Years later, students still relish gift dictionaries
Club’s book giveaway aims to give kids academic edge
By Keith Uhlig
Wausau Daily Herald
kuhlig@wdhprint.com

Four years ago, banker and Everest Area Optimist Club member Terry Geurink started a project that put a free dictionary into the hands of every third-grader in the D.C. Everest School District.

He had read about a similar project that was done in South Carolina, and he thought it would be a good thing to do in north central Wisconsin. It would show young students that the community cares about how they do in school, and give them a valuable resource for academic success.

Today, 11-year-old Megan Mathies, a sixth-grader at D.C. Everest Middle School, still has the dictionary she was given four years ago at Weston Elementary School. It’s a bit worn and dog-eared, and there is a map of the United States in the back that’s marked up with a pen. That’s from the time her dad helped her memorize all 50 states for a test. Her dad circled the ones she got, and they’re all circled.

“I did really good,” Megan said, her face lighting up with a 100-watt smile.

The dictionary giveaway project has continued through the years and has grown to include the Wausau Noon Optimists, who give dictionaries to all third-graders in the Wausau School District. On Monday, members of both Optimist clubs will be in public and parochial school classrooms handing out the books once ag