Thank you letters for June 23, 2019

Thanks to sponsors and volunteers for helping Safe Grad put on 30th annual party

On May 26, Parents for a Safe Graduation put on the 30th Safe Grad Party for 2019 Juneau graduates.

The first Safe Grad party happened in 1989 as a way of providing a safe and enjoyable night for all. The party celebrates graduates from Homebridge Correspondence High School, Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, Thunder Mountain High School, Yaakoosg’e Daakahidi Alternative High School, and Raven and IDEA Home Schools. Every graduate was invited to attend and bring a guest. After nine months of planning, parents, volunteers, sponsors and the Juneau community came together to make it happen!

Close to 70% of Juneau graduates attended. Each graduate received a gift and had the opportunity to win special prizes and money. One lucky winner received the grand prize of $2,019. There was food and refreshments, entertainment, games and random drawings throughout the night. To qualify for the prizes winners had to be physically present. Donations from more than 150 businesses, organizations and individuals were used to make this event a success and helped keep the seniors free from harm on one of the most important nights of their lives.

A special thank you goes out to all the generous sponsors, a full list can be found on our website: http://juneausafegrad.weebly.com/thank-you-sponsors.html.

This party really couldn’t happen without the tireless planning of the volunteers. Thank you to everyone who played a role — big and small — you all made this year’s party a success! Most of you had seniors who were graduating and had many other priorities, so we really appreciate the time and energy you put into the 2019 Safe Grad party.

To all sponsors and volunteers, we thank you and we appreciate you all.

Find out more about Parents for a Safe Graduation at http://juneausafegrad.weebly.com/ or follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/JuneauSafeGrad. You can make a donation at any time via PayPal, https://www.paypal.me/safegradjuneau, and it will go towards next year’s party.

Julie Bates,

Parents for a Safe Graduation

Thanks for supporting “Show and Shine” event

The Juneau Dipsticks would like to sincerely thank all those who supported the “Show and Shine” held at Mendenhall Auto on Saturday, June 8. Those supporters include Mendenhall Auto who graciously provided both the venue and the hot dogs, buns and condiments, and Northern Sales and Odom Corporation for the soda, and the JDHS Dance Team and Juneau Huskies Football Team for doing the cooking. Sponsors for the event included NAPA Auto Parts, State Farm-Reuben Willis, Mendenhall Auto, Glacier Muffler, Valley Paint Center, Nizich Family Dental, True North Federal Credit Union, Action Appliance Repair, The Grind Coffee Co., Alaska Marine Lines, Capital Service, First Bank, Alaska Health Options-Dr. Patricia G. Conners-Allen, Waddell & Reed-Cynthia Gibson, and Western Auto Marine. A special thanks to all the car owners who were willing to share their unique and classic cars and bikes with all of us. All funds raised from the event support the Dale Staley Memorial Scholarship fund to support students interested in pursuing careers in automotive and welding trades.

Julie Staley

Thanks for supporting TMHS robotics

The Thunder Mountain High School Robotics teams would like to thank all of their sponsors for the 2018-2019 season. Three of our five teams qualified for the state competition in Anchorage. Team Trial and Error, with partner TMHS Team Chain Reaction, won the robotics competition at state. This is the first time a Southeast team has taken the top prize. Additionally, Genetic Advantage (made up of almost all rookies) won the judges award. Trial and Error continued on to the World Competition in Houston, and we were amazed with the financial support given to us by the community.

Thank you to: Hecla Mining (our longest regular supporter, who sent an additional check for our World’s trip!), Couer Alaska, Bruce Weyhrauch, Solarad LLC (The Stricklers), Sealaska, Drs Miller and Schmidt, SEARHC, Dr. Tingey, Jo and Steven Dahl, Integrity Real Estate Inspection, Island Woodworking, Juneau Bone & Joint, Donna’s Restaurant, AEL&P, Bartlett Regional Hospital, J&J Deli, Glacier Electric, Dr. Gilbert, State Farm (Malia Hayward), Shattuck & Grummett, Amy and Tim Perov, The Gionatti’s, Ramper Innovations, Nugget Alaskan Outfitters, John and Sharon Seigart, TLC Painting, Dr. Mindy Shaw, Kirt and Tari Stage-Harvey, Home Depot, Allen Marine, Affordable Auto and Lisa Mattson. We sincerely appreciate the support from local businesses and residents. The robotics team members have the opportunity to explore engineering, learn coding and develop sustainable business plans; all skills that will have a beneficial impact on their future careers.

Carol May and Amber Cunningham

Robotics Coaches, TMHS

BP helps Food Bank feed Alaskans

We would like to thank BP for recently donating $3,600.00 to the Southeast Alaska Food Bank to help us purchase food when our shelves run low.

On behalf of the Southeast Alaska Food Bank board of directors and our volunteers, we would like to thank BP for your generosity and for your continued support of the Southeast Alaska Food Bank and the work that we do.

This generous donation will allow us to continue to help those families and individuals who otherwise might not be able to access much needed food.

Last year, the Southeast Alaska Food Bank provided over 400,000 pounds of food to local food pantries, nonprofit organizations and members of the community, and we are on pace to distribute more than 500,000 pounds of food by the time this fiscal year ends at the end of June.

The goal of the Southeast Alaska Food Bank is to continue to make a difference in the quality of life for those who need help in providing food their families in times of need. This very generous donation from BP will help us continue to provide healthy and nutritious food for those in our community who need our assistance, and is greatly appreciated.

Darren Adams

Manager, Southeast Alaska Food Bank