About Janette + Foundation
Janette Janette Nix Jakovina was born in 1949 in Fayetteville, TN. After graduating from Peabody College (Vanderbilt University), she began teaching. Janette loved teaching and believed in the importance of education. She met Tom Paulson and they were married in 1974. Soon after, they moved to Minnesota and settled in Ham Lake. They had six children, four girls — Janie, Elizabeth, Melissa, Cindy, and two boys — Will and Matt. It is a great honor to have an award and scholarship named after Janette.
Foundation
The Janette Paulson Award and Scholarship, is based largely on personal conduct independent of ability. Janette believed there was much more to life than who scored the most goals, got the most kills or was first-chair. She believed that conducting oneself with the utmost class, dignity and respect for every single person far outweighed the final result. In addition, Janette never said a bad word about anyone, and these people do the same.
Finally, Award and Scholarship winners revel in the groups’ successes rather than any individual, although they are undoubtedly happy for anything achieved by others. Like Janette did in every aspect of life, they selflessly give themselves in whatever way necessary to help others around them succeed. And win or lose, they are thankful to have taken the ride with absolute, unflinching Grace.
The Janette Paulson Award is given to a Blaine High School volleyball player each year who demonstrates the above values. The player receiving the award also receives a scholarship toward a college education.
The Janette Paulson Foundation has also been able to support the Blaine volleyball program by donating equipment based on needs and delivering sports equipment to a remote village in Romania, where Janette’s son Matt was serving in Peace Corps.
The Janette Paulson Educational Grant, the first of its kind for the Blaine High School Band Program, was created in 2016 to support music enrichment for Blaine High School band students. It is an award given to a student who exemplifies the qualities Janette most valued in her students and children: class, dignity and respect for everyone.
Janette was a teacher and educator who had an immense love for music and the arts, and she encouraged her six children to participate in orchestra, band or musical activities. Her youngest, Cindy, participated in Blaine band for four years.
However, Janette also believed there was much more to life than who was first-chair or got the most solos. She believed that a student should be rewarded for personal conduct independent of ability.
This grant rewards students who best exemplify these qualities by providing them with an opportunity to enrich their music education.
