In the classic 1989 movie, Field of Dreams, an Iowa farmer hears a voice from the corn fields whispering, "If you build it, he will come." Although we do not have any corn fields on our campus, the parties in the photo above might well be hearing a similar whisper as they envision where ball fields will be built on our campus.

I am using this special edition of eNEWS to share some exciting information with you. At the last meeting of our Board of Directors, the following motion was unanimously passed: "I move that we proceed with the proposed plans to complete stage one and stage two of the baseball and softball field project, subject to the availability of funding reserved for this purpose, and pending approval of the Diocesan Design and Construction Office and the Diocesan Finance Council." A similar motion was passed for the construction of eight tennis courts on campus.
    
As many of you may know, when a new campus was designed for Father Lopez, these fields and tennis courts were part of the master plan. With a limitation of available funds, the fields and courts were never constructed. Funds collected specifically for these projects have been held in escrow, pending receipt of sufficient funding that would enable us to launch construction. Quite frankly, we would not be in a position to begin these projects today if it were not for the receipt of a generous amount of donated goods and services.  Let me share some examples of these contributions with you.
 
First of all, Lopez parent Ron Young has played an immeasurable role in spearheading this project. His expertise and professional connections as a facilities director have yielded great dividends for us. Another parent, Dwight DuRant (President of Zev Cohen and Associates, Inc.) provided engineered drawings and site design at no charge to the school. Lopez parent/engineer, Brady Lessard and the CPH, Inc. engineering firm provided survey work.


General contractor services and dirt work mobilization are being donated by Harty Tractor Service, Inc. Irrigation labor is being donated by Tuff Turf; potable water spots are being donated by Outback Plumbing; electric service labor is being donated by Freedom Electric; and, warm-up pits and back stop poles are being donated by Sparks Concrete. Without these donated services in excess of $73,000, we would not be in a position to move this project forward at this time.

The leaders of our Athletic Booster Club are to be commended for providing financial support and encouragement (Mark Dunn, Jeff Hawk, Chris Graham and Ella Godbee). Our Athletic Director, Scott Drabczyk, is to be commended for his leadership and oversight throughout this process.

Grading the site for the ball fields and the tennis courts can now begin. In the near future, it will no longer be necessary to go to a movie theater to see our own Field of Dreams!