Area Business Family Gives To The Future
Drost, (left and back row) hosted the students from China to his dealership earlier this year. (file photo)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Helping Oskaloosa students achieve their dreams was a part of why Carl and Martha Drost decided to establish a scholarship fund enabling that.
Carl Drost is a graduate of Oskaloosa High School and William Penn. “Oskaloosa’s always done a good job with educating young people and they did a good job with me,” says Drost.
Drost was drafted into the Army where he served in Vietnam. “When I got out of the service, I was a mechanic at a John Deere store,” where Drost says that one day, an offer was extended to Drost to start his own implement dealership. “Martha and I couldn’t have rubbed two pennies together to come up with two cents.”
With some connections and a lot of hard work, “We managed to put together a Ford tractor dealership for nine years, and after nine years the John Deere company came and wanted us to be their dealer; so we expanded.”
“After thirty-nine-and-a-half years in Oskaloosa,” Drost got a phone call just over a year ago. A call came in that started the process of Drost selling his dealership. “We found out hard work had really paid off,” said Drost.
Since the sale of his dealership, Drost and his wife have spent considerable time discussing what to do with the gains from the sale. They both decided that after the community had supported them, they wanted to give back to their community. “So Martha suggested we donate the money we didn’t need to live on and put it in things that we could watch it work.”
Earlier in the year, the Drost family donated $400,000 towards finishing the soccer field at the Lacey Stadium.
Carl and Martha Drost donated $400,000 this July to the MCRF Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation.
This donation, along with another donation of $270,000 from the Daily Trust will go towards the 1 million dollar fund-raising campaign for ongoing projects at the Lacey Complex.
The soccer field on the west side of the main stands will be named for the Drost family.
The next step the family has taken together, in giving back to the community, was a donation to the Oskaloosa Education Foundation in the amount of $50,000. Those funds were invested in an annuity.
The scholarships are $1,250 per year, with 2 students being the recipients. This amount is guaranteed from the interest earned on the annuity.
The first of two Carl and Martha Drost Agricultural Scholarships will go to a high school senior that is going to school in agriculture. If there is no agriculture graduate, the scholarship will then go to a technology student.
The second scholarship will go to a student pursing an degree in Elementary Education.
Oskaloosa School Superintendent Russ Reiter thanked Drost for helping Oskaloosa students attain their education dreams.
