The Oaklawn Foundation presented the National Park College Board of Trustees $275,000 for renovations to the college's gym complex during the board's regular monthly meeting Wednesday.
The gym complex houses the college's wellness center, fitness studios and gym, known on campus as "The Kettle."
The rubber gym floor and bleachers are original to the facility, which was built in 1978. The grant will fund a new wooden gym floor and bleachers, which will provide a safer environment for events and activities that take place in the gym, a training room to provide space for athletic trainers to evaluate and treat the more than 100 student-athletes expected on campus this fall, and a scorer's table to give space for the broadcast team, media and score and timekeepers.
The new floor will also be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Oaklawn Foundation board's vice chairman, Larry Stanley, said in a release prior to the announcement that the foundation is excited to be part of this "significant investment in the future of National Park College."
"We believe this grant will have a lasting and significant impact on National Park College, and provide opportunities and possibilities that we can only imagine today. We are very excited about it," Stanley said during the meeting. "We know the new gym will be a great home to the Nighthawks.
"It is going to be a multipurpose facility used by a lot of students for a lot of different activities. That was very important to us. This is quite an asset to the community and we're glad to be a part of it."
Oaklawn Foundation Chairman Ira Kleinman said the foundation's mission is to support education and senior citizens, making this project "a great fit."
"I believe that NPC is heading in an exciting direction. They are working to improve the experience for their students and that is good for our community," Kleinman said in the release.
Nicole Herndon, executive director of the NPC Foundation, said the organization is grateful for the continued support of the Oaklawn Foundation.
"We appreciate how invested the Oaklawn Foundation is in National Park College," she said. "We know that our number one priority is our students and we see that you see that as well."
Herndon said the new scorer's table, in particular, will be "a one-stop-shop" for those involved with the games.
"We have the media, we have the scoreboard -- so many different people -- and they all had to go to different places," she said. "Now they will all be in one area. And it also provides a way for our community to be more engaged as we can sell sponsorships, advertisement. We're very, very excited about this."
Chairman Forrest Spicher said the board appreciates the investment and is "confident it will be put to good use."
"I appreciate all that the Oaklawn Foundation does and how it invests in our community and, in this case, our college," NPC President John Hogan said.
"The renovation of 'The Kettle' will be safer for our youths, our athletes, our annual health and wellness fair and the other things that we use that community facility for. I am very appreciative and grateful for the continued partnership and support that the Oaklawn Foundation provides to the greater community and NPC."
Local on 06/27/2019