Have you ever dreamed about someone giving you a lot of money and that gift was a complete surprise? Well. sometimes those dreams come true. In fact, something like that happened recently right here in Corry.

Corry has a very active high school alumni association. It was established in 1874.  Every year of its existence, graduates of Corry High School have come together for a meeting and to have dinner together. It's a proud organization. Corry High School claims to have the longest-active alumni association in the country.

"We've had some schools that would argue that with us,” says Mandi Johnson, the association’s current president. “But we've proven that we have the minutes and the history to show that we actually go back to 1874 with a meeting every year."

A special part of the meeting is the distribution of scholarships to graduating seniors. The largest and oldest scholarship is the Dr. Virgil G. Curtis Scholarship, named after a longtime school superintendent. That scholarship is 100 years old and has been funded by financial gifts from alumni. The Curtis Scholarship Fund had $366,000 in the bank at the end of last year. However, it was announced at this year's dinner that the total would be more than doubled. Robert Brockmann, Class of 1935, donated $576,000 to the Virgil G. Curtis Scholarship Fund. The gift was a complete surprise to the alumni association.

"Total shock,” remembers Mandi. “I don't think I believed it at first. It was kind of like, Is this real? Are we being punked?"

Stephanie Hajec has been a board member of the alumni association for 36 years. She also is a longtime member of the scholarship committee. She remembers when the Brockmann Trust notified the committee about the donation late last year.

"All we could think about was, Oh my gosh! Do you know how many students we can help and how much more we can do for the community? Yes. It was a good thing,” says Stephanie.

Robert Brockmann was an entrepreneur who made his money in forestry and in banking. He died in 2004. Instructions attached to his trust directed the money to be released to the alumni association after his son died. What a tribute to the alumni association!  Mr. Brockmann had no desire to start his own scholarship fund.  He wanted to honor the memory of Dr. Curtis.

"To me, it's very heartwarming that he didn't feel that he needed to have a scholarship named after himself,” says Stephanie. “He wanted to be part of the tradition of the Alumni Association of Corry High School."

Eleven Corry High School graduates were awarded Virgil G. Curtis Scholarships this year, with the maximum scholarships being $2,500. Those numbers will most likely increase beginning next year. The scholarship amounts are determined by interest the fund has accrued at the bank.