Alumni Association scholarship applications open
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months, 1 week AGO
The Moses Lake Alumni Association scholarship award recipients for 2025. Applications will be open in January accepted for 2026 scholarships, according to MLAA Secretary Susan Blackwell.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/MOSES LAKE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | December 31, 2025 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Alumni Association will begin accepting applications for 2026 in January, Association Secretary Susan Blackwell wrote in an announcement to the Columbia Basin Herald.
Applications will be available at the counseling offices at Moses Lake High School, the Digital Learning Center, Vanguard Academy and Big Bend Community College, according to the announcement.
The MLAA funds the scholarships through donations from its own members and others in the community, according to the announcement. In addition, graduating classes will sometimes band together at their class reunions to fund scholarships, Blackwell told the Columbia Basin Herald in a previous interview. The class of 1962, for instance, donated eight scholarships in memory of former Moses Lake High School teacher and coach Gary Frey, who passed away in December 2022. Individual MLAA members also honor loved ones by donating to the scholarship fund. To apply, students fill out an application form and submit transcripts and letters of recommendation, as well as a letter stating what their goals are, Blackwell told the Columbia Basin Herald. Then those applications are ranked by a committee within the association.
The number and amount awarded vary according to how much money is available, Blackwell wrote.
In 2025, 12 students received scholarships, according to Columbia Basin Herald archives.
The MLAA has awarded $280,000 worth of scholarships since its inception in 2007, Blackwell wrote.
The 2026 recipients will be honored at a special event in April or May, Blackwell wrote. The MLAA’s board also attends Honors Night at Moses Lake High School.
The MLAA welcomes new members to join the monthly meetings, from October through May, or to participate in the Scholarship Committee in February and March. Members who only wish to support financially are very welcome and necessary, she added.
Further information may be obtained through the Moses Lake Alumni Association Facebook page, by email at [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1446, Moses Lake, WA 98837. Membership dues are $5 per year. Donations are tax-deductible as the MLAA is a nonprofit organization.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
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Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
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Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.