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In celebrating 35 years of advancing quality education in Bartlesville Public Schools, the Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation released a video on Facebook on Thursday highlighting their first ever grant impact video.

In the throwback video, Nancy Grigsby, the former president of the BPS Foundation, can be seen addressing their rapid growth. She added that funds for public education had grown exponentially in the eight to ten years after the Foundation's creation in 1985.

Grigsby would go on to say that a seed had been planted in the Bartlesville community creating an impetus for a state of the art financial endeavor to benefit local schools. She said there had never been an endeavor so critical, adding local support was and is a critical issue in public education. The BPS Foundation provided an avenue for broad-based local support.

A $500 a plate breakfast to benefit Bartlesville Public Schools is how the BPS Foundation got its start in the fall of 1985. Grigsby said the citizens that came shared the belief that the quality of life in the community was directly related to its public education system. She said proceeds from the breakfast exceeded $50,000, and when they filmmed their first ever grant impact video, the Foundation had $1.5-million.

"The BPS Foundation impacts teachers, who impact students that are in charge of impacting our future," Grigsby said in the video, "Success abounds. Every step is a step forward. There is no failure in a public education fund."

Former Bartlesville Superintendent Gary Toothaker is also seen in the video talking about the BPS Foundation's impact. Toothaker said one of the aspects of the BPS Foundation that struck him as being truly unique and helpful to educators is the fact that they had a group of community leaders who were truly dedicated to investing in human capital. He said that spirit of investment, that spirit of commitment makes a great deal of difference to the education system.

On Facebook, the BPS Foundation said:

"It's important to reflect on why our Foundation was created and what our original board members aimed to accomplish. Although a lot has changed in the past 35 years (particularly in the fashion department), we're still focused on funding grants to teachers. We're grateful to out 130+ former board member and current board for ensuring BPSF stays true to our mission..."

Michael Wray was recognized by the BPS Foundation for digitizing the video. You can watch the video below. To read last weeks story on the BPS Foundation and their look back on the past, the can click here.