Paying tribute to others as students welcome new beginnings

Brian enjoying Spring-1979

There is nothing like Spring. Winter dissolves into green grass, budding flowers, the growth of vegetables and warm breezes.

Springtime for Brian's Foundation represents the end of the school year allowing new beginnings for many--students gear up for the end of the school year, teachers plan end of the year exams, and parents prepare for their 'baby' to enter the real world.

Like spring every year, Brian's Foundation has new growth-45 new scholarship recipients become a part of our every-growing garden. Budding young men and women enter the next phase in their life and go through all that is yet to come like a warm breeze.

Scholarship of Honor Presentation Dates

We are honored to pay tribute to 21 heroes annually through one of our programs, the Scholarship of Honor.

Arlington-Remembering, Len Keller

The programs' mission is: To honor, to remember, those who serve, while recognizing dedication, community service and selflessness in those who follow in their footsteps.

The Scholarships are in the names of our past and present military heroes. They are awarded to a student entering into the military or a form of public safety or community service.

Those we honor with scholarships in their names are:

Danny Dietz: Heritage High School, Littleton CO-- May 16, 7:00pm

Joe Welke: Rapid City Stevens High School, SD-- May 16, 7:00pm

John Bradley: Appleton West High School, WI-- May 18, 6:30pm

Robert Foley: United States Military Academy, West Point NY-- May 18, 2:30pm

Kyle Hemauer: Chilton High School, WI- Engler Performing Arts Center-- May 18, 7:00pm

Ryan Jerabek: Pulaski High School auditorium, WI-- May 18, 8:30am

Ron Sager: Fox Valley Lutheran High School auditorium, WI-- May 18, 9:00am

James Cathey: Reno High School, NV-- May 19, 7:00pm at Peppermill Hotel Casino

Andrew Brownfield: North High School Akron, OH --Sunday, May 20th, 9:00am

Isaiah Hunt: Bayport High School, WI-- May 20, 9:00am

Ben Edinger: Green Bay West High School, WI-- May 25, 6:00pm

Nichole Frye: Lena High School, WI-- May 25, 7:30pm

Len Keller: Guildford High School, IL-- May 25, 7:45 am

Eric McColley: Gettysburg High School, PA-- May 25, 7:00pm

Brent Vroman: Omro High School Commons, WI-- May 25, 7:00pm

Jesse Thiry: Luxemburg-Casco High School Gym-- May 27, 9:00am

Ken Hess: Reynolds High School, Asheville NC--May 31, 7:00pm

Ken Stumpf, Elmer Burr: Menasha High School-- May 31, 9:30am

Mike Colalillo: Denfeld High School auditorium, MN-- June 2, 7:00pm

Tom Hudner: EAA-Airventure, Oshkosh, WI-- July 26, 6:00pm

Nainoa Hoe: 1Lt Nainoa K. Hoe Battle Command Training Center, Schofield Barracks, HI August 26

Past Scholarship Recipient has earned the title of Miss Wisconsin

Kimberly Sawyer, a past scholarship recipient of the Brian LaViolette Scholarship went on to be crowned Miss Wisconsin in June of 2010. Her story is pretty remarkable…

This was her second try at Miss Wisconsin, as she had been Miss Door County in 2008 and hadn't placed that year. But she didn’t give up..her reward was being crowned Miss Wisconsin last year. As it turns out, her sister Katie also competed at Miss Wisconsin that year, and was her first runner-up! A first in Miss America history!

Kimberly earned a Bachelor's of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and a minor in Spanish. She also played on the St. Norbert College softball team, and was a captain during her senior year when they won the conference championship.

As she continues her journey as Miss Wisconsin this year, she has had amazing opportunities and unforgettable and inspiring memories. She represents the Miss America Organization which provides $45 million in scholarships every year to young women across the country, and is also involved with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

She also promotes her personal platform entitled "Service for the Soul" which promotes volunteerism and the importance of matching volunteers with organizations that match their passions, their goals, and schedules so that they may become life-long volunteers with those organizations.

With so many appearances as Miss Wisconsin, her most favorite thing to do is speak to students. She shares with them the importance of believing in themselves and their abilities, dreaming big, setting goals, and making good decisions to reach those goals.

Brian's Foundation becomes a Public Charity

Brian's Foundation has officially become a public charity as of January 1, 2011. We were established as a private foundation 18 years ago when we awarded one scholarship in memory of Brian LaViolette. Now awarding over 40 scholarships worldwide annually, the foundation has legally become a public charity.

Public charities typically carry out the same type of direct, charitable giving as private foundations. The true definition of a public charity, though, goes well beyond the programs and into the realm of structure and revenue source. One advantage of public charities over private foundations is the ability to attract support from other public charities and private foundations.

We are happy that this status has gone through and we look forward to what it will bring to Brian's Foundation.  Thank you all for your support through the years!

Friendship leads to establishing scholarship to remember local doctor

“To sum up Kenny in a few words would be a tribute to a great man. Kenny simply cared about all of God’s children. Those special enough to have met him are all better off because of his caring. His caring spirit must serve as a guide for all on how to live life. Because of Ken, we must all care about the people we meet. In this way we honor Kenny’s life.” –John Lochner, a good friend of Kenny’s.

With wife, Mimi in Hawaii in 2008

Dr. Ken Kubsch, grew up in Kellnersville, Wisconsin where he graduated from Manitowoc’s Lincoln High School. He graduated from Marquette School of Medicine in 1968 and first worked as a doctor of Internal Medicine and made many house calls.

Kenny loved the Green Bay Packers and attended games regularly through the years. In the 70s Kenny served as one of the Packer doctors for one year. In 2006 Kenny retired from medical practice and enjoyed his retirement.  Sadley, he passed away one year ago today.

The Ken Kubsch Scholarship  was created to honor a caring and humble Board certified family and internal medicine doctor who was simply called Kenny. In the spring of 2012, a scholarship will be provided to a student at Manitowoc Lincoln High School who is interested in history or science , both passions of Kenny.

John and Kathy Lochner, along with Dan and Carrie Whetter, good friends of the Kubsch's have contributed the seed money to establish this scholarship.

Many of us remember Kenny as the caring friend who was always willing to take care of our families medical needs.  If you would like to keep Kenny's memory alive with a donation please contact Kim at kim.laviolette@gmail.com or 828-242-3790.

"What's Right with America" on 11.11.11

Last Sunday at the Jet Air open house, Brian's Foundation officially announced our next event which will take place on historic 11.11.11. A BIG thank you to Jet Air for allowing us to kick off 11.11.11 with a silent auction and providing a sneak preview of some of the items that will be available for auction the night of 11.11.11.

On 11.11.11, we will celebrate, "What is Right with America" as we recognize the extraordinary people who have helped change the lives of countless individuals throughout the world.

We will highlight the cross-section of America, including the following areas:
• Our Armed Forces

• Philanthropic Work

• Business and Commerce

• The Arts and Entertainment Industry

• The Field of Sports

A special thanks to Cambria Suites, Eagle III and Not By Bread Alone for also donating items to this auction.

Thank you again to Jet Air, all those who bid on the items and all who came to support Brian's Foundation and 11.11.11!

If you'd like to become involved in 11.11.11, please contact Kim at kim.laviolette@gmail.com or 828-242-3790.