Mustang Foundation to host annual fund-raiser

Shortly after the school burned down in Malta in 1996, The Mustang Foundation was put together to provide money for teachers and faculty with items that needed replacing after the devastation. Since then, the foundation has offered scholarships to graduating seniors giving out over $20,000 in just the last year.

“That is basically what we do now,” said Mustang Foundation Secretary Melissa Dunbar. “It is a great resource for these students as they start their lives after high school and seek higher education. “

To help fund the scholarship program, the Mustang Foundation has been holding a fund-raiser and this year’s event is the 5th Annual Fund-raiser for the Mustang Foundation. The event will be held at the Stockman Terrace on Saturday, August 16 at 6 p.m.

A highlight of this year’s fund-raiser is a raffle in which the lucky ticket holder will win a bronze statue created by world renowned Western sculptor Jay Contway. Contway, a Malta High School Alum, donated his talents to the Mustang Foundation following the school fire in 1996 with his statue entitled “Mustang,” his rendition of the school’s logo. After Contway made the statues for the foundation, he broke the mold, literally.

“This is a huge statue,” said Dunbar. “He originally made 250 of them and all but 10 have been sold. We only have nine left. It’s is a really beautiful piece of artwork. The only ones left are the few he has and the ones that the foundation has. ”

Each of the Mustang statues are numbers, the Mustang Foundation owning busts one through 10.

Tickets for the event, which include the Mustang raffle, are $40 per couple, $25 for a couple which includes a membership to the Mustang Foundation for one year.

Besides the bronze mustang, the other items to be raffled off on the night include gift certificates from local merchants, two Family Activity Ticket packets good at local establishments and then a slew of door prizes to be given away. There are only 200 tickets available for the statue raffle and the winner need not be present to win.

“You will also be given a raffle ticket at the door and then you can buy an arm’s length of them for $5,” said Dunbar.

Live music will be provided on the night by classic country band Latigo and dinner will include a rib dinner and all the fixings, cooked by Tina Meyer, to be followed by dessert. Dinner includes one free drink as well.

“That is beneficial for those parents with senior students because those kids get five extra points on their scholarship applications,” said Dunbar. “That has won some people scholarships in the past.”

The Mustang Foundation now has 22 scholarships to grant seniors leaving Malta to attend college and are named after the people who have donated them. Each of the scholarships can be found online at http://malta.k12.mt.us under Mustang Foundation.

For more information on the raffle, or to obtain more information about the fund raiser, contact any of these Mustang Foundation Board Members: President Darlene Kolczak, VP Van Savage, Secretary Melissa Dunbar, Treasurer Bri Sims, Lecil Demarais, Mike Rappold, Amanda Ziegler, Toni Ziegler, Kristin Millican, Deanna Arnold, Stacie Simanton or Kris Kuehn.

Tickets for the raffle may also be purchased at these establishments: First State Bank, Independence Bank, First Security Bank, Equity Co-op, Ezzie’s Wholesale, West Side Self Service, Hardware Hanks or Valley Drug.