1902 North Canyon Road

Suite 100
Provo, Utah 84604
(801) 375-1777
Email:
ais@americanindianservices.org
Website:
www.americanindianservices.org

A m e r i ca n I n dia n Se r v i ce s

Upcoming Events:

Fall 2015 Newsletter

Montana Flathead Cup

August 13-15
(invitation only)
Idaho Falls Golf August 17

Annual Celebrity Banquet and Auction

American Indian Services held our annual
Celebrity Banquet and Auction on May 2, at
the Grand American Hotel in Salt Lake City.
The Celebrity Banquet is our largest fundraising event of the year. This year our donors
contributed $478,000 to fund scholarships for
Native American students.
The evening began with a silent auction of 130
items. Bob Nilsen, emcee for the evening,
welcomed guests and introduced Native
American Flautist Gary Tom who performed
while dinner was served. He was followed on
stage by Utah singer and former contestant on

(Left to Right) Wanda MacDonald, Peter MacDonald, Dale Tingey,

and Bob Nilsen pose for a picture at the Celebrity Banquet.

The Voice Madilyn Paige who entertained the crowd with a selection of original songs and classic favorites.
Native American students from Utah Valley University favored the audience with traditional Navajo dancing.
AIS Scholarship recipient Michele Reyes took the stage to share her story with banquet attendees. Her mother
was Navajo, and she grew up on the reservation. The AIS Scholarship helped enable Reyes to receive a
bachelors degree from Brigham Young University. She is now married and the mother of six children. Reyes
said that the education she received because of the AIS Scholarship has not only impacted her life but the lives

Inside this issue:

of her children as well. As the saying goes, educate a boy and you educate an individual. Educate a girl and you

Message from the

Executive Director

AIS PREP

educate generations, Reyes said.

AIS Founder Dr. Dale Tingey introduced the key-note speaker for the evening, Peter MacDonald, former
Chairman of the Navajo Tribe and Navajo Code Talker for the United States Marine Corps in World War II.
MacDonald shared the history of the Code Talkers and his own personal experiences serving in the Pacific

Student Spotlights

Islands. He thanked American Indian Services for all they have done to benefit the Native American community
since 1958.

AIS Welcomes
Interns

Six Months in
Pictures

AIS: Who We Are

AmazonSmile

After the silent auction closed, Rob Brasher stepped up to begin the live auction. Brasher kept the crowd
excited with his fast-talking auctioneering of various big ticket items including several hunting trips, golf trips,
and art. Chad Lewis and Keith Clearwater took the stage at the end of the live auction for a final appeal.
With the funds generously contributed at this years event, AIS hopes to award over 4000 scholarships to Native American students this school year.
Additional photos from the event can be found on our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/americanindianservices

Page 2

Am e ri c a n I n d i an S e r v i c e s
Message from the Executive Director: Costa Rica
We had our first fundraising event

was a five hundred yard walk to

The trip turned out to be

in a foreign country in March.

the lodge compound along the Rio

fantastic. We were home in 5

Fisherman extraordinaire Brad

Colorado River. As we gathered

days, and everyone was ready for

Brown and I hatched the idea in

to check into our double

2016. The best part of the trip

August 2014 at our annual

occupancy cabins, David Nielson

was that we raised $80,000 for

Flathead Lake event. I asked Brad,

commented that it reminded him

AIS Programs and had a ball doing

who has an office in San Juan,

and his sons of Pirates of the

it. Thanks to Brad Brown and his

Costa Rica, about other potential

Caribbean at Disneyland. If any of

secretary , Susan Reed, for all of

fishing opportunities, and he

you are envisioning white sandy

their work. It was a very

agreed to take care of all the de-

beaches and five-star

professional job well done.

tails.

accommodations where you will

We arrived in San Juan in three

Caption describing picture
or graphic.

groups, gathered at the airport,

and were transported to the
Crown Plaza Hotel for an
overnight stay. There were 20 of
us in all from the U.S. with one

be pampered, this trip probably

isnt for you, but if you are
thinking of five-star fishing you
better be looking at your
calendars for our next trip in the
middle of March 2016.

more from Costa Rica, Dave

The fishing exceeded all of our

Patey owner of the Costa Rican

expectations. We hooked up with

National Soccer Team. We were

149 Tarpon and boated 67 over

five star fishing you

all excited at the prospects of the

the next two days. These fish

trip that had been billed as The

weighed between 50 and 220

better be looking at

Best Tarpon Fishing in the

pounds each and are excellent

World.

fighters. We caught several other

If you are thinking of

your calendars for our

next trip in the middle
of March 2016.

We gathered in the hotel lobby at

six the next morning and were
transported to a private airport
where we boarded two planes to
make the 30-minute flight to the

varieties of fish as well, but it was

the Tarpon that we were after.
This was catch and release fishing,
but one fish was harvested,
weighing in at 210 pounds.

coast. The next leg of our journey

AIS PREP
The American Indian Services

The AIS PREP program focuses on

Pre-freshman Engineering Program

high-achieving 7th, 8th, and 9th

(AIS PREP) is a six-week,

grade students who have an

academically enriched summer

interest and aptitude in the fields

program designed to intellectually

of Science, Technology,

prepare and challenge students in

Engineering , and Mathematics.

grades seven through nine. AIS

PREP provides three summers of
rigorous academic instruction,
AIS PREP Site Director Karah Nay
with her son Briggs.

educational hands-on projects,

challenging homework, and daily
career awareness.

The inaugural session of AIS PREP

began on June 29, 2015 at USU
Eastern in Blanding, Utah.
Like our Facebook page: AIS PREP

If you are interested in 2016,

contact me at the office.
- Jay

Am eric a n I n d i an S e r v i c e s

Page 3

Student Spotlight: Erika Warren

Erika Warren is a student at South

complete her education and wants

Puget Sound Community College

to work with Native youth to help

pursuing an Associate of Arts

them make healthy eating choices.

Degree with an emphasis in early

childhood education, after which
she plans to transfer to Evergreen
State College and study to
become a Nutritionist.

One day, she hopes to implement

an American Indian Wellness and
Food Sovereignty lunch program
among all Tribal Schools that
replaces the standard USDA.

Erika is the mother of identical 6year-old twin boys, Jaxon and

Wyatt. When her husband left
two years ago, Erika faced the
struggle of being a single parent
and attending school. She
AIS Scholar Erika Warren sits with sons Jaxon and Wyatt.

continues to work hard to

Student Spotlight: Christa Cooper

Christa Cooper is a student at

She recently left her job as a

Salish Kootenai College pursuing a

revenue auditor at a casino in

Bachelors Degree in Business

order to attend school. Her goal

Administration.

is to become a consultant in the

When she was 16 years old,

Christas parents and younger
brother tragically lost their lives
during a family vacation. She

casino industry, assisting struggling

Native American casinos to
improve their performance and
productivity.

slipped into a deep depression and

turned to alcohol and drugs. All
that changed a year ago when she
gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

AIS Scholar Christa Cooper holds her daughter.

AIS Welcomes Interns

American Indian Services is

an online marketing plan for AIS,

pleased to announce our

including social media pages,

partnership with Brigham Young

YouTube videos, and media

Universitys internship program.

outreach materials. We are

This summer, we welcomed our

first intern, Sarah Burchett. Sarah

excited to welcome her and

future interns to the AIS family.

is a senior at BYU studying

Communications and Digital
Journalism.
In her time with us this summer,
Sarah helped create and develop

AIS intern Sarah Burchett poses for a

picture.

Am eric a n I n d i an S e r v i c e s

Page 4

Six Months in Pictures

The winning team from the Great American Indian Shootout at

Thanksgiving Point made up of Dan Dopita, Steve Schnidler, Brian
McMains, and Mike Flemming.

The top 12 student-readers from Whitehorse High School who participated

Utah Governor Gary Herberts winning golf
team at the AIS Tournament in St. George.

in the Road to Success literacy program. Students received a variety of

prizes including gift cards, and iPod touch, and a laptop computer.

AIS PREP students use logic tables to program

pathways for miniature robots and engineering
principles to build popsicle stick bridges.

Am e ri c a n I n d i an S e r v i c e s
Native Americans are struggling to create new, better prospects for their people.
Since 1958, AIS has designed many valuable programs which assist them towards
self-sufficiency and building better communities. Chief among these is providing
scholarships for needy Native Americans to attend colleges and vocational schools.
There are many bright young students from various tribes who qualify academically
for a college education. Yet, after high school, they have no means to pay college
tuition.

American Indian Services

1902 North Canyon Road
Suite 100

Over the last forty years, AIS has made it possible for thousands of
Native Americans to attend college, obtain degrees, and, in turn, provide needed
support in their communities. But there are so many more who need help.

Provo, Utah
84604
(801)375-1777
Email:

Our mission is to assist Native Americans in developing their human and natural
resources in order to help them make a contribution to society without detracting
from the culture and background from which they have emerged.

ais@americanindianservices.org

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www.facebook.com/
americanindianservices

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