Sunday, July 31st, would be the 102nd birthday of William G. Stroecker.
Mr. William G. Stroecker, organizational figurehead of the Alaska Goldpanners baseball team for half a century, departed in November, 2010, but the impact of his life remains as it is felt by the Goldpanners and many other charitable groups through the work of The Bill Stroecker Foundation.
Mr. Stroecker, foremost among Fairbanks business and civic leaders, holds the distinction of being elected to 45 consecutive one-year terms as President of Alaska Amateur Baseball, Inc., the highly successful local sports organization—winner of numerous national and international amateur tournaments, including being crowned U.S. National Champion six times (and runnerup seven other times) at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas.
As much as the Goldpanners have benefited from the work of the Foundation (BSF) established by Mr. Stroecker, the team is by no means at the top of the list.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Salvation Army have each received in excess of $1 million dollars in the past 10 years from the more than $6 million distributed. A majority of the money has landed in the hands of 65 different charities, mostly in the Fairbanks area.
UAF Fairbanks has received a 10-year string of giving to four entities plus has seen an expansion of scholarship endowment funds, and biggest of all the hanging of a whale skeleton in the University Museum. The latter accounting for three-quarters of the donations in Mr. Stroecker’s name.
Prior to his passing, Mr. Stroecker had established two memorial scholarship endowments—for journalist Helen VanCampen and for jazz education in the music department. The Foundation has added two more and renamed the jazz endowment as the Bill Stroecker Brass Scholarship. New efforts are the Bill Stroecker Accounting Scholarship and an endowment fund at Tanana Valley Community Technical College.
The annual charitable distributions related to UAF have gone to KUAC Radio, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the University of Alaska Foundation, and some smaller projects such as the Cornerstone Fund.
Favorite charity of Mr. Stroecker was The Salvation Army. So much so, in fact, that The Army was listed twice among the named charities in the Last Will & Testament of Mr. Stroecker. He named: The Salvation Army and Its Components Fairbanks, Alaska, and also The Salvation Army Fairbanks Corps Program Fund. His thinking, of course, was to keep his money in the Fairbanks area.
In addition to large annual payments for operating expenses, The Stroecker Foundation has given The Army $300-$400,000 for use in upgrading, or rebuilding, the Fairbanks Center, which houses the gift shop and church.
On the national front, Mr. Stroecker established a $700,000 Trust for the National Rifle Association. The NRA also receives an annual donation to the Whittington Center in Raton, N.M.
The Goldpanners organization checks in at more than a half-million by combining annual donations with special project amounts, including approximately $125,000 for a state-of-the-art scoreboard which is being installed this fall for use in the 2023 season.
St. Matthews Church is one of three organizations Mr. Stroecker listed twice in his giving instructions, received both annual an operating donation and an annual grant amount to the St. Matthews Church Endowment Fund.
The next half dozen or so are all Fairbanks charities with The Community Food Bank heading the list. Others are the Fairbanks Curling Club; the Fairbanks Rescue Mission; the Fairbanks Concert Association; The Breadline; and the ICC Soup Kitchen.
Mr. Stroecker was keen on higher education of the conservative manner and as such named Hillsdale College for special consideration. In fact, it and Hamilton Acres school which has ceased operating, were the only learning centers listed among the 50 in the Will roster of charities.
The Stroecker Foundation has established an endowment fund in his name at New Mexico Military Institute, which he attended for two years just prior to World War II, and also a special NMMI High School fund for Alaskan youth meeting certain criteria and wishing to attend the Institute in Roswell, N.M.
Two scholarship funds have also been established at Hillsdale College, per Mr. Stroecker’s wishes. The largest offers a full-ride to the institution for an Alaskan candidate.
The Foundation also funds a variety of smaller education projects such as a Bill Stroecker Emergency Tuition Fund at Fairbanks’ Monroe/ICS Schools.
The Bill Stroecker Foundation meets on a regular basis to establish giving amounts. Persons interested in exact details as to charities and amounts distributed can find that information on the IRS Report Form 990. Although BSF is a private foundation, the 990 reports are made public.
Three of the original members, named by Mr. Stroecker, still serve—Richard Heieren, Jerry Walker and Don Dennis. Other current members are George Lounsbury, Rick Schikora, and Paul Johnson. Russ Amerson, a former Trustee, is office manager (Second & Cushman) and Matt Blachmacher represents Peak Trust. Formerly serving were Rich Hompesch, Ted Cox, and Cory Borgeson.
