Prairie Vista tennis courts to get a facelift!

After a year-and-a-half of planning, $36,000 in fundraising dollars and 175 plus community volunteer hours … Prairie Vista Elementary’s tennis courts are finally getting a much needed “facelift!”

The courts surface had become “unplayable” because of extensive cracking. Thanks to some dedicated Puma parents, they led the charge and started a grassroots fundraising campaign in 2015 to help the Penn-Harris-Madison School District pay the expensive costs of having the courts resurfaced to tennis competition grade.

Our dedicated parent volunteer group wrote and applied for a grant from the United States Tennis Association’s Facility Assistance Program. In June 2016, the group received word that the project had been awarded $13,000 towards the project. P-H-M is putting up $15,000 towards the project; and another $8,000 has been raised in private donations from Prairie Vista families, community members and local businesses (please see the list below of those that donated $500 or more to the project). Counted among the $8,000 raised from other sources, P-H-M Education Foundation also awarded the project $3,000 as part of its Spring 2016 grant cycle. The fundraising total to-date (July 25, 2016) is $36,000!!!

    

The group has been working with Leslie Coatings, an Indianapolis firm that specializes in the resurfacing of outdoor sports facilities. Weather permitting, and thanks to the “PV Courts Cleanup Day” held in mid-July, Leslie Coatings can begin and hopefully complete the resurfacing of the courts by early August.

The goal is to have the courts ready for student use when your children come back to school on Wednesday, August 24. Our students will be introduced to tennis as part of the PE curriculum and have access to the courts as a part of after school programs. 

Our students won’t be the only ones who benefit from the newly improved courts, the Granger community and neighbors of Prairie Vista will also be able to use the courts. The upgraded courts will also make it possible for USTA to hold small, entry level tournaments at our school. Penn High School’s girl’s tennis team also plans to hold a free beginners tennis camp during the summer.

Stay tuned for information … a re-dedication ceremony is in the works and all of our Prairie Vista families will be invited!

We are extremely grateful to all of those who have donated their time in planning and cleanup hours, as well as funding to this project. This project is a perfect example of P-H-M’s “Triangle of Success”—connecting, students, teachers and parents to make remarkable things happen in our school district.

 Friends of Prairie Vista Tennis Courts, donations of $500 and above:

• Steve and Lisa Gerber
• Robert and Jan Hoenk
• Ironwood Family Dentistry
• JSK Development, Inc.
• Lionshead Specialty Tire & Wheel, LLC
• Dave and Jen Ludwig
• Rolan and Cynthia Pascual
• P-H-M Education Foundation
• Prairie Vista PTO
• Chris and Cindy Shepherd