Among Linfield alums to be
honored during Linfield Homecoming 2015 will be Ray Olson.
Ray (photo) and others will be
saluted as part of the "Linfield's Finest" program in downtown
McMinnville in the McMinnville Grand Ballroom on Third Street. Event starts
5:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 11, 2015.
Ray Olson '54 – Alumni
Service Award
Ray has not only been a
financial supporter for decades, but he initiated two important projects that
have impacted Linfield College.
In 1998 he instigated the Paul Durham Reunion
Lunches. He personally wrote the invitations, made the site selection, planned
the menus, and did all of the small things that are involved with banquet
planning. They continued for eleven years and were attended annually by about
100 coaches, athletes, professors, and friends of Coach Durham. A 2007 edition
of the Honolulu Star Bulletin reported that “…the honor that meant most to
Durham was the annual summer gathering of former players in McMinnville…”
One
direct result of the lunches was the financing of the Mike Barrow Room in the
Nicholson Library. Professor Ken Williams suggested that the luncheon group
fund the $30,000 for the room. The room was fully funded within a few weeks.
(If you haven’t seen it, you are missing a wonderful piece of Linfield
history).
During the lunches Ray
videoed all the attendees. After hundreds of hours of editing he created the
video Apples Don’t Fall far From the Tree. It is a complete visual history of
the Paul Durham era reported by those legends who lived it. It is a marvelous
testament to Ray’s commitment to the preservation of the “Linfield Way.” It
will be archived in the Nicholson Library. Several copies are enclosed. (Olson
is an accomplished videographer and his biopic Blaze Kid Warrior, about a girl
fighting ALS has appeared on PBS.)
In 1999, Ray originated the
Paul Durham Endowment Fund. He was the primary fundraiser for the account until
it reached $70,000. In 2012, the furtive Ooney Gagen donated $10,000 and
challenged the rest of us to get it to $100,000. Ray went immediately to work
as the prime mover on “Team Durham” to surpass Ooney’s challenge. The fund is
now over $170,000. Ray’s new goal is, of course, $200,000.
