“If we want a good town, we must build good foundations. If we want strong communities, we must raise strong children. If we want a good future we must invest in the places that shape them.”  Meredith Leonard, Chairman of the Board with the Alpine Education Foundation said to a packed Donn Wooden Civic Center Saturday night, February 21. The chair was joined by Dave Jenkins and Amy Wierda with the Alpine Town Council as they welcomed the gathering and reflected on the importance of the project. These three have been working hard to make the school a part of Alpine’s future. Jenkins’ parents, Richard and Kathy, have long

advocated for a school in the community. Richard served as the second mayor just after Donn Wooden. That was many a town council meeting since incorporation Nov. 8, 1988. I think I may have attended over 90 percent of those meetings.

Dr. Alex Ollver, the new Alpine Classical Academy headmaster, was introduced to the community at the Saturday night Gala. I was impressed with his enthusiasm for education and his plans for Alpine. “It doesn’t take a cookie cutter model to reach individual children,” he said in a conversation with SVI. “We want to provide multiple opportunities for every child to succeed and be successful in whatever path they’ve taken.” He added, speaking of each individual student, “They want to be seen, be valued and be heard. Those three opportunities will show success in every single child.”

Impressed with the large crowd Saturday night, Oliver added, “I cannot express how much gratitude that I have for the support given to this school. They are giving everything they can to make this school top notch and to be successful.”

It was a nice February evening in Alpine. I reflected on the conversations I had with the late Donn Wooden so many years ago as we talked about his visions and plans for Alpine. He would be impressed with what’s happening in the community he helped to build, the Star Valley Health Alpine Clinic with a variety of health care services, including 24/7 emergency care, a full-service grocery store and now a school.  It was a good evening in Alpine and worth the run home from Cheyenne to share in these community developments.

I bought a fund-raiser brick for my wife Kim and I to commemorate the start of the school. They asked me what I wanted printed on it?

Dan and Kim Dockstader

With Alpine from the beginning