Greetings!
For such a short month, February always seems to pack it in. From AAU Basketball, Regional Wrestling, Women's Hockey, Hogloppet and Special Olympics, February keeps the Wenatchee Valley hopping! Please enjoy this edition of the Sports Council Newsletter and forward to anyone you think might also enjoy what's happening in the Apple Capital of the World. |
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Event Center "Topping Off" Marks Milestone  (Wenatch
e, WA)...Nea
ly 200 people turned out in beautiful weather to the "Topping
Off" ceremony for the Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center.
Hundreds of names were written in black felt (Signing the beam on March 5th - photo by Eric Granstrom)
pen on the gunmetal gray beam before it was hoisted into place along the roofline of the Events Center. Wenatchee Mayor Dennis Johnson led off a contingent of 'who's who' in attendance by declaring the building "an important piece as we look into the future of the Wenatchee Valley." President and CEO of Global Entertainment Rick Kozuback said the "topping off" signifies the half-way point of construction.
Following statements from those involved in the construction of the Regional Events Center, the beam was listed across Walla Walla Avenue and hoisted into place.  (Freshly autographed, the beam is hoisted by the Erection Company - photo by Eric Granstrom)
The Greater Wenatchee Regional Events Center is scheduled to open by mid-September. February also marked a milestone in that a hockey team franchise was tentatively agreed upon for Wenatchee by the National Amateur Hockey League.
 (The signed beam will forever live along the SW side of the Regional Events Center - photo by Eric Granstrom |
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Sports Council Saves the WIAA a Huge Headache
(Wenatchee, WA)...The WIAA has decided to move three state tournaments in May from Wenatchee to Spokane, largely because of work done by the Wenatchee Valley Sports Council.
The WIAA approached the Sports Council following last year's Memorial Day Weekend tournaments and asked for help with housing. Several schools had difficulty finding accommodations for their teams for the 2007 state 2A softball and 2A and 1A baseball championships held in Wenatchee. The Sports Council agreed to help, creating the Wenatchee Valley Tournament Authority Board, or TAB.
Following approval from the Wenatchee Valley Hotel/Motel Association to adopt the concept, the TAB went about the job of blocking rooms for the 2008 state 1A softball and 1A & 2A baseball tournaments, set for Memorial Day Weekend. An exhaustive search discovered a severe shortage in room availability. Of the approximately 300 rooms need to accommodate the three tournaments, Wenatchee Valley TAB could find only 70. Coinciding with the three WIAA events was the Sterling Invitational fast-pitch softball tournament hosted by the local Greater Wenatchee Girls Softball Association.
The Sports Council held an emergency meeting in December and decided the best course of action was to recommend the WIAA move it's tournaments in 2008, with a hopeful return in 2009. A letter was drafted to the WIAA, which met in late January and voted to move the tournaments from Wenatchee to Spokane for 2008. No decision has been made on the tournaments' locations for 2009.
Had the Sports Council not created the WV TAB and sought to secure rooms, the WIAA would have continued planning in the blind for three tournaments in May without hope of accommodations. It is the Sports Council's hope that the three tournaments can return to Wenatchee in 2009 and beyond. It should also be noted that Ken Krous and the GWGSA should be commended on creating such a success in the Sterling Invite. The tournament will go on as scheduled May 24-26 at Sterling Complex, Hydro Park and Walla Walla Point Park. |
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Rocky Reach Trail Extension Future Still Unsure
 (East Wenatchee, WA)...Nearly 200 people jammed into Eastmont Junior High School's Commons on February 25th to hear and be heard on the proposed Rocky Reach Extension of the Apple Capital Loop Trail. The Douglas County Commissioners decided NOT to decide following over 3-hours of public testimony.
The petitioners, the Washington State Parks Department, are asking Douglas County to approve a re-zone of 24.4 acres of current orchard land to allow the 5.1 mile trail extension to be built. Opponents (mostly neighbors of the proposed trail) claim this is an unfair taking of their land and that the trail, if built, would open them up to litigation from spray drift and bee stings.
70 people signed up to speak, with over 40 stepping up to the microphone to speak either for or against the proposal. The Wenatchee Valley Sports Council Director of Marketing, Eric Granstrom, spoke as a representative of Sports Council, but also as a Douglas County resident. He said he is in favor of the trail because of it's ability to avail itself to additional fundraising bike rides, it's value in tourism and because he's the father of three girls who would love it.
Written public comment will continue to be received by the Douglas County Commissioners until 4pm, March 10th. The Commissioners will reconvene to announce a decision at 2pm on March 25th. |
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Wenatchee Valley Sports Foundation Created (Wenatchee, WA)...It took several months, but the Wenatchee Valley Sports Foundation is finally up and rolling! The Wenatchee Valley Sports Council decided during a retreat last October to create a separate 501(c)3 to operate the Scholarship Fund and Charlotte Martin Fund. The Board made this decision because of a change in legislation regarding "Donor Advised Funds" and how monies could be distributed.
The Community Foundation of North Central Washington will still manage fund monies, however the WV Sports Foundation will determine how to distribute the monies and create and run fundraisers. A 7-member board will run the Wenatchee Valley Sports Foundation, made up of four Sports Council Board members and three members from the public at-large.
An organizational meeting was held February 8th where the bylaws were passed and Board elected. The initial Board of Directors are as follows:
Dan Kelly - Chair
Caryl Morrell - Vice Chair
Jennifer Korfiatis - Secretary Treasurer
Greg Jones - SC Member
Pat O'Hara - Member at Large
Jordan Miller - Member at Large
The Sports Foundation will hopefully begin accepting scholarship applications on a quarterly basis by this summer. Keep checking the Sports Council's website for further information on the Wenatchee Valley Sports Foundation. |
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If you have any questions or comments about the Wenatchee Valley Sports Council or this newsletter, please give me a call at 509-663-3723 or toll free at 1-800-572-7753. You can also email me at eric@wenatcheevalley.org. |
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Sincerely,
Eric Granstrom
Wenatchee Valley Sports Council
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Time to Think Spring
(photo by Monte Dodge)
A quick note about this photo of Ohme Gardens and the masthead fisheye view of tree tops with our logo. I stumbled across Monte Dodge's work on the web. In two words, simply incredible!
A huge thanks to Monte for allowing us to use his work to help promote the Wenatchee Valley and North Central Washington.
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Board of Directors
Pres. - Greg Jones
VP - Caryl Morrell
Erik Bakke
Bruce Bennett
Sally Brawley
Linda Haglund
BJ Kuntz
Dan Kelly
Mark Madland
Ken Osburne
Scott Paton
Trina Sanders
Bob Rust
Dan White
Director of Marketing - Eric Granstrom |
7-9 - 20th Annual Eastmont AAU Basketball Tourney
22-23 - 2nd Annual Wenatchee Shootout Lacrosse Jamboree
28-29 - Eastmont Invitational Track Meet
28-30 - Umpire's Jamboree - NSA Men's Softball at Walla Walla Point Park
29 - Wenatchee Valley Duathlon - 3 mile run/17 mile bike/3 mile run at Confluence State Park
29-30 - 2nd Annual Spring Thaw Dog Pull at Walla Walla Point Park |
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Eastmont Park Survey
The Eastmont Metoropolitan Parks District is conducting a Public Opinion Survey.
Stop by their website and fill it out today! Deadline for submission is March 28th.
According to Trina Sanders, Recreation Supervisor for Eastmont Parks, "the response has been good so far." She said to expect to see word on the surveys soon in the Wenatchee World and Douglas County Empire Press. In addition, public service announcements should be on radio soon.
If you have any questions, contact the Eastmont Metropolitan Parks Department at 884-8015. |
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Trail Maps Available
(graphics by Cascade Graphics)
Wenatchee Valley Trips & Trails A Field Guid to the Wenatchee Area is available free of charge at our offices. Write:
Trips & Trails Guide
25 N. Wenatchee Ave.
Suite C-111
Wenatchee, WA 98801
Or email your request to:
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Wanna Join Us?
The Wenatchee Valley Sports Council Board of Directors meet the second Tuesday of every month at the Wenatchee Roaster and Ale House at Noon.
All meetings are open to the public. For an agenda or to make a presentation, contact Sports Council Director of Marketing Eric Granstrom at 509-663-3723 or via email at sports@wenatcheevalley.org
Written requests for meeting minutes can be made to:
Wenatchee Valley Sports Council
25 N. Wenatchee Ave.
Suite C-111
Wenatchee, WA 98801 | |
