For a couple in their late 70s, Gale and Roger Swanson are pretty spry. In the midst of consulting with financial planner and fellow member Kathleen Kee of Focus Partners Wealth, they pulled off an impressive pivot — the launch of the Swanson Family Scholarship.
“You can do three things with your money: You can give it to the government, you can give it to your family, or you can give it to nonprofits,” Roger recalls Kee explaining. “We had never considered doing something this substantial,” he says, but when Kee confirmed that they had the resources, it became a no-brainer.
“It was just the right thing to do,” Gale explains. “I’m a teacher. I’m a parent. There’s nothing more worthy than focusing on the success of the next generation.” Thus, the Multnomah Athletic Foundation’s newest allocation came into being. In late April, MAF and the Swansons are set to award their first $10,000 over two years of secondary education to a student from one of 47 area high schools.
“It’s about creating opportunities for more kids to help them as they go forward with what they want to pursue after high school. It’s in keeping with what MAF has done in a broader context to hopefully get out beyond just the schools served by the Loprinzi Scholarship,” Roger says.
As a former chair of MAF’s Scholarship Committee, and co-chair of the foundation, Roger instantly thought of MAF when it came time to
choose a trusted partner to help him and Gale roll out their own philanthropic endeavor. “I was up close and personal with MAF’s programs, and I saw firsthand that these were truly great kids they were serving,” Roger says.
An engineer by profession, Roger’s career carried him from Bell Labs to Intel — one of the first firms to relocate from the Bay Area to the Portland metro area — to Sequent Computer Systems, which was acquired by IBM. Getting in on the ground floor of Sequent, and the company’s subsequent sale, paved the way for him and Gale to be in a position to offer this new scholarship. Now, they view it as their responsibility to help provide others with a shot at success, and the Swansons hope this can inspire other MAC members to do the same.
“This is a vehicle that’s very available to a big subset of people here at MAC who may be able to come forward and share their resources. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It sets the stage for giving in future generations,” Gale says.
The Swansons also want their own daughters, Sandra Hill and Kristin Yetman, to be part of that generous future by continuing their legacy via the scholarship. “We’re not going to be around forever, and I hope our two girls get involved at some point,” Roger says.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” he adds. “This is our community, and we’re happy to be giving back to it.”
This story was written and published for the WingedM magazine, April 2025 edition by Jake Ten Pas. Thank you to the Multnomah Athletic Club for he permission to reprint.