Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chairman Chief Allan speaks from the lectern as 2024 scholarships are announced. This year marks a generous milestone as 204 students will receive $1,000 scholarships thanks to a challenge issued to the business community by the Tribe, which is matching each one.
Courtesy photo
Pema Anain, a 2025 scholarship winner.
Kendall Hanson, University of Montana, was a scholarship recipient as a Coeur d’Alene High School senior, Class of 2023.
Past scholarship winner Julian Conigliaro, Columbia university, Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy Class of 2023.
Past scholarship winner Taylor Izzard, Boise State University, Class of 2023, Coeur d’Alene High.
The strength found in numbers becomes even more powerful when individuals and entities come together to support a cause in which they truly believe.
Those entities are the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber and dozens of local businesses. The cause: supporting young people who wish to continue their education after high school, no matter their economic status.
“Education is a big thing for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe,” Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chairman Chief Allan said Wednesday. “We’ve always put our money where our mouth is.”
When the Tribe first signed its gaming compact with the state of Idaho in 1992, Tribal elders insisted on returning 5% of gaming revenues to support education.
“That’s the tradition for the past 30 years,” Allan said. “Our mission is to help kids — all kids. If they want to pursue higher education, we want to be there. The reason why we do that is, in life, you can lose your house, lose your car, lose your job, but you can’t lose your education. No one can take that from you.”
That tradition continues. For the fourth consecutive year, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe has issued a challenge to Coeur d’Alene’s business community, offering to match every $1,000 scholarship raised for graduating high school seniors in the region. This commitment and the collective effort of 77 local businesses will provide 204 students with scholarships this year, ensuring every eligible student has the opportunity to pursue post-secondary education.
The Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber’s scholarship program has greatly expanded since the Tribe first issued its matching challenge in 2022. This year alone, 154 scholarships were secured through the partnership of businesses and the Tribe’s match. Recognizing the remaining 50 students still in need, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe stepped up to fully fund the additional scholarships to ensure that no student was left behind.
“I remember when I graduated from high school,” Allan said. “At the podium kids were called for scholarships. I never got that call. I don’t want kids to feel that way.”
“We are incredibly grateful for the leadership and generosity of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and our business community,” Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber President and CEO Linda Coppess said. “This partnership continues to transform lives, creating a ripple effect that strengthens our regional workforce and economy. By investing in our students, we are investing in the future of North Idaho.”
Making good on a promise to today’s youth
This initiative has propelled the Coeur d’Alene Chamber to the top ranks among national chambers that offer scholarships to high school students.
In 2016, three students received $1,000 scholarships for a total of $3,000. By 2021, the number had increased to five students, then jumped to 51 students in 2022 with the Tribe awarding an additional $1,000 each for their first year in school for a total of $102,000 awarded.
The number grew in 2023 when 70 students received $1,000 and the Tribe again stepped up with additional $1,000 awards. Seven students were also awarded $1,000 Strength of Character scholarships, bringing the total to $147,000. Then the Tribe announced another $1,000 for each student who stayed in school a second year for another $70,000 for 2024, which saw 115 students earn $1,000 scholarships and 10 be awarded Strength of Character scholarships for a total of $120,000. Another second-year offer added $115,000 to 2025.
This year sets the record so far with 204 students who will receive $1,000 scholarships and 10 $500 Strength of Character scholarships will be awarded.
The 2025 scholarships will be awarded April 22 at the Coeur d’Alene Chamber’s April Breakfast Connect, and Allan alluded to how this year’s event may go.
“We’ve always offered a little bit of a surprise the past few years,” he said. “I can assure you, there will there be a bit of a surprise.”
Bright futures ahead
Lake City High senior Rome Armitage, whose family has been in Coeur d’Alene at least five generations, is a 2025 scholarship recipient. She plans to study radiology at Seattle University after she graduates.
She said she was honored to be selected for the award.
“I know all the good work the chamber does for the schools and the community,” she said. “Investing in our community is so important, especially the young kids who are going to be the future. In a way they’re investing in their own future. Our community is so beautiful in that way. We have the Tribe and the chamber who put an effort in to support students like me.”
Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy senior Pema Anain plans to go to the University of Arizona or Arizona State University to major in health sciences or medical studies. She said she was super excited to find out she would be a scholarship winner.
“This scholarship will help me afford school out of state and help me acquire less debt going forward,” she said. “It’s just really incredible different areas of our community are coming together and looking out for our graduating class, especially doing that year after year and making it bigger to support more graduating seniors.”
Coeur d’Alene High senior Mihret Washington said this scholarship means more than just the opportunity to pursue her passions.
“It also represents a chance for my peers to do the same and ease the financial burden that comes with college,” she said. “Receiving it gave me a deep sense of accomplishment and relief. All the effort I put into writing scholarship essays and working hard throughout high school had finally paid off. It’s comforting to know that I can now cover more of my college expenses than I could before.”
She plans to attend the University of Montana to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Performance and minor in French.
“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunities ahead — in academics, the arts and life in general,” Mihret said. “I look forward to forming new friendships, diving into my art and music and sharing my love of performance because it brings others joy. I’m especially excited about taking pottery classes, enjoying the outdoors and being involved in musical productions.”
Businesses believe in a better tomorrow
Gabe Eckert, president of the Coeur d’Alene Firefighters IAFF Local 710, said it was a no-brainer to participate in this scholarship challenge.
“When we heard the chamber was looking for scholarships and the Tribe was matching, we can’t think of anything better than sponsoring a kid in this community,” he said. “It shows the strength of this community and how much this community cares. This city looks out for one another. We’re just really happy to be a part of it.”
Roger Stewart, who owns Allegra Coeur d’Alene with wife Patty, was also immediately on board.
“First and foremost, our three daughters were recipients of scholarships back 15 years ago or more through the Chamber Education Committee, and that money wasn’t a lot, but all of it went to help their college expenses, and it was incredibly appreciated and necessary,” he said. “I give back to the community because of the generosity our own daughters were shown.”
Financial adviser Jan Tymesen with the North Idaho Investment Group of Wells Fargo Advisers said it’s amazing how the chamber and Tribe are coming together to double the impact.
“It really matters because we’re an aging community and we have a lot of retirees,” she said. “We want good health care, we want nurses, doctors, accountants. If we don’t educate the generations, there are not going to be those professional services to take care of us.
“By empowering our local students with education and tools, it makes for a brighter future,” she continued. “It helps to strengthen our community for generations to come and we understand the importance of education and opening doors for those students.”
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