Big in the hearts of the Hobart Community as a whole was to have a community playground, and now thanks to a lot of folks and the Hobart Community Church that long time vision has finally come to fruition with a dedication of the community playground on Monday, May 15.
According to Pastor Rob Morris, Pastor of the Hobart Community Church where the grounds were developed, $25,000 was raised for the playground with Hobart Community Church donating $7,000; Foothills Household of Faith $5,000; King County CSA grant of $3,000; Maple Valley Rotary $1,000; Individual church members $4000; and Dinner & Auction fund raiser including many donations from Maple Valley businesses $2500. The rest of the monetary donations came from Memorial Donations for Dave Fields, Ruth Henshaw, Sharon Barcelou, and Freeman Dixon from family and friends.
Another piece of the puzzle in putting the project together came in the way of discounts from Pacific Outdoor Products of Maple Valley with Hansen Pitts (salesman) and Mike Pellettieri (Installation Leader); Rainer Wood Recycling (playground chips). Also a huge thanks to Ken Gauthier, who did all the ground preparation for our playground sight.
On installation day, Pastor Rob reported that there were over 50 different church and community members on site working from early morning to dusk in order to get the major pieces put in the ground and connect it all together correctly.
“Mike Pellettieri was the installation expert and leader of the ragtag group of helpers and deserves huge credit for putting up with a bunch of inexperienced experts trying to get everything put together correctly in one Saturday,” said Pastor Rob.
Others thanked included Joel Hansen, Daryl Harper from Foothills Household of Faith Community Church, Nicholas Kirschbaum & troupe who work on the project for his Eagle Scout project, and the many church members and families who worked to give, build and install the playground. Special thanks went out to Alan Painter and Marissa Allegeria for helping with the Community Service Area grant (CSA) from King County – and to Reagan Dunn, King County Representative for the area for helping cut the ribbon with a pair of garden shears.
“Thank you, Hobart/Maple Valley Community for your support, encouragement, and help!!!” said Pastor Rob. And after giving thanks to the Lord for His many blessings involving the project and providing a place for the community to gather and enjoy with their families, it was time to go cut the ribbon and officially open the community park for everyone to enjoy.
