Stap les I ’ve o nly seen Dollars For Scholars, Grad Blast, and even graduation itself from the sidelines as a teacher in the Staples Motley educational system, but this year I was nearly over my head in all of it as a parent.

I knew that there were a great number of people in the Staples and Motley surrounding communities who invested and donated a good amount of their time, energy and resources for our graduates. It was quite impressive how so many of the parents planned, organized and carried out the tradition of Grad Blast - that seemed quite apparent as a fun filled success.

None of what happened at Grad Blast could have gone as well as it did without the generous support of our community in so many different ways. Parents obviously made their vested sacrifices for their cherished children, but people outside the immediate circle stepped up in heroic fashion. Every year, certain people step up in leadership roles to carry the torch. Diana Uhlring and Becky Fuhrman led a group of committed parents and executed all the necessary contacts with so many generous businesses to pull off a festive event that every grad will remember for a long time.

We can never take for granted the Masters of Ceremony energy of Kevin Olsen and Paul Anderson, who got the party started and brought it to a head with comical soul and spirit.

What was rather extraordinary at the time was, when three of the school’s ten passenger vans were planned to be used for transporting the grads in Cash Cab fashion from the school to the community center, two were unknowingly traded in to Nyhus Chevrolet Buick and Staples Auto Sales. Without hesitation, both dealers generously offered the vans back to the event. With one week to go, one van was purchased by Staples resident Trinity Withun, who unconditionally offered the van for the good of the cause.

These were two of the many ripe moments that made Grad Blast a sweet experience for our young people, who are well deserving of such grace and celebration. As I reminisce on my own child’s life in this community, I’m not surprised at the extraordinary generosity shown when I look back at our community. It has a long tradition of spiritual wealth and the cycle keeps flowing forward.

I for one am a grateful dad to all of you who have played a part in the village that it takes to raise a child together.

Kevin Coughlin Staples, Minn.