No Pioneer Left Behind Creates Opportunity for Students

The annual Art Skipper Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament is almost upon us, and with it comes a reminder about the important program it benefits: No Pioneer Left Behind. For more than a decade, people have enjoyed a day of golf with the mission of helping students afford extracurricular activities in mind. 

Though the tournament is named for Sandy High grad and Olympic athlete Art Skipper Jr., with the No Pioneer Left Behind program, Oregon Trail School District students can access scholarships not only to defer costs of playing sports, but of participating in bands, clubs and other school-sponsored activities. 

“No matter what your kid wants to do, we want them to be able to do it, regardless of what extracurricular activity it is,” said tournament committee member Jeff McAllester. 

While the committee expects another banner year for the tournament, with tickets already sold out and several local businesses sponsoring the event, those unable to attend are still able and encouraged to donate to the cause. 

“I was told, years ago when I came in to push scholarships, that we had more than we were spending,” said OTSD Athletic Director Garet Luebbert. “Now we’re making as much as we’re spending on scholarships. And participation numbers in athletics alone have increased every year since the pandemic.”

Every dollar donated to the No Pioneer Left Behind Scholarship Fund helps connects a student with an opportunity, and keeps them more engaged in school.

In 2025, 347 of the 360 members of the Sandy High senior class graduated. In fall of 2024, 41 students benefitted from No Pioneer Left Behind scholarships; 66 used the program in winter of 2024-2025, and 43 saw deferred costs for their extracurricular activities in spring 2025, thanks to the program. 

You can donate online at oregontrailschools.com/nplb, or mail a check made payable to the Oregon Trail Education Foundation to Oregon Trail School District, Attn: NPLB, 36525 Industrial Way/P.O. Box 547, Sandy, OR 97055. 

For more information, call the district office at 503-668-5541, extension 4901. 

If you’d like to plan to play in the Art Skipper Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament next year, it is the third Friday of September.