FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWS RELEASE

DATE:             Thursday, June 17, 2004   

CONTACT:    Vicki Hewitt, Tuloso-Midway ISD Communications and Development Specialist, 361-903-6403 or 361-215-8493

New Education Foundation formed to Enhance Educational Opportunities at Tuloso-Midway

            A group of local business and community leaders has formed a non-profit organization to receive tax-exempt donations from individuals and firms for use in programs to enrich the offerings of the Tuloso-Midway Independent School District.

            "The group has created the Tuloso-Midway ISD Education Foundation to give the people in our community a chance to help others in the same special ways the Tuloso-Midway ISD may have helped them," stated Michael Chapa, office manager for Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP and  president of the Foundation Board of Directors. "We intend to support a variety of educational projects which otherwise would not exist."

            Local CPA Doni Sluyter of Bowman and Associates is one of those people who welcomed the chance to help Tuloso-Midway ISD do for others what it did for her family.

            “I was so pleased to be asked to be a part of the Tuloso-Midway ISD Foundation,” Sluyter said. “I think it is a wonderful idea, and I owe such a great debt to TMISD for what they did for my son and me during his school years there.” Sluyter is serving as treasurer of the newly formed Foundation.

            The Foundation will accept gifts of cash, checks, property, insurance and will bequests, as well as in-kind products and services. All donations to the Foundation are tax-deductible. Donations can be sent to the Tuloso-Midway ISD Education Foundation, P. O. Box 10900, Corpus Christi, TX 78460.  Further information can be obtained by contacting Vicki Hewitt, Foundation Coordinator, at 361-903-6403.

            In addition to Chapa and Sluyter, the directors of the Foundation who serve without pay include: Linda Alexander, Creations Unlimited; David Allen, Flint Hills Resources; Neill Amsler III, Hogan Homes; Steve Botelho, First National Bank; Mike Cain, Equistar; Leanne Coffey, Glamour Shots; Sharon Davis, Tuloso-Midway parent; Margaret DeVille, retired TMISD teacher; Ralph Diaz, C.C. Disposal Services; Darlene Ewing, community volunteer; Fran Hawkins, Star Credit Union; Vicki Keach, Nueces County Record Star; Dr. Glen Kost, community volunteer; Bob Lacy, Corpus Christi Caller-Times; Felix Landin, Jr., Rose Hill Memorial Park; Michael Longoria, American Bank; Kathy Mayo, Mayo Ranch; Gayle Neessen, Neessen Automotives; Mike Pusley, EOG Resources; Don Schwirtlich, Schwirtlich Associates; Sharon Trott, Communications Consultant; Bob Tucker, AFLAC; Carole Wilkinson, Stewart Title; and Paula Wyatt, Wyatt Law Firm Ltd.  Paul Mostella, president of -the Tuloso-Midway ISD Board of Trustees, and Dr. Karen Rue, TMISD superintendent of Schools, are also voting members of the Board.

            "There are so many good programs and projects we have wished for over the years which could enrich our students but which we could not really afford," noted Dr. Rue. "The Foundation will give us a chance to fund many of these worthwhile programs and projects," she predicted.

            Kost, who is serving as vice president for finance and administration, said that "the idea of the Foundation comes from other districts throughout the country that have begun a similar organization in recent years.” It is estimated that over 4000 public school districts have established education foundations.

            "The Foundation has plans to award innovative teaching grants for a variety of creative projects suggested by teachers and staff,” stated Trott, vice president of development for the Foundation. “I understand that teachers are already planning grant proposals for projects and experiences that will give their students greater opportunities for learning and personal growth.” 

            "The Tuloso-Midway Board of Trustees is excited about the educational possibilities that the Foundation will open for our students," Mostella reported. "We anticipate that local corporations and residents will begin to consider the Foundation along with other groups to which they donate. The Foundation intends to create an ongoing program and will publicly announce the results of its fund raising efforts each year."

-TMISD-