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What is the EEF?
When I moved back to Ely in 2021, I received an email from Darlene Nemanich asking if I would be interested in serving on the board of the Ely Educational Foundation. Since I hadn’t lived in Ely for 42 years, I had no idea what this organization was and what they did.
The first question I asked was what is the mission of this organization? Darlene responded with a short response that gave me all the information I needed to agree to become a board member.
The mission of the EEF (Ely Educational Foundation) is to provide a permanent source of financial support to Ely Public School District 696, to its students and graduates. Funds are used to advance education in the form of scholarships and special projects.
In 1987, when Ely made it to the state football tournament held at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, special turf shoes were needed to be purchased for the team. Word got out and donations poured in from the community to purchase the needed footwear.
After seeing the outpouring of support from the community, Mr. Eldon Foster, longtime Ely teacher, was inspired and suggested a foundation be organized that would run similarly to one that was operating in his hometown. The concept was well received, and the board was formed with the following original members: Helen Koski Roger Laine John Mills Albert Musich Edward Petek Terry Merfield (served as an ex-officio member) Articles of Incorporation were written in 1988 and status as a 401c-3 was applied for and granted. The first scholarships were given out by the EEF in 1999.
The distribution and payments the EEF grant to requests are over and above the scholarships we manage, of which there are 14. The scholarships managed by the EEF are bequests made by families or graduates within the school district. The following is a list of the current scholarships:
• Derek & Dana Banovetz Alumni Scholarship
• Daniel J. Erzar Memorial Scholarship
• Ely Fire Department Relief Association Scholarship
• A Scholarship in Memory of Dale and Florence Forsman
• Leona Janezich “Good Soul” Scholarship
• Wilho K. and Florence Novak Maenpaa Scholarship
• Rudy and Dorothy Marolt Memorial Scholarship
• Morse Fall Lake Fire Relief Association Scholarship
• James A. and Albert F. Musich Family Scholarship
• Anna Rojakovich Scholarship
• Anne Rozman Scholarship
• John Skantz Memorial Scholarship
• Somrock Family Scholarship
• Ely Educational Foundation Annual Scholarship The very first project the foundation orchestrated was the return of flower gardens in the front of the Memorial High School building. The funds for this project were donated by Ann Rozman and the John Skantz Family. Mr. Skantz was the groundskeeper for the school district and his family wished to honor his memory with the gardens and a scholarship in his name.
In the three years I have been a board member, I have seen thousands and thousands of dollars given from this organization to fund requests from within the school. Wish list items have been fulfilled both from gifts from individuals or estates for classrooms and teachers.
Two years ago, after the new building was erected and opened, the EEF pledged $100,000 to fulfill many needed items for the building addition. Thanks to the Ely Echo, we posted a wish list of equipment, furniture, and items to help complete the dire needs of the school – basic items such as lunchroom tables, seating and tables in the media center, and chairs and music stands for the choir and the band.
To give a snapshot of the scope of what the board accomplished in 2022 and 2023, the following is a list of what the EEF managed funds have done.
$12,000 for chairs, racks, and music stands for the band room.
$5000 for booths for the cafeteria $5,000 for funding for the resurgence of the Knowledge Bowl
• $10,000 for Industrial Arts furniture and up-to-date equipment
• $25,000 for the Chemistry Lab, Art Room, and Maker’s Space (remodel and updating)
• $3,000 for the ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters for the Frozen production in January 2024
• $20,000 to the Media Center (furniture, tables, shelves)
• $4,000 to Elementary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math)
• $9,000 for chairs and music stands for the choir.
• $15,000 to Industrial Arts for supplies to build new tables.
• $19,000 to the new weight room (previously high school cafeteria). This included equipment and special flooring.
• $7,220 NE Range Swim Booster • $4,000 towards Aquatic Touch pad system with iPad/Computer system upgrade
• $1,000 to Team Borealis (trail bike team) for tent and equipment
• $20,000 for signage for the school that will hopefully be in place before the 2024 All-Class Reunion.
Over the past six years, EEF has given over $286,000 for projects at the school for grades K-12. When budgets were cut due to fallout from COVID, increased building costs and unforeseen increased costs, EEF stepped up and helped. Also, the board has opted to grant one or two scholarships to a qualifying high school graduate every year depending on the applicants and funding.
Many times, the foundation’s name is spelled wrong. It is the Ely Educational Foundation – not the Ely Education Foundation. The board is not responsible for education of our students, rather is a supporter to the provision of education – true to our mission and reason for existence.
The EEF has served the Ely Public School District for 36 years and is still going strong. The commitment from the EEF’s board members, with the ongoing support from the Ely School Board, Administration, Teachers, Students, Alumni and the community has been what has kept this foundation resilient through a pandemic, budget constraints and dropping enrollment.
The EEF has remained true to the original mission and commitment and hopes to continue for many years to come but needs donations to continue the strong support. If you would like to donate, start a family scholarship or estate plan, keep the foundation in mind.
If you are interested in planned giving, this allows the donor to make a more significant gift than was possible during his/her lifetime and provides a sustainable source of income for the Foundation. All contributions including estates, bequests, charitable trusts, life insurance and gifts are accepted.
If you have any questions, contact Ann Jamnick Johnson at 218-343-3610. Donations can be mailed directly to: Ely Educational Foundation, P.O. Box 373, Ely, MN 55731.
The EEF counts on your support to do what we do best, which is take the best care and consideration as we assist the wonderful Ely Public School system in our little town at the end of the road.
