We want to end this fabulous week of good news with great news!  As you may have figured out with the amount of money we have on hand, we have met The Pendleton Foundation Trust challenge of $5000.00!  We received confirmation today that we will be receiving a check from The Pendleton Foundation Trust for $5,000.00!!  We are so grateful to the board of the Pendleton Foundation Trust and to all of you for helping us reach this first goal. November 30, 2012

Over $3,800.00 was raised from the concert at Hamleys on Saturday!!!!  Thank you to all who attended, and special thanks to the bands, 11th Street Incident & Bushman Brothers, Hamleys and the security team for donating your services.   Stay tuned for more exciting updates and information this week.  November 26, 2012

The Willis boys baked and sold cookies to help fund our rebuild of Pioneer Park.  They came to the Parks and Rec Office with their hands full of green – $188 worth! Special thanks to their Mom and Grandma for helping them, and for raising such wonderful kids.  We are so appreciative and inspired by their determination to rebuild our playground. December 6, 2012

We have another heart-warming story to tell about Pioneer Park! Easton Corey (8) decided he wanted to raise money to help rebuild Pioneer Park. He enlisted the help of his Papa John Anderson and made picture frames with rocks they found and polished. Easton held two different silent auctions during Christmas dinner with the family and raised $440 to donate to the park. Way to go, Easton!! January 9, 2013

WE DID IT!!!!  We not only met the $2,500.00 challenge match issued by Andrew Picken and Kathryn Brown, we surpassed it.  We cannot thank the Picken Brown family and our community enough for helping us reach another milestone towards rebuilding the playground.  With this continued support and enthusiasm from the local community, we are optimistic about reaching our project fundraising goals. Who wants to step up with the next challenge – we’re ready to do it again 🙂 ! December 20, 2012

Northwest Farm Credit Services deserves a big thank you from us all.  Their regional giving program awarded $2,000 to the playground rebuild. Pictured is our Steering Committee Chair and Co-President of AAUW, Marty King (on the left),  receiving the big check from Shelley Atkinson from Northwest Farm Credit Services in Pendleton. Thank you so much! January 10, 2013

Response to East Oregonian Letter to the Editor:
In an effort to keep our community fully involved and informed, we would like to respond to the recent letter questioning the cost of contractual services for the rebuild of Pioneer Park playground. We appreciate the question being raised; if one person needs additional information, then there are likely others.
The company from New York that was selected from a 3-wk public bid process, Play By Design, will not only design the playground but will also direct the community build as part of the agreed upon cost. They will review the design and overall theme that was developed during the original project, created from community meetings and ideas from school children and other interested public.
We will rely on their expertise to ensure that the new playground meets all current codes, to be structurally sound, and safe and accessible to all abilities and ages. They will guide us in… modifying the design with concerns outlined by parents and City staff including creating more open spaces and better site lines for the safety of the kids. They will address vandalism and maintenance issues resulting from a decade of heavy use. We will explore using newer types of building materials that are more fire and graffiti resistant.
Finally, they will lead the community build project. The original effort involved 600 volunteers and about 2000 hours for construction. A community build is focused on use of volunteer resources to maximize the funds being applied to the materials and structure. It requires professional services and specific expertise, just as design of a residential home or commercial building.
The City of Pendleton does not have in-house expertise for this type of project, nor does it exist locally. The two principals at Play By Design have 20+ years as designers, builders, and project managers. Most of that time has been spent working on community-build projects exactly like ours. The architect from our original project is part of this company and will be working on our rebuild.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) agreed to spearhead the rebuild project, as we did the original starting in 1999. The goal of our steering committee is to restore this special playground, and we will do so with the utmost consideration for the community and to our fiscal responsibilities to the project.
Marty King
Committee Chair to Rebuild Pioneer Park Playground & Co-President of Pendleton AAUW

Shari’s pie sale fundraiser was a huge success.  Pictured below is Maria Gibson, General Manager, presenting a $100.00 to Marty King, our Steering Committee Chair. Thank you to everyone who purchased a pie and to Shari’s Cafe and Pies for supporting the playground! February 13, 2013

The playground rebuild fund received a “windfall” this week of $2,000 from NextEra Energy Resources, thanks to one of their employees who works in Touchet but lives in Pendleton. NextEra Energy Resources owns and operates three wind farms in the Helix and Walla Walla area and believes in contributing to improvements in nearby communities. We understand that we may see some of their folks here helping during build week too! February 22, 2013

WALMART, KIWANIS AND KEYSTONE RV DONATE TO PLAYGROUND
Wal-Mart employees in Pendleton cleaned up Pioneer Park and did a virtual walk to earn a $5,000 award for Pioneer Park playground through their Event VAP (Event Volunteerism Always Pays) program. Steering Committee Chair, Marty King, attended a recent staff meeting to receive the award from store manager, Shawna Nulf and assistant manager Debi (left to right). Thank you to everyone who participated – this was a great thing to do for the community!
The playground also received $2,000 from the Round Up Kiwanis Club and $500 from Keystone RV. The playground committee truly appreciates the generosity of these organizations. February 27, 2013