“I’m a Chehalis girl and a product of the Chehalis School District,” says I-5 Cars owner Heidi Pehl, explaining why her dealerships are committed to giving annual scholarships to local students.
“I graduated from W.F. West and I was a scholarship student,” Pehl continues. “So when I came back to town and ended up owning a business here, one of the things I really wanted to do was to establish a scholarship program for local students.”
I-5 Cars’ annual Back To School Dash has been raising scholarship dollars for six years – and has also evolved into a popular, fun community event.
This year’s 5K fun run and walk takes place August 26th at 9:30 a.m. The event starts and ends at I-5 Toyota, just off I-5 exit 79 in Chehalis.
“We always do it the Sunday before Labor Day,” says Pehl.
This year, proceeds from the Back To School Dash allowed I-5 Cars to give away nine scholarships. Some years they’re able to give more, some years less, depending on the amount of money raised and the number of applications received.
“Each year we open it up to all students at Lewis County high schools,” says Pehl, who forms a committee within the dealerships to review applications. “Quite honestly, we almost always give more than our fund is, because we get so many good applications.”
The application process is simple and targeted at all students who want to attend college, regardless of grade point average.
“When we started the program we called it the Average Joe Scholarship,” says Pehl. “My feeling was that there are so many scholarships available to the 4.0 students and the really excellent academic students, but not too many for the average student who is a good kid and wants to continue their education.”
The event came about after Toyota encouraged dealers to come up with grass roots events in their communities, tailored to charitable functions.
“A lot of dealers had dinner, dances, parties – evening events for adults that raised money,” says Pehl. “But I wanted to do something different.”
Because Pehl was a runner in high school, she established the fun run.
“We charge a small fee and have t-shirts and prizes,” she says. “The event generates scholarship money and is our kick-off for the scholarship fund-raising.”
“It’s just really fun. We have dogs and kids and strollers – even kids on bikes,” says Pehl. “We even had a guy with a shopping cart one year with kids in it.”
Local celebrity Speedo Man has even been a guest of honor at the event several times. Known for running year-round in just a small bathing suit, Speedo Man is a retired veteran who, after being wounded while serving his country, devoted himself to running to help in his recovery.
“He runs miles upon miles and everyone in town knows who Speedo Man is,” says Pehl. “They honk and wave at him.”
Pehl also runs in the event, alongside her husband and son. Her in-laws, who are 87 and 80 years old, also come out to cheer participants on.
“Everyone has a good time,” Pehl says.
Register for this year’s Back To School Dash at the I-5 Cars website and have fun while helping area students realize their dream of a college education.
