Alumni of the Year: Jerry Blankers Serving Others
Jerry Blankers has spent his life in Lynden. For the 1974 LHS alumni that meant serving the community, starting when he was in high school.
The Lynden 2026 Alumni of the Year started coaching youth sports when he was a senior in high school. He hasn’t stopped, coaching well over a thousand kids in baseball, fastpitch and basketball. “They needed coaches, so I coached,” Blankers says about starting out so young. “I broke my shoulder my sophomore year, so I didn’t play a whole lot, but I sat next to Jake [Maberry, legendary Lynden coach] my junior year and I learned. I listened to the best. I enjoyed the camaraderie, I enjoyed the kids.”
Blankers has coached some of the most successful current coaches in Whatcom County and says that he considers everyone he’s coached one of his kids. And that includes David VanderYacht, Lynden Schools superintendent. “Jerry has been investing in Lynden’s youth as far back as the 1980s as a church youth director and coach,” VanderYacht says. “I personally benefited from him as he stepped up to coach me and my friends in competitive spring and summer fastpitch softball as part of the Junior Olympic program. We had opportunities to travel to places like Indiana and Utah. It was great to compete at a national level, but it was the modeling and mentorship he provided that has stuck with me. He’s the kind of person you want to emulate when you get older and have the time and resources to make a difference in the lives of others.”
The annual alumni award, selected by the Lynden Alumni Association based on positive representation of Lynden Schools, personal integrity, a positive impact in the community and an inspiration to others, celebrates Blankers at the school’s Homecoming assembly on Sept. 24 and during the Homecoming football game.
When he gets the chance to speak to the current students at LHS, Blankers has a simple message. “Life is about sharing,” he says, “helping other people become successful. It isn’t about how many toys you have.”
A constant presence around Lynden, Blankers grew up on his family’s dairy farm and later attended Western Washington University. “My dad taught me responsibility,” he says about growing up on the farm. When he went to college, his dad sold the farm and began selling real estate. After WWU, Blankers bought Jansen’s Nursery locally, but the economy was tough and soon joined his dad in real estate. In December 1980, Blankers earned his real estate license and is just shy of 46 years in the business, having started off with Snapper Shuler Kenner and now the managing broker of The Muljat Group North.
In that role, Blankers helped start one of Lynden’s most exciting downtown traditions. After the annual Raspberry Festival kicked off as a simple sidewalk sale in 1997, it needed a jolt. Blankers created the Razz Fest, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament that has grown from an original 35 teams to well over 200 each year, packing the streets of Lynden each July during the festival with hoopers from kindergarten through adult, many with entire families in tow. It’s now named the Curt Maberry Memorial Classic.
VanderYacht says Blankers’ mission of looking after others is clear. “In the early years of the 3-on-3 basketball tournament taking over downtown as part of the raspberry festival, I was leading a summer school for children of migrant farmworkers,” VanderYacht says. “I did not fully embrace the festival due to its celebration of raspberries absent of a visible recognition of the labor required for a successful harvest (not to mention fall activities of cutting and tying the canes). I called Jerry and shared my interest in recognizing migrant students in a meaningful way. He didn’t hesitate and went above and beyond my expectations by not only making it as easy as possible to enter teams into the tournament but by inviting all the students downtown for a free basketball and ice cream. Jerry bought 70 basketballs and 70 ice cream cones that year and our migrant kids were shown that they were valued and welcomed. Clearly his vision for a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and dedication to making it what it is today has shaped part of Lynden’s community character but it’s how he responded to my concern for Lynden to be more welcoming that elevates him to join the likes of Hub DeJong and Curt Maberry as Lynden High School’s Alumni of the Year for 2026.”
Lynden High School teacher and coach Ed Bomber has known Blankers for nearly four decades, enjoying the generosity of Blankers across multiple aspects of Lynden Schools. “He supports all kids at all levels, as well as all of our schools,” Bomber says. “We wouldn’t have much of what we have developed at Lynden High School if it wasn’t for his generosity over more than three decades.”
Brian Roper, Lynden High School teacher and coach, says Blankers has quietly made a difference for hundreds of student-athletes for more than 30 years. “He has coached youth teams, given financial support for players and programs, and most of all, has shown up,” Roper says. “I am never surprised to see Jerry cheering on the Lions everywhere from Jake Maberry Gymnasium to the SunDome in Yakima.”
Roper says the irony of Blankers deserving the award is that he never looks for recognition. “His generosity and faithful support of our athletes and coaches have made a difference in the lives of many,” he says. “What makes Jerry so deserving of alumni-of-the-year is not simply how much he has given, but the heart behind it. Whether it’s providing a meal, donating or standing in the gym supporting our players, Jerry has always found ways to invest in our kids.”
