JANUARY 24, 2020, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
Beacons shine a light on youth sports
to say athletics is better than
music or drama or anything,
but I want kids to be involved
and connected in their high
schools, not for the purpose
of getting scholarships, but for
the purpose of getting to the
000
McKay
00
McNary
$5,
$5,0
$5,000
North Salem
$5,000
South Salem
Salem-Keizer
Beacons
$5,0
00
school and then ultimately be-
ing employed and being good
citizens.”
While the Salem-Keiz-
er Beacons organization
was revitalized in 2017, the
non-profi t began in 1994.
Originally, the organization
was dedicated to ensuring the
future of high school athletics
in the Salem-Keizer area by
replacing the funds that were
being elimi-
nated due to
budget cuts.
The boost-
er club was
run by mul-
tiple athletic
directors and
found
suc-
cess funding
by
hosting
bingo nights
t h ro u g h o u t
the year ac-
cording
to
Sutherland.
H oweve r,
for many different reasons,
the club was inactive for de-
cades, until Dave Johnson and
Mike Maghan — both former
athletic directors and board
members for the Salem-Keiz-
er Beacons — helped resur-
rect the organization in 2017.
Johnson and Maghan
brought Sutherland on board
to be the president for the re-
vitalized club. But the three
men, along with addition-
al board members, were in
agreement that they needed to
change how they were going
use their funding.
The board eventually de-
cided that the best way to run
the non-profi t moving for-
ward was to donate money
they fundraised towards pro-
viding fi nancial scholarships
to Salem-Keizer student ath-
letes.
“We were worried that
pretty soon, kids weren’t go-
ing to participate. Because
$5,
000
what happens is its not just
$175. You also need to have
insurance, an up-to-date phys-
ical and proper equipment.
So it became our goal to try
and offset those costs for kids
and their families that need it,”
Sutherland said.
The Beacons organized
their fi rst event in the fall of
2018 — which was a banquet
that honored people who had
given back to the Salem-Keiz-
er community.
Thanks to sponsorships
and numerous donations, the
Beacons were able to raise just
over $30,000 at the banquet
— which gave them the abil-
ity to donate $5,000 to each
Salem-Keizer high school.
The athletic directors at
each school are entrusted
with the money to give out
scholarships based on the re-
quests they get throughout
the school year, as long as
there accounting of where the
money goes.
“We’re not going to mi-
cro-manage, but we want to
have gender equity and have
the money spread out amongst
different sports. I don’t want
to look and see that nearly all
the money went to football,”
Sutherland said.
According to McNary ath-
letic director Scott Gragg, the
school received 32 scholarship
requests in the last calendar
year, and thanks to the dona-
tion from the Beacons, as well
as help from the McNary Ath-
letic Booster Club, all scholar-
ship requests were paid in full.
“McNary graduates 99
percent of our student-ath-
letes. If graduation is our goal,
athletics is extremely import-
ant and effective in a student’s
education,” Gragg said.
The Beacons will be hold-
Sprague
West Salem
KEIZERTIMES/Andrew Jackson
ing their second annual cere-
mony on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 5
p.m. at the Salem Convention
Medicine.
“Salem Health and WVP
Medical Group share many
of the same patients and most
importantly, a passion for a vi-
brant, healthy community,” said
Dean Andretta, chief fi nancial
offi cer of WVP Health Au-
thority. “This is an excellent
opportunity for two strong en-
tities to improve health care for
generously donated fi nancial
resources to our facilities and
he was a beloved coach in our
football program for years. He
was fi recracker of a guy who
was a friend and mentor to
anyone who had the privilege
of knowing him.”
While Sutherland and the
Beacons are committed to
giving each school $5,000 this
year, he is hoping to grow the
organization exponentially in
the years to come.
“If we can keep at this and
it becomes special, I’d give
them $100,000 if we could
raise that kind of money. If
there is any kid right now not
participating because of a lack
of money, we don’t want that
to happen,” Sutherland said.
Currently, the annual ban-
quet is the only fundraising
event that the Beacons have.
To provide a donation, make
a sponsorship or buy tickets to
this event, visit www.salem-
keizerbeacons.com.
legacyhealth.org/keepmoving
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Salem Health purchases WVP
Salem Health recently pur-
chased WVP Medical Group.
The purchases brings six ad-
ditional primary care clinics to
Salem Health Medical Group’s
care: WVP Boulder Creek,
WVP Flaming Medical Center,
WVP Keizer Clinic, WVP In-
dependence-Monmouth Fam-
ily Medicine, WVP The Doc-
tor’s Clinic and Dallas Family
Center.
Bob and Pam Zielinski will
be two of the honorees of
the evening for their volun-
teer work involving McNary
sports over the years.
“Bob and Pam’s contri-
butions to our school have
been extremely benefi cial
over the years,” McNary
principal Erik Jespersen said.
“Their donations of both time
and fi nancial resources have
helped make McNary’s facil-
ities top-notch over the years.
Their collective advocacy and
support for McNary can’t be
overstated.”
The late Ted Anagnos will
also be honored as a commu-
nity beacon at the event.
“Ted Anagnos was a pillar
of the Keizer community. He
was a successful businessman
who parlayed that wisdom
and leadership into the lives
of thousands of kids over the
last 30-plus years,” Jespersen
said. “Ted and Susan Anagnos
Locations
Legacy Medical Group–
Orthopedics and Sports
Medicine
Keizer Health Center
5685 Inland Shores Way North
Keizer, OR 97303
452 Welch St.
Medical Office Building 1
Silverton, OR 97381
Woodburn Health Center
1475 Mt. Hood Ave.
Woodburn, OR 97071
Our legacy is yours.
our community.”
Salem Health and WVP
Medical Group have many
details to work through in the
coming months. The primary
focus at this time is to ensure
a smooth transition for patients,
providers and staff.
“The partnership between
Salem Health and WVP Med-
ical Group has fl ourished in re-
cent years,” said Cheryl Wolfe,
president and CEO of Salem
Health. “Formally joining
hands refl ects a mutual interest
to deepen that coordination for
the good of the community.”
AD-1404 ©2019
By MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
The stats don’t lie, high
school sports matter.
Students that participate in
high school athletics are more
likely to have a better daily
attendance rate, earn better
grades and have a lower drop-
out rate.
Multiple studies have also
shared how 95 percent of For-
tunate 500 executives were
involved with athletics in high
school.
Unfortunately, the partic-
ipation costs of playing high
school sports can be a tough
price to swing for many fam-
ilies.
Currently, it costs stu-
dent athletes $175 to place a
high school sport in the Sa-
lem-Keizer area— these fees
are capped at $350 per student
and $700 per family.
That is why the Sa-
lem-Keizer High School
Sports Booster Club exists.
The purpose of the Sa-
lem-Keizer High School
Sports Booster Club — oth-
erwise known
as the Sa-
lem-Keizer
Beacons — is
to help offset
the cost of
participation
fees by pro-
viding athletes
with scholar-
ships to play
their favorite
sport.
B r y a n
Sutherland,
the president
of the orga-
nization, has been involved in
athletics for most of his life.
Sutherland was the athletic
director at West Salem High
School from 2008-2015. He
also has been a football and
softball coach for many years
— Sutherland currently is an
assistant coach for South Sa-
lem High’s football and soft-
ball squads.
Sutherland was a baseball
player all throughout child-
hood and ended up playing
collegiately at Eastern Oregon
University. He acknowledged
how important athletics has
been in shaping the person
that he is today and wants
to make sure that kids in the
Salem-Keizer area get those
same experiences, regardless of
their fi nancial situation.
“I want kids to get those
same benefi ts and experienc-
es that I got. And to have the
same opportunities that I had.”
Sutherland said. “That’s not
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