By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

The tornadoes that rushed through Adams County back in early April are still fresh in the minds of many residents. Amongst the carnage left behind by the twisters was a considerable amount of damage to the West Union Recreation Park and Freedom Field. Now thanks to the hard work of some local groups such as GRIT, Baxla’s and Kubota, money will be available to repair and remodel the park, something that will benefit the young people of the community who use the park for baseball, softball, soccer and football.

It was announced recently that the West Union Recreation Restoration Project had been selected as a winner of the 2024 Kubota Hometown Proud grant, the grant coming in the amount of $10,000. But that’s not all as the following press release from the Kubota Newsroom explains:

“As a continued commitment to its dealers, customers, and local communities, Kubota Tractor Corporation announced 20 grant recipients in its fourth annual Kubota Hometown Proud® grant program aimed at providing support across the country for local nonprofit organizations and their unique initiatives.

This year, the company is proud to announce that the West Union Recreation Ballpark restoration project nominated by Future Plans and supported by local Kubota dealer Baxla Tractor is one of those winners. Each of the 20 hometown projects now goes up for a public vote and the project with the most votes in each district will turn its $10,000 grant into a $50,000 grant.

Future Plans unites organizations and individuals, working together and leading communities in making a difference in all areas of life; the West Union Recreation Ballpark restoration project fits that mission. The project directly reflects Adams County’s deep sense of unity, community, and resilience. In just a few horrible minutes, a tornado destroyed years of hard work and development at the park. Future Plans describes the ballpark as the centerpiece of activity and fun for this community: Adams County needs this park.

With the $10,000 Kubota grant Future Plans will focus on priority repairs to make the ballpark safe for its community. Should they win the $50,000 grant, they will be able to rebuild and replace some of the more expensive items on the organization’s priority list to bring their pre-tornado ballpark back.”

So, how does the West Union Recreation Project turn a $10,000 grant into a $50,000 grant? Simple- vote, vote, vote! From now until August 14, community members can cast their votes for the WU Project to multiply their grant five times over.

From now until August 14 at 11:59 p.m. CT, the public is encouraged to visit KubotaHometownProud.com and rally for their hometown project by casting a vote for one of the 20 community projects. Every vote submitted will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a Kubota residential Z200 Series zero-turn mower or BX Series sub-compact tractor. Voters can make their selections once per day to increase their odds of winning. The community projects with the most votes will be announced in September. (You can also vote by scanning the QR code that accompanies this story, it will take you directly to the site.)

The West Union Recreation Ballpark restoration project nominated by Future Plans and supported by local Kubota dealer Baxla Tractor. Future Plans unites organizations and individuals, working together and leading communities in making a difference in all areas of life; the West Union Recreation Ballpark restoration project fits that mission. The project directly reflects Adams County’s deep sense of unity, community and resilience. In just a few horrible minutes, a tornado destroyed years of hard work and development at the park. Future Plans describes the ballpark as the centerpiece of activity and fun for this community: Adams County needs this park.

The $10,000 Kubota grant Future Plans will focus on priority repairs to make the ballpark safe for its community. Should they win the $50,000 grant, they will be able to rebuild and replace some of the more expensive items on the organization’s priority list to bring their pre-tornado ballpark back.

“I am a lifelong resident of Adams County and I am always blown away by the amount of support from area folks and businesses to support our youth and communities,” said Amy Queen, GRIT Community Outreach Partner. “Everyone can vote daily for the next seven days to knock this campaign out of the park! Let’s vote!”

(As of press time, the Adams County grant was winning the vote with one week to go.)