Alan Nichols

The Ewald Foundation Awards 2016 Alan Nichols

Who was Gloria Ewald and Why The Ewald Foundation and The Ewald Awards Magazine

Gloria Ewald was a client of Alan Nichols, a San Francisco Lawyer and former president of the San Francisco School Board. One day she called to tell him she wanted him, as her attorney, to help her plan her estate and draft a will. As they worked on what she wanted accomplished, she reminded him that she had spent her working life teaching at the elementary school level. She had found, from her own experience in public schools, that talent contests were great motivators of young people and fun for everyone.

Unmarried and without children, it was important to her that her property be used to continue her life's work in education. For that reason she wanted the bulk of her estate to be used to sponsor "talent" competitions for elementary school students in San Francisco. She sought to create a special opportunity for those students who wanted to succeed and had both an interest in and an aptitude for performance, whether it was for a professional career, for personal enrichment, recognition, or just for the joy of accomplishment.

Alan Nichols suggested that she sponsor some events during her life, or if she did not feel she was able to do that, to specify more exactly what she had in mind. Because of illness, she never had the opportunity to complete her plans in detail. It was left up to the people who supervise the Ewald Foundation to put her dreams into practice.

George Newman, a loyal friend during her lifetime, gave form to her hopes after her death. He agreed to become chairman of the Ewald Foundation. Under his leadership and that of the Board of Trustees, the Ewald Foundation has done much to encourage elementary school children to realize their own dreams and aspirations.

The purpose of the Ewald Foundation Awards publication is to honor the young people in San Francisco's public school system who have participated in the Ewald Foundation program in instrumental music, art, writing, video and digital photography and to recognize the San Francisco Unified School District.