Spring 2025 Golden Grads President’s Report
by Doug Whalley ‘63
Oh No, Not the Burg!
Sad news to report: the original Burgermaster restaurant near the University Village closed February 2025 after seven decades in business. It is making way for a massive apartment complex with businesses below. CEO Alex Jensen, grandson of founder Phil Jensen, said he has known since 2022 that the Bugermaster’s tenancy could be terminated. Golden Grads remember car service before they offered sit-down eating. (You probably spilled your milkshake a couple of times.) Many of us continued to patronize the restaurant, and it sometimes seemed like a Roosevelt reunion when you spotted your classmates.
Thank You to Ellen Brown Hewitt ’53
Ellen has been a star as our Web Master for many years and has done a great job of maintaining our web site. She is retiring from that job this Spring. Her son has helped her with some technical issues (not unlike many of us), but Ellen could explain everything to the Board with expertise. We would welcome a Golden Grads volunteer with web experience to replace her. It is not a difficult job, but we cannot maintain our web site without an experienced volunteer.
Remembering Cindy Dack
Cindy, a long-serving GG Board Member as Luncheon Chair, passed away recently. Until she retired from the board two years ago, Cyndy ran the annual luncheon each year with good humor and an iron hand, making sure that everyone had a good time. (Her obituary is in this issue.)
Scholarships
The primary mission of Golden Grads is to provide college scholarships to deserving RHS graduates. Our 2024-2025 budgeted amount for our scholarships was $73,000. (This does not include special scholarship donations from members, like our Don Harney sports scholarships and Donald Strom and Jane LaFazio art scholarships.) The Scholarship Committee, now focused on the financial need of the applicants, recently requested a substantial increase in the total amount of scholarships funds to $125,000 because of the rise in tuition costs. Our Finance Committee and then the Board of Directors considered the request, and a majority voted to recommend increasing the 2024-25 budgeted amount by $10,000, for a total of $83,000. Treasurer Mike Bush stated our current budget is based on the best practices for non-profits, which is to maintain grants between 5% and 5.5% of the endowed funds. We are currently spending 5.7% of our endowed funds before any increase. (Additional donations for scholarships by GG members will help increase the scholarship funds available.)
Golden Grads Annual Luncheon is Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at the Seattle Yacht Club
The registration form and details are in this newsletter. We encourage all members to attend. It is a unique opportunity to get together with Roosevelt grads from your class and others. Our speakers from the school provide an inside look at Roosevelt today, and award-winning Roosevelt musicians present a short musical performance. The Seattle Yacht Club has a reputation for very good food, and the location should be more convenient for many. Guest parking is available.