By Eleanor Deckert
A regular business meeting of the North Thompson Communities Foundation was held at the Log Inn Pub in Avola on Thursday, April 17.
“This is a larger turnout of the public than we have for meetings in other towns,” NTCF board chair Cheryl Thomas remarked.
Several Avola residents wanted to learn more about how funds were raised and matched, how to apply for grants and what kinds of projects the foundation has previously supported.
The board voted to approve the 2014 grant applications, and encouraged the community of Avola to address their needs and submit a grant application next year. “Matching funds have been pledged until the end of September or until our total runs out,” Thomas explained. “So the money you have given today will be doubled!”
A special event during the meeting was the presentation of a cash donation to the foundation by Avola’s Monty Lutz, a new NTCF board memeber.
The money was generated from the sale of former Avola resident Fran McRae’s pen-and-ink drawings of well known old-time Avola log buildings.
Proponents encourage individuals and groups to make donations so the foundation will build to be strong enough to make larger grants and support more activities in the North Thomson Valley from Blue River to McLure.
The foundation’s website is at www.ntcommunitiesfoundation.com.