw Health
Professionals
Scholarship!
Your Care (Deb &
Dr. Eric Wattenburg)
is proud to partner
with Drs. Eden &
Kevin Miller for
this scholarship.
p
Best Wishes at Utah Valley University!
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