For the past seven months, the trustees of the Niles Education Foundation have been busy raising money and planning their first ever district wide fundraiser “A Legendary Evening with Viking Legends Ed Weede and Peg Parrott.”

For the better part of four decades, Ed Weede served as the wrestling, football, golf and track coach, athletic director and physical education teacher for Niles Senior High School.

At the same time, Peg Parrott was the physical education teacher, Ushers Club supervisor and cheerleading coach who worked hard and devoted her career to expanding girls’ athletics at the Niles Senior High School through the Girls Athletic Association (GAA).

The event planning committee has been working with Ed Weede and his family and with Peg Parrott to develop an evening of fun and remembrance. Coach Weede knew he was in failing health and would probably not be able to attend the event, but he did all he could to put pen to paper so that his family could read his remarks to his many friends and past students anxious to hear from their beloved coach at the “Legendary Evening.”

And then sadly Ed Weede passed away this past weekend at his Traverse City home.

The Legendary Evening for Ed and Peg will still go on as a Tribute to Peg Parrott and a Celebration of the Life of Ed Weede.

Ed Weede and Peg Parrott will long be remembered and revered by those whose lives they touched. Just walk into Niles High School’s gym entrance and you will find tangible proof of their efforts in the trophy cases that line the hall. Coach Weede will be remembered for his many championship teams and his induction into the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame.

Without Peg Parrott, Niles Senior High School would not have had the solid foundation when Title IX of the Equal Opportunity in Education Act of 1972 became law. She helped build the athletic programs that Niles High School girls enjoy today, as well as the championship basketball and softball teams of the past.

The Tribute to Ed Weede and Peg Parrott is being held on Saturday, August 23, 2014, at Orchard Hills Country Club beginning at 6 p.m. and is open to the public. Tickets are $50 per person. The emcee for the evening will be Niles High School graduate Allison Hayes, sports commentator for the Big Ten Network.

The mission of the Niles Education Foundation “Growing Minds…Changing Lives” is to acquire and grant resources exclusively in support of the Niles Community Schools for programs and projects aimed at enhancing, enriching and supplementing learning opportunities for students, staff and community. During the 2013-2014 school year, the Foundation donated over $27,000 to the Niles Community Schools for innovation grants and special projects.

For more information about the Niles Education Foundation and the “Legendary Evening” event, visit the organization’s website at www.nileseducationfoundation.org.

 

A native of Niles, Jack Strayer moved back home in 2009 after living and working in Washington DC since 1976. Strayer has served as a congressional staffer, state legislative press secretary, federal registered lobbyist and Vice President of the National Center for Policy Analysis. He is a nationally recognized expert on federal health policy reform and led the fight for the enactment of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).