A native son of Napoleon, who has achieved worldwide success in health and nutrition, wants to give a boost to folks back at home.

Myron Wentz, a microbiologist and immunologist who founded USANA, a vitamin and nutrition supplement company based in Salt Lake City, and a whole body disease treatment center in Mexico, has pledged some serious money to a Napoleon school improvement project.

Wentz has offered to match $200,000 in donations to help pay for a new wooden gym floor, bleachers and locker, and weight and wrestling rooms.

Randy Schumacher, Napoleon School Board president, said the work will start this summer on the gym floor, bleacher and possibly locker room phases of the project.

The gym still has the original tiles laid down 43 years ago, he said.

He said the entire school has benefited from improvements over the year and now it's time to deal with the gym and athletic area.

Napoleon has a strong wrestling program and having a wrestling room will mean not having to pull mats into the lunchroom for practice. He said it's also time to update the weight room, which is located in a storage area behind the stage.

The wrestling and weight rooms will be housed in new additions to the school.

To get things rolling, the board sent out 1,800 letters to Napoleon High School alumni, asking them to chip in toward the $400,000 project.

Wentz, who graduated in 1959, stepped up to the plate after getting what Schumacher called a "special letter."

Schumacher said Wentz responded the next day, offering to match half the project cost.

Without Wentz's help, Schumacher said the board could not proceed with the improvements, at least to the extent that's planned.

So far, the project has attracted about $35,000 to match Wentz's donation. The board will hold the match opportunity open for a while to give people time to think it over.

"We're optimistic we can get it done," Schumacher said. "The school board is committed."

Anyone with questions, or who would like to make a donation, can contact him at 754-2684.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@;westriv.com.)