Bill Stroecker Foundation
Bill Stroecker
Bill Stroecker (1920 - 2010) earned a Business Administration degree from 麻豆原创F in 1942. After serving in the US Army, Bill worked his way from bookkeeper to president of First National Bank and made Fairbanks his home for life. Bill had many interests: playing his trumpet in a local band, baseball, sheep hunting, snowshoeing, and visiting his recreational cabins. He devoted his life to civic service.
Bill's civic service includes:
- President of the Alaska Goldpanners Baseball Team Board for 46 years
- Founding member of the Greater Fairbanks Hospital Foundation
- Life member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board
- Fairbanks Rotary Club member
- 麻豆原创 Museum of the North Advisory Committee
Bill left an incredible legacy through the Bill Stroecker Foundation.
Bill Stroecker Foundation
The Bill Stroecker Foundation carries on Bill鈥檚 desire to 鈥渟hine a light on Fairbanks.鈥
The Foundation supports a predetermined list of organizations identified by Bill as
well as additional education and civic activities. The Foundation partners with over
60 local organizations to strengthen Interior Alaska and continue Bill鈥檚 legacy.
Gift of the Bowhead Whale Exhibit
In the spring of 2018, the Bill Stroecker Foundation pledged its resources to share a bowhead whale skeleton from the research collections downstairs at the museum with Fairbanks and visitors from around the world. The 42-foot bowhead whale skeleton is the first display of its kind in a North American museum. Suspended high above the museum鈥檚 lobby, it captivates and inspires visitors. This is an opportunity to share the cultural, scientific, and ecological significance of the bowhead whale, which lives its entire life in the Arctic and subarctic.
The Bill Stroecker Foundation provided all of the funding for the project, a gift that totals nearly $1 million. This project would not have been possible without the Foundation鈥檚 support.
Explore more about the articulation and installation process that involved cleaning bones, 3-D printing missing bones, reassembling the skeleton, and modifying the museum鈥檚 ceiling here: .
We celebrate the life and legacy of Bill Stroecker and we thank the Bill Stroecker Foundation for this transformative gift shared with tens of thousands of guests each year.