On the first business day in January each year, the phones at the Grand Blanc Parks & Recreation office start ringing as dozens of residents call to reserve the pavilion at Creasey Bicentennial Park. By the end of January, the pavilion is booked for the year with family reunions, company picnics and wedding receptions.
Admittedly, the perennial sold-out status of the pavilion is a good problem to have—it means that area residents are enjoying the Grand Blanc park. But Kae Eidson, executive director of Grand Blanc Parks & Recreation, doesn’t like turning people away. That’s why she recently asked for some help.
Thanks to the Grand Blanc Community Fund, Eidson is well on her way to making that second pavilion a reality. The Grand Blanc Community Fund recently advised a $30,000 grant from the Helen Dennis Family Fund to kick-start the project.
The existing pavilion, which was built on the south side of the park in 1978, accommodates 150-200 people, has electricity, a kitchen area with refrigeration, restrooms and two large grills. The new pavilion—which will include the same amenities—will be built on the north side of the park near four new soccer fields. Currently, there is no facility on that side of the park to provide shelter or shade for those attending soccer tournaments and other events.
“There’s definitely a demand,” Eidson said, adding that use of the park is only expected to increase in the coming years.
The grant from the Grand Blanc Community Fund will provide a big boost for the $200,000 project. Eidson expects that construction on the pavilion will begin in July 2012, and is confident that additional grants and fundraising activities will see the project through.
By November 2012, Eidson hopes to have the new pavilion in place. She’s also looking forward to a time when she won’t have to turn so many people away when they call to reserve a pavilion.
The decision to advise this grant was a no-brainer for the Grand Blanc Community Fund, said Chairman Scott Sobol. “It’s something they’ve needed for a long time,” Sobol said.
While Sobol never had the opportunity to meet Helen Dennis, he is certain she would have approved of the decision to help support the project. Dennis, who took over operations of Universal Systems after her husband died in 1963, always found time to give back to the community despite a demanding schedule that included running the Grand Blanc electrical contracting business and raising three children.
To honor Helen Dennis and her vision, members of the Grand Blanc Community Fund thought it appropriate to use the Fund for a project designed to benefit the community for generations to come. The second park pavilion, Sobol said, was a logical choice.