Yelm FFA Alumni Association reflects on over 20 years of supporting YHS program

In Yelm, you know you’re officially approaching the Fourth of July when the Yelm FFA Alumni Association sets its trailer up in the parking lot of the 507 Taproom, just off Yelm Avenue.

For over 20 years, the Yelm FFA Alumni Association has held a firework sale within the Nisqually Valley region leading up to the Fourth of July. The funds directly benefit Yelm High School (YHS) FFA members in numerous ways, including post-high school scholarships, trips to FFA National Convention and more.

“All of our money goes back to Yelm FFA students. We also do support some 4H students in the community through things like market add-ons. There are other kids, besides just Yelm FFA members, who benefit from the sale,” Kim Muir, Yelm FFA Alumni secretary and treasurer, told the Nisqually Valley News on Wednesday, July 2. “We’re especially happy that our community is continuing to support us. We have a lot of repeat customers. We are willing to bargain, and the more you buy the more we bargain. It’s a great fundraiser, and we just really appreciate the community’s support.”

Muir added the Yelm FFA Alumni Association is in a “wonderful position” to assist YHS’s FFA program in ways the school district and Yelm’s FFA program itself cannot.

“They would not necessarily have the school’s approval to do something like fireworks. We have a great team right now who are coming together and working beautifully together,” Muir said. “We’re in a wonderful position because we can help in ways that Yelm FFA and the school cannot. We can help group settings. We can do individual help. We have a lot of flexibility.”

Due to the generosity of the local community and fundraising efforts from the alumni group, Yelm FFA Alumni Association was able to increase the amount of its six scholarships from $500 to $1,000 per student. Additionally, the group will help send eight to 12 YHS FFA students to the FFA National Convention during the 2025-26 school year, Muir said.

“We’ll be helping with those costs, and those students will be doing some fundraising — which we will help support,” she said.

Muir and the Yelm FFA Alumni Association are grateful for the support they receive from the 507 Taproom and its owner, Bill DeVore. For the last several years, DeVore has welcomed the association to use his facility, turning the 507 Taproom parking lot into a known location for fireworks within the Nisqually Valley.

“Our relationship with Bill (DeVore) and the 507 Taproom is phenomenal. I walk in each year and ask him if we have permission to be here for the Fourth of July. He tells us that we don’t even have to ask,” Muir said. “He has unwavering support of us. It’s amazing that he gives up a huge chunk of his parking lot for us, especially during a busy time of year.”

To support DeVore’s business, Muir said the alumni group sells a reduced-price bundle for fireworks called the “507 Taproom Package.” If customers go inside, support the taproom and return to the booth with a receipt, they’ll be able to then purchase the discounted bundle.

“We love having Bill’s support. That’s huge for us,” Muir said. “It really helps to have that consistency of being in the same location every year.”

Muir told the Nisqually Valley News that she originally became involved with the Yelm FFA Alumni Association while her son was still in high school. Eleven years after his graduation from YHS, Muir is just as involved with the association as ever.

“The program was so beneficial for my son, and I really believe in it. I believe that you can take a shy, quiet kid who doesn’t really love school, and get them involved in the FFA or some other organization,” Muir said. “His adviser knew he was a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, and he loved that role. He loved his high school experience, and I don’t believe that would’ve happened without Yelm High School FFA.”

Like Muir, Leslee Garvey, Yelm FFA Alumni Association board member, told the Nisqually Valley News that she became involved in the group due to her daughter’s interest in the FFA program while she was at YHS.

“I got involved because my daughter came home with a field trip form, and we’re still here. Now she’s going to be an agriculture teacher,” Leslee said. “Without support, they’re not going to be able to retain any kids with the way everything is right now. They need all of the support they can get. Get out, support the teachers and support the kids. That’s what everybody needs.”

Her daughter, Caitlyn Garvey, also spoke on the importance of giving back to the FFA community. She said the program helped her grow as a student, an individual and as a young adult, and is thankful to be in the position to give back. Due to her exceptional experience in YHS FFA, Garvey is studying to become an agriculture teacher.

“I think it’s important for a program, that has especially helped me, to come back and be the support for these kids now. Getting to be here is one of the things I enjoy,” Caitlyn said. “This is the only weekend of summer that I’m coming home from college, and I get to spend it with people I enjoy and support a community I love and has made me the community I am.”