Our Mission

 The Wylie Ragland Memorial Scholarship was established in 2018 by his wife, Erin, in honor of his loving memory.

On September 13, 2016 Wylie passed away unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm.  He was only 33 years old and otherwise completely healthy.  He'd had a physical the previous year that Erin made him do, which he repeatedly tried to resist.  However, he was ecstatic to report his results back to her that he was "as healthy as a horse!"  As a registered organ donor Wylie was able to give the gift of life by donating 6 organs.  He was also an eye and tissue donor, which will save countless number of lives. Wylie is survived by his wife Erin, sons Taiden & Colton, along with a host of family and friends.

Wylie grew up in Tabor, IA.  A small town with strong community ties.  He formed many relationships & friendships  that lasted through adulthood.  Through out his teen years he was involved in sports, school activities and working.    Wylie had been a hard worker from a young age.  Starting with a paper route, learning how to do auto repairs with his dad, going on to learn the trades or roofing, tiling, and eventually a 12 year career in building scaffolding. 

Wylie left a legacy of helping others and being a kind soul. He was always willing to lend a hand or help out anyone in need.  His smile was contagious and you couldn't help being in a good mood around him, mainly because of his joke cracking, sense of humor and charismatic personality .

The traditional 4 year college route had not been the path for him, which he realized after his 1st year.   As a way that goes along with Wylie’s life as a hard working blue collar man and the way he was always helping out others, this scholarship was created in his name.  The hope is to help encourage students to follow their passions into the trades, as this is oftentimes not considered the “traditional route.”

The purpose of this scholarship fund is to award the scholarship to high school senior students who will be continuing on their education to learn a trade they would like have a career in, as the trades are something that will always be needed in the future. It is currently open to graduates of Underwood HS in Underwood, IA and Fremont Mills HS in Tabor, IA, as Erin is an Underwood Alumni and Wylie a Fremont-Mills Alumni.  As of 2022 we're proud to announce the addition of Tri-Center HS in Neola, IA.

In addition to this, we are also looking to raise organ donation awareness, as well as encouraging people to register as an organ donor.  We want people to start having this conversation with their families and children about their wishes for organ donation.  We also want to help educate about how the entire process works and debunk any myths that are commonly associated with organ donation.