Eastside Firefighters give out seven scholorships to local teens

Published 8:30 am Wednesday, June 22, 2016

The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2978 recently awarded seven scholarships to area high school seniors, one from each of the seven high schools in Eastside Fire and Rescue’s service area.

Recipients include:

• Ruary Thompson, Mount Si High School;

• Ethan Chau, Issaquah High School;

• Brittany Evanger, Lake Stevens High School (IAFF family member recipient);

• Casey Krueger, Eastside Catholic High School;

• Katherine Menezes, Liberty High School;

• Markie Morrison, Eastlake High School; and

• Ehmer Taj, Skyline High School.

The union represents the firefighters and other staff of Eastside Fire and Rescue, Duvall Fire District 45, Fall City Fire District 27 and the City of Snoqualmie Fire Departments. These agencies provide fire protection, emergency medical and rescue services to much of East King County including Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Carnation, Fall City, Duvall, Snoqualmie and surrounding areas.

The scholarship program was established in 1999 and is entirely funded by the employees of IAFF Local 2878. The program was expanded in 2004 to include a member’s son or daughter.

Each year the scholarship is awarded based on the applicant’s community service and volunteer activities.

This marks the 17th year of the program, which has awarded more than $59,000 to local students over the years.