Kids running and playing at the new Greenfield Parks’ splash pad are my favorite sight in Greenfield as this summer starts. Granted, four of them are usually my own grandkids, but you can’t drive down Apple Street on a pretty day and not feel the joy coming out of that park.
This joy-bringer came because of leadership. We are blessed as a community to have some strong, dedicated leaders, and Ellen Kuker at the Greenfield Parks Department has been that kind of leader. From the beautiful facility that is Beckenholdt Park to the wonderful trails at Thornwood Preserve, to the classes at the Elmore Center to the pickleball courts at the Memorial Building, Ellen has shepherded our community as a parks destination.
She understands that a community lives and breathes by the facilities and activities that make the community relaxing, inviting and a wonderful place to live. Our job as citizens is simply to enjoy the facilities and spread the word.
I say this because I read a thread on Facebook the other day discussing the fact that “there is nothing to do in Greenfield.” I beg to disagree.
Brigette Jones, our Hancock County Tourism and Visitors Center director, quickly weighed in with a long list of activities. It was exciting to see all she listed. I have seen Brigette in action as she is helping the 40 x 8 veteran’s organization put on their new bed race event on North Street planned for Sept. 8.
This event will be fun and will help this group fund their nurses’ training scholarship which has funded many young nurses in our community. Brigette is at every community event, taking pictures, coaching the organizers and always looking to bring tourist dollars into the county. That’s leadership.
So many good things happen around our area. Great plays from at least three theater troupes use of Greenfield’s H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts; the recent Will Vawter Art Show brought in amazing artists; and the upcoming Greenfield Fitness Festival and Entertainment on the Plaza bring visitors and culture into Greenfield. Even Wilkinson is in the act with its Weir Cook Community Day June 23. That is a fun day with great bands, military displays and a cruise-in.
Infrastructure also makes a huge difference. Joanie Fitzwater has spearheaded the Main Street façade grants and now has us poised, with Fortville as a partner, as a finalist in a multi-million dollar Stellar Grant that would provide huge dollars for spiffing up our home. You can already see “construction happening” signs all over downtown as businesses from our world-class Carnegie’s fine-dining restaurant to Steve McCleery’s wonderful McCleery’s Sporting Goods redo their structures. When they look great, our town looks great, and we all benefit.
Now that the art is almost ready at our interstate exit, travelers will have an even more inviting reason to stop in Greenfield. I have lived my life running up and down interstates across the Midwest, and I will tell you that making that exit appealing and eye-catching pulls business travelers off the road; they spend expense-account money in our local businesses, and the tax on their sales benefits us all.
None of this happens without strong leadership at the top, and I remain a fan of Chuck Fewell, our mayor. I watch him run City Council meetings with aplomb and skill, and I see him at every major event that happens, looking sharp in his sport coat and tie and representing us well. He spoke eloquently at our recent Memorial Day Service at Park Cemetery (another well-run and beautiful city facility), and once again made me proud to have him as our mayor.
The bottom line is for us as citizens to come out and support these local events and facilities. They have built them, now lets all enjoy them. See you at the splash pad!
Kurt Vetters, a longtime resident of Greenfield, is a U.S. Army veteran, author and local businessman. He can be reached at [email protected].
