Kade Hanson & Hannah Cleven received the Roger & Ardy Tunberg scholarship, presented by (left) Thomas Tunberg (Rogers nephew), Ardy Tunberg & Jeff Tunberg (Rogers Nephew).
Roger and Ardy Tunberg, longtime supporters of the TRF Education Foundation, have established a special endowment with the Foundation.
27 years ago, Roger was one of the founders of the TRF Education Foundation and has continued to be great resource for the Foundation. Roger recalls how the TRF Education Foundation started:
In 1990, Superintendent Robert Duncan invited nine graduates to meet with him and discuss forming an Education Foundation. The nine graduates were Roger Tunberg class of 1946, Dr. John Seaverson class of ‘65, Jane Mattson class of ‘67, Mark Naplin class of ‘72, Dale Wennberg class of ‘60, Dick Bjorkman class of ‘52, Denise Nelson class of ‘84, and Paul Ihle class of ’68.
After discussions at a few meetings,all agreed it was a great idea with the purpose of generating income for other educational opportunities with no money going into the operation of the general school system. After a very short time discussing funding, the TRF Education Association surprised the Foundation with their confidence and gave the Foundation $10,000 from their dues to start/continue the Thief River Falls Education Foundation.
Then, as president, Roger Tunberg, was instructed to write a letter to the graduates of Lincoln High School, with the exception of the graduates from the 10 most recent years, to support the Foundation. The alumni were very responsive and loyal. The Foundation received amounts of $10, $20, to $500 and even up to $10,000 from a great giving group of loyal alumni.
Roger and Ardy are very active in the community. Roger was an owner and operator of Tunberg Motor Company through 1998. Roger was involved in attracting new businesses to the community and on various boards supporting the community.
Roger and Ardy continue to be an inspiration to the Thief River Falls Education Foundation and now through their Endowment they will be giving to both grants and scholarships annually.