ARLINGTON — Todd Busby was participating in a triathlon not long ago when he passed a woman holding a sign that encouraged people to “make a difference.”
A longtime youth athletics coach and father of three, Busby decided to put his money where it would make a difference for kids.
Busby is president of Process Solutions, an Arlington engineering and manufacturing company that employs about 50 people. Through his company, Busby recently donated $5,000 to Lake Stevens High School and $3,000 to Arlington High School to help students who aren’t able to pay the activity fees charged to play sports.
He plans to double his donations to the schools in January.
“In this economy if these donations help kids be able to participate in sports, that is important to me,” Busby said. “We had a letter from a boy whose dad had been out of work for nine months. The donation helped him be able to play.”
Arlington School District is collecting a participation fee for each sport a student joins.
At the high school that means $75 for each sport, and it’s $40 for each sport at the middle schools.
Parents of students may apply to have the participation fee waived if they have current free or reduced lunch status with the district office, Arlington athletic director Tom Roys said.
“So far Todd Busby is the only person who has donated to offset the athletic fees, and I think he did it to encourage others to make sure all kids get to play sports no matter what their economic background,” Roys said.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
To help
Interested in sponsoring an Arlington athlete? Contact the school district athletic director’s office at 360-618-6306.
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