W. F. West and Coffman Trust Scholarships

Establishing a Tradition of Community Giving

John Coffman (center)

The W. F. West and Coffman Scholarships were established as family trusts to support graduates from this community in college and career endeavors. Both the Wests and Coffman’s believed strongly in the benefit of education and a college degree. They believed that students from Chehalis who worked hard could succeed in college. They chose to use their estates to give a helping hand to these students. Their legacy has benefitted generations of families and students in this community.

Since the 1970’s more than 2500 graduates of W. F. West High School has received West or Coffman scholarships, the majority of those for multiple years. The West and Coffman scholarships have been an incredible blessing to our students, our schools and our community. The contributions made by West and Coffman scholars after gaining a higher education can’t be fully calculated. West and Coffman scholarship recipients have gone on to be leaders in business, government, education, healthcare and the sciences.

The West and Coffman Scholarships laid the foundation for giving that is exceptional in a small community. Tonight’s scholarship and award night is a tribute to the legacy and tradition these families started, and to the generous gifts of individuals, families, friends, businesses, organizations and foundations in Chehalis to support all students in career and college pursuits. Tonight, this community tradition of giving will provide financial support to W. F. West graduates to support them in their college and career pursuits.

These permanent trusts, worth more than $2.2 million have provided scholarships to W. F. West graduates of “superior ability” and in need of financial assistance to attend college. We are grateful to the West and Coffman families for establishing a community tradition of giving.

Tonight’s scholarship and award night is a tribute to the legacy and tradition these families started, and to the generous gifts of individuals, families, friends, businesses, organizations and foundations in Chehalis to support all students in career and college pursuits. Tonight, this community tradition of giving will provide financial support to W. F. West graduates to support them in their college and career pursuits. We will begin our awards evening by recognizing the growing tradition of providing scholarships to students of Chehalis.