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<p>ASHLEY &#8212; As Michele Kocher sat at the entrance to the Ashley Fire Hall, she began to tear up as she spoke about her late husband, Mike.</p><p>Her family members and friends held their second annual spaghetti dinner at the hall Saturday, one of the two major fundraisers for the Mike Kocher Memorial Scholarship Fund.</p><p>Kocher said that her husband, who died of complications from diabetes in 2015, was an avid volunteer in local communities.</p><p>&#8220;He would volunteer for anything,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Even when he was sick. He never gave up.&#8221;</p><p>From volunteer fire departments to coaching Little League to even becoming one of the first male candy stripers at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, Kocher said her late husband did everything he could to help others.</p><p>Mike&#8217;s sister, Lee Ann Chamberlin, said he got the desire to help from their parents.</p><p>&#8220;Our parents were foster parents for many years,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He started volunteering when he was 13.&#8221;</p><p>Wanting to keep his memory and goodwill toward others alive, the family began a scholarship fund in his name for seniors at Hanover Area High School. Chamberlin said in 2016 the fund raised enough money to help aid four seniors with college tuition expenses.</p><p>Profits from Saturday&#8217;s fundraiser will aid seniors who qualify for the scholarship with a graduation date of 2017.</p><p>Mike was a 1991 graduate of Hanover Area.</p><p>The family said that the only requirement for students to be qualified for the scholarship is that they are active volunteers in their communities.</p><p>As patrons began coming in, Hanover Township Boy Scout Troop 166 began taking orders and serving plates of spaghetti and meatballs.</p><p>Boy Scout Daniel Kultys, of Ashley, said that he enjoys helping others and volunteering his time for a good cause.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s nice to see the community come together and have a nice little dinner,&#8221; he said as he waited for an order. &#8220;I feel that it&#8217;s nice that there&#8217;s so much attention to (the fund), and people take time out of their day to come.&#8221;</p><p>Patrons were able to dine-in or place an order to go. In the corner of the hall was a table filled with various baked goods for sale.</p><p>Angela Kane, a Hunlock Creek resident and director of Building Blocks Daycare in Dallas, decided to gaze over the basket raffles before she sat down to her dinner, contemplating which one she should choose. Kane said that Kocher teaches at the daycare and wanted to come support a fellow employee and her family.</p><p>&#8220;Her husband was a fantastic gentleman,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We like to support his memory and the dinner.&#8221;</p><p>Fund treasurer Lori Fedor said that while there is no set goal for the fundraiser, she hopes that they can match - if not exceed - last year&#8217;s goal of $2,500.</p><p>&#8220;Whatever we raise goes to help,&#8221; she said, noting that the next fundraiser will be a pancake breakfast in the spring.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Barry Hagenbaugh, of Wilkes-Barre, enjoys a spaghetti dinner at the Ashley Fire Hall during a fundraiser for the Mike Kocher Memorial Scholarship Fund on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kocher1_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Barry Hagenbaugh, of Wilkes-Barre, enjoys a spaghetti dinner at the Ashley Fire Hall during a fundraiser for the Mike Kocher Memorial Scholarship Fund on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kocher2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dale Chamberlin, right dishes out a to go order of spaghetti as his son, Timothy, waits. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kocher2_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Dale Chamberlin, right dishes out a to go order of spaghetti as his son, Timothy, waits. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kocher4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dave Fedor checks the spaghetti. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kocher4_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Dave Fedor checks the spaghetti. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kocher3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jennifer Scott pours sauce and meat balls over a take out order of spaghetti. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kocher3_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>Jennifer Scott pours sauce and meat balls over a take out order of spaghetti. </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Dinner raises money for Mike Kocher Memorial Scholarship Fund