Eugene Rotary Club President's Message
2/1/2010 The Haiti Earthquake Helps Remind Us that Rotary is International
1/1/2010 A Painless Resolution: Visit Montreal, Get More Out of Rotary
12/1/2009 The Holiday Spirit: Giving Thanks, Reflecting, and Beginning Anew
11/1/2009 “I can guarantee you, it will make you feel great!”
10/1/2009 How will our Club help build the skate park we’ve been hearing about?
Mike Fox, President 2009-2010
My Fellow Rotarians,
Last month in this column I told you about the vision behind the skate park to be built under the bridge in the Washington-Jefferson Park, and why it’s a good idea. This month we’ll discuss how our Club can help with this worthy project.
As I mentioned last month, This is an opportunity for us to provide a healthy outlet for kids, and it’s an opportunity as well for us to help the City improve a troubled area of town. I also mentioned last month that your Board of Directors enthusiastically endorsed this project, and that one Director even pledged $1,000.00 up front to kick-start the Club’s enthusiasm.
Actually, at that August meeting, Lee White, who has been spearheading this project, brought before the Board a proposal from the Community Service Committee that the Club, among other things, provide $30,000 to $50,000 in funding for the project over the course of the next couple of years. The Board showed how it appreciated the modesty of Lee’s and the Committee’s proposal by raising the ante, so to speak, and set a target for the Club to raise between $75,000 and $100,000 (!!!).
Well, how do we envision this happening?
(Don’t worry, not all of it is going to be coming out of your pockets. After all, the Board and I are mindful of all our dollars, and we certainly don’t want to interfere with Rotarians’ generosity to The Rotary Foundation and the End Polio Now campaign.)
The Board approved fundraising efforts including a “Texas Hold’em” poker night, tentatively scheduled for February 2010, an auction of various skate park features that donors would want their names attached to, solicitation of in-kind services and materials from Club members and other community leaders, and support for other skatepark events and fundraisers.
And, of course, for those of us who remember our involvement in Riverplay, we’ll have sweat equity by Rotarians in the building of the facility.
Already, the Club has reached out to the community to further its goals. Recently Community Service Committee Co-Chair Gerry Harris, Public Relations Chair Joel Pomerantz, and I met with Dave Hauser, Executive Director of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce. Dave agreed that the Chamber will work with our Club to publicize the Club’s efforts to build the park and to get Chamber members to contribute to our efforts. Think about it: our Club and the Chamber joining in a partnership to use their combined clout to further this project. This is a big deal.
Lastly, we will be asking other Rotary Clubs to join us. Many hands make light work.
I ask all of you to do what you can to help the Club in this exciting and vital project.