Masons match funds

On June 3, members of the Alva Masonic Lodge and the Alva Friends of Play Foundation joined together to host the Ride for Hatfield Park 2017 Motorcycle Fun Run event to raise funds for the benefit of the Alva Friends of Play Foundation's Hatfield Park Project. A total of $4,462 was raised through a combination of entry fees, silent auctions, donations and sponsorships. The Alva Masonic Lodge recently received approval from the Masonic Charity Foundation to match all of the funds raised, making the grand total raised from this event $8,924.

The Run

The day started kind of dreary, but the rain didn't hold back the riders and the bikes gave them encouragement. Fourteen signed up and 12 completed the run. It wasn't as many as the groups would have liked, but again the early weather was not promising. Those who did sign up, ride and bid on the auctions raised almost $900.

To make this a "fun run," the stops were set up so that the riders participated in various games, from a variation of Yahtzee to darts. After a partially soggy ride, all riders made it in for dinner and the silent auction down at the park.

Winners were: Marty Sidders – high score, Addisann Weber – low score (after a tie breaker), Rhonda Parks – longest distance (Woodward), Mark Dubben – oldest participant, and Addisann Weber – youngest participant. After dinner, the hosts and participants voted on their favorite bikes. The winners of the bike show were: Chris Jamison – Hosts' Choice, and Marty Sidders – Participants' Choice.

Future Plans

With the completion of the repairs and painting on the lighthouse, ship and existing toy, as well as the new retaining wall, the focus in Zone 4 will now shift towards additional toys and surfacing. The goal in this area is to bring in some ADA components, as well as other independent toys. Alva Friends of Play will also be looking into replacing the existing surfacing that was originally placed in Zone 1 and Zone 2. They plan to replace the manufactured wood fiber fill with the pour-in-place rubber surfacing, so that the water on the south end areas will no longer be a deterioration factor. The group will then use this type of surfacing over the remainder of their installs.