At Monday night’s awards ceremony in the Luverne school performing arts center, Don Klosterbuer announced that Luverne’s Dollars for Scholars program was 40 years old.
The program dates back to 1983 when the local chapter was established and two $500 scholarships were awarded.
On Monday, 67 scholarships totaling $523,750 were awarded to Luverne High School seniors.
It marked 2,143 awards over the 40-year period for a cumulative total of $5,551,975.
There are now 296 individual scholarships in Luverne’s Dollars for Scholars program.
“That means 296 individuals determined that assisting graduates in pursuing their goals and dreams and aspirations was important enough to them to put their money where their mouth was,” said Klosterbuer, president of the Luverne Dollars for Scholars board of trustees.
He encouraged students to learn about the people who sponsored scholarships.
“There are some fascinating stories in there about individuals who have done amazing things,” he said.
Luverne Dollars for Scholars publishes an annual booklet outlining all the scholarships and the ones awarded this year’s seniors.
It will be distributed at Sunday’s commencement ceremony in the Luverne elementary gym.