West Olympia Rotary Retires Dick Nichols Scholarship Program

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Submitted by Rotary Club of West Olympia

After 23 years of providing more than $275,000 in college scholarships to 331 Thurston County student athletes, Rotary Club of West Olympia is retiring the Dick Nichols Scholarship program.

“This is a difficult decision given the success and impact of this communitywide event; however, we believe it is a good time for our club to shift gears and focus our efforts on serving students and our community in new ways,” said Dan Young, West Olympia Rotary president. “

The award was established and named after former Thurston County Commissioner Dick Nichols, a longtime announcer for high school sports, who has since retired. Students receiving the scholarship were recognized for their athletic achievements, outstanding academics and community volunteerism.

“This program was a great partnership between our seven local high schools (Black Hills, Capital, North Thurston, Olympia, River Ridge, Timberline, and Tumwater); all the Rotary Clubs in Olympia, Tumwater and Lacey; and many local business sponsors,” Young said. “This was truly a unique community collaboration and we are so grateful for all the support we received from so many people and organizations over the years.”

West Olympia Rotary will continue its long tradition of awarding scholarships to Capital High School students and has a new dueling pianos fundraiser, which will celebrate its second anniversary on Friday, January 24, 2020.

The dueling pianos event will be held at South Puget Sound Community College, Lacey Campus from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and will raise funds for local nonprofits. For more information contact Rocco Turpin at (360) 943-2191.

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