All SHS donations are sent to The Springfield Foundation, where staff will screen applicants and award the scholarship based on Hutslar’s criteria.
The Foundation received about 300 scholarship applications, and the staff will sift through them next week to select winners of nearly 80 different scholarships available through the Foundation, said Ted Vander Roest, executive director of the Foundation. The winner of the scholarship will be announced in mid-May, he said.
The criteria for this scholarship, Vander Roest said, is any Springfield High graduate who demonstrated outstanding service, academic achievement and financial need to further their studies in an accredited two- or four-year university.
When North High School and South High School combined in 2008, Hutslar, who calls himself the primary mover — or only mover — on this effort, established a scholarship fund and set a goal to raise $1 million in five years.
“Well, that didn’t happen,” he said.
Since 2008, Hutslar said he has raised a little over $11,000, enough to award the first scholarship this spring. Foundation administered scholarships can be awarded from five percent of the total investment, Hutslar said.
Hutslar has been fund-raising from 425 miles away in Virginia, where he owns his own business selling log homes. But Hutslar said even though he left Springfield when he was 18, it’s his home and where he comes back to.
“It seemed important to me to help the students in Springfield,” Hutslar said, “and that was through a scholarship program.”
Hutslar said he’s talked to former classmates, reunion groups, high school parents, alumni groups and the high school about donating or fund-raising but hasn’t gotten much interest.
“It hasn’t worked yet,” he said. “I’m not going to say it won’t work, it just hasn’t worked yet.”
The most effective method of fund-raising so far has been mailing out letters, Hutslar said. He mails out about 100 letters every year asking for donations, and he said he averages about $2,000 a year.
“I haven’t failed,” Hutslar said. “I’m like Thomas Edison — I’ve found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Hutslar’s biggest goal now, other than fund-raising, is to find a prime mover replacement before he’s too old to do it himself, he said. He also wants to find a business or social club that would be able to do a fund-raiser once or twice a year to benefit the scholarship fund.
“Worse comes to worse,” he added, “I’ll just move back to Springfield and I’ll walk around on the street wearing a sign saying, ‘Give.’ ”
Vander Roest said Hutslar has been very persistent in his fund-raising efforts.
“The main thing is to keep at it like he’s done and keep getting in front of people to get the message out,” he said. “He’s done it the right way.”
For more information, visit www.SHSscholarships.com.
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