The Hillsdale Rotary Club is currently fundraising to build a new park in downtown Hillsdale.
The Rotary Fitness Park will be located at the corner of East Bacon and East Carleton streets, just east of Stock’s Mill. The club plans to construct pickleball courts, a pavilion, playground equipment, soccer fields, and ninja warrior fitness training equipment, according to Heather Tritchka ’98, former president and current board member of Rotary Club.
“There’s really something for everyone at this park,” Tritchka said. “We really want it to be as community-inclusive as possible. It’s going to be open, it’s going to be free for everyone, it’s going to be a community park.”
Richard Moore, president of Moore Insurance Services and a board member of the Rotary Club, said the group has raised more than $200,000, but hopes to raise around another $150,000 before beginning work on the park.
“We have a long history, and it’s important that we’re prudent with people’s money,” Moore said. “They give us their money. We want to make sure we put it to good use. And we bring value with the amount that we spend, and we do it the right way.”
Tritchka said she initially had the idea to build a new playground in Hillsdale when she was president of the Rotary Club, since she noticed a lack of parks designed for young families.
“When my girls were little, we would walk around Hillsdale, and they would ride their bikes, and I would walk, and we would go find little parks,” Tritchka said. “And the little parks that we would go and find have all been taken down at this point.”
Tritchka said the Rotary Club picked the land at the corner of East Bacon and East Carleton streets because it was visible from the road and along the Baw Beese Trail. David Wheeler, who owned part of the property, donated his land, and the city donated the other part of the land, according to Tritchka.
“We put it all together, did a land split, and then donated it back to the city with the idea that Rotary would develop the park,” Tritchka said.
Nolan Sullivan ’22, a financial adviser and the Rotary Club president-elect, said he is excited to have a park with pickleball courts and soccer fields, as well as a high-visibility park downtown for families.
“I think that Hillsdale is a community that cares so deeply about family, and I think that our facilities should reflect that,” Sullivan said.
The club will break ground on the fitness park once it has the funds to complete the project, according to Sullivan.
“We want to be very calculated and precise about how we get started,” Sullivan said. “And no, we have not broken ground yet, but we’ve made a lot of headway on the fundraising.”
Moore said everything Rotary does is funded by gifts from people and businesses in the community.
“There’s a lot of generosity in our community, and we’ve been very fortunately blessed to have received large gifts in the past,” Moore said. “And we continue to receive large gifts, and we just need to get a little bit more here so we can get this ground broken.”
Moore said the Rotary Club’s purpose is to serve the community.
“I love our saying, which is ‘service above self,’” Sullivan said. “Isn’t that what we’re called to do? To serve one another. What I like about Rotary is that it aligns with what I think. This is not about me, and the sooner we realize our lives are not our own, the happier we’ll be. We’re made more ourselves by giving away.”
