Stemilt Celebrates Community Impact Made in 2025
January 12, 2026 | 4 min to read
WENATCHEE, Wash – From leaping into freezing waters, to looping little bows on gifts for foster children, Stemilt highlights the community events that its Stemilters participated in and the local organizations that contributed to making a positive difference to the health, wellness, and education of the Wenatchee Valley in 2025. Stemilt’s President, West Mathison, extends his gratitude to employees and community members who came together through a joint goal of making an impact.
“Stemilt has long been committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of the people who work, live, and play within its community,” said Mathison. “After reflecting on the past 12 months, I’m grateful to say we could partner with organizations like the Washington Apple Education Foundation (WAEF), Serve Wenatchee, and Columbia Valley Community Health (CVCH) to uplift the Wenatchee Valley.”
To kick off 2025, the Polar Plunge, a fundraiser event that supports Special Olympics athletes, sent 33 Stemilters and Wenatchee locals diving into the frigid waters of the Columbia River as a pledge to the cause. With 33 Stemilter participants, Stemilt raised over $1,800 for Special Olympics. Then as temperatures rose in May, Stemilt held its yearly Thomas (Tom) K. Mathison Memorial Golf Tournament, in honor of the company’s late founder, to raise money for Stemilt scholarships through WAEF. WAEF is a non-profit organization that helps students from tree fruit families pursue their academic goals. Hole prizes, auctions, and donations, helped last year’s tournament raise $165k for student scholarships.
“My grandfather, Tom, was a firm believer in supporting the next generation of agriculture,” shared Mathison. “The annual Stemilt golf tournament is one way we’ve been able to continue my grandfather’s legacy of making education in agriculture more accessible to aspiring graduates. Along with WAEF, we’ve had the honor of partnering with other local organizations to serve the youth in our community through opportunities like the Community Foundation of NCW’s stuff-a-sack event to reach homeless and high-risk teens and Alatheia Riding Center’s rider scholarships for special needs youth.”
As Thanksgiving came around, Stemilt embraced the season of giving and got busy packing college “survival” snack boxes for WAEF scholarship recipients and started shopping for gifts for foster children. For a 13th year, Stemilt wrapped and donated presents for 120 foster children who are associated with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Family Services (DCYF), an agency for state-funded services that support children and families to build resilience in health, and K Connections, a behavioral rehabilitation service that provides extensive case management services to children.”
“It warms my heart to know we have the power to make a difference in the place that we live, and doing it together leads to truly amazing outcomes,” explained Mathison. “I’d like to thank the Stemilt employees and our partners in the community who donated their time and money to make a greater impact on the Wenatchee Valley in 2025. The best is still yet to come in 2026!”
About Stemilt
Stemilt is a leading grower, packer, and shipper of apples, pears, and cherries, with a legacy rooted in family farming and a passion for growing World Famous fruit. With vertically integrated operations and a commitment to sustainability, innovation, and flavor, Stemilt delivers fruit that delights from tree to table.