Employees at Baxla Tractor joined members of the community, representatives form Future Plans and the GRIT Program, plus members of the West Union Recreation Association Board gathered last week to celebrate the official announcement of the $50,000 prize for the repair and restoration of the West Union Rec park. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
Community vote gets $50,000 for Rec Park Restoration
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Kalamazoo, Michigan is a city of 73,000 people. Kalamazoo, meet Adams County.
In an official announcement ceremony held on September 10 at Baxla Tractor in Seaman, West Union one-upped the bigger city up north. After claiming an original $10,000 grant from Kubota Tractor, the West Union Ballpark Restoration project faced off against Barns Repair & Restore from Kalamazoo in an online vote that would determine which of the projects could increase that number up to $50,000. No problem for the good folks of this county as they outdistanced the Michigan voters by some 700 votes to bring the big cash prize back to West Union.
In less than two months, Americans will go to the polls in one of the most important elections in their lifetime, but for a few weeks in late August-early September, the most important election in the county took place online. It was fitting that the vote awarded money for the repair of the Rec Park after the April tornado damage, because just like a big win on the field, this winning vote was a total team effort. Numerous individuals and organizations were involved, from the GRIT program to an organization called Future Plans, to the people at Baxla Tractor and the community who took the time to get online and vote.
The GRIT Project (Growing Rural Inde- pendence Together) is a collaborative approach to build a high-demand workforce and stimulate economic growth. The coalition leverages local, state, and federal dollars by bringing organizations together such as OhioMeansJobs (OMJ), common pleas and drug courts, K-12 school systems, community colleges and universities, economic development agencies (JobsOhio/APEG), Ohio Department of Jobs & Family Services (ODJFS), drug treatment providers, businesses, and other not- for-profit agencies. One of their main components in Adams County is Amy Queen, who was present at the September 10 ceremony.
“I am a Community Outreach partner in the county for Future Plans and the GRIT Project,” explained Queen. “We found out that Kubota was offering the Hometown Proud Grant so we hopped on the chance to bring $50,000 to our county. There were a lot of projects that we could have chosen in our county, but we had the tornado that went through which made me feel that the ballpark would be a good community project that would touch a lot of people because kids play there, grandparents go there to watch their grandkids play. We knew there was a lot of damage there and so that just felt like the right project to pick.”
“GRIT wrote the grant and we found out that out of 1,590 applications we were in the top 20 that would receive the $10,000. Then we knew that we would be paired off with another project and it would be up to our community to get the votes to win over Kalamazoo. We are Adams County and we are community-focused and it all is a great outcome for our community.”
Many people in the community may not have heard of Future Plans, but they are somewhat like the parent of the GRIT Project. Future Plans is a nonprofit organization that focuses on workforce development. Through a collaborative approach, Future Plans stimulates economic growth for communities by building an in-demand workforce. Starting with a career assessment, both students and adults discover their strengths and then work 1-on-1 with a career coach to establish a plan that can lead to post secondary education, job- specific credentialing, or directly to employment.
Future Plans was repre- sented at the announcement ceremony by 2021 North Adams graduate Wylie Shipley, who headed up PR for this project and did outstanding work and was a dynamic presence at the announcement. You may have also noticed a video that promoted the project, created by Cory Kuttler.
“I was just excited to contribute in any way I could,” said Kuttler. “I knew Amy (Queen) and she reached out and asked for a little bit of help and I did what I could. It was about a two-day project and we were able to do some filming at the ballpark.”
One of the big questions that will be on everyone’s mind will simply be, what is going to be done with the money. Tony Staggs of West Union is a member of the West Union Recreation Association Board and he offered this explanation.
“We have a wish list,” said Staggs. “We have repaired the dugouts and put up a new shelter house through donations but with the $50,ooo one of the first things we want to do is repair the chain-link fence that took a beating from the tornadoes. We need to buy a mower and plan on putting up a new concession stand. Our ultimate goal is restrooms. All of this will help facilitate the football field, the soccer fields and the baseball and softball fields.”
The other members of the Board besides Staggs are Kelly Cooper, Ronnie Grooms and Mike Pell and Vicky Mason has been asked to fill the spot as a fifth member.
“The fields have been there for 35 years and they have been neglected,” said Pell at the announcement ceremony. “We took care of the fields while our kids were growing up and playing there and it’s time for repairs.”
Everyone in attendance was quick to thank Kubota for sponsoring the contest and the company sent out an official press release to announce the winners and that release stated:
“The Kubota Home- town Proud grant program not only saw more applicants than ever before from nearly every state in the country, but also more grant winners. In years past we’ve named five grant recipients, and this year we had 20,” said Todd Stucke, President of Kubota Tractor Corporation. “Our dealers embody the spirit of their home-owns, and it’s important for us to give them more resources to give back to local organizations that matter most to them and their customers, positioning them as the local dealer of choice while shining light on the important work being done in their hometowns. I extend my heartfelt congratulationsto all who were a part of this year’s program.”
