By David Slone
Times-Union
ATWOOD — Babies, infants, senior citizens, and everyone in between came out Sunday, Nov. 1, to the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Atwood Community Park.
The ADA-compliant park is located behind the Atwood Community Building in an area that previously only consisted of a gravel walking path. Now it includes a pavilion with picnic tables and electrical outlets, a multi-purpose court lined with basketball and pickleball courts and a playground serving children as young as 6 months.
The walking path has been extended to about a half mile and has been paved, while the parking lot was resurfaced.
Amy Irwin, Atwood Community Building chairperson, welcomed everyone to Sunday’s event.
“This park is a wonderful example of what we can accomplish when a community comes together with a shared vision. Thank you to the generosity and hard work of so many people. We now have a place where children can play, families can make memories and neighbors can connect,” she said.
The park also is an investment in generational health, Amy continued, encouraging people of all ages to stay active, spend time together and build healthy habits for years to come.
“I’m grateful to everyone who made this vision a reality, and I’m excited to celebrate this milestone with you today!” she stated.
Amy thanked the park’s many donors, starting out with Kosciusko County Commissioner Cary Groninger for ensuring the park was a part of the Community Amenities Program (CAP).
Donors included OrthoWorx, K21 Health Foundation, Harrison Township, Atwood Lions Club, John and Juanita Wolf Federich family, Creighton Brothers LLC, Atwood Otterbein Church, Core Mechanical Services Inc., Irwin Farms, Ken and Brenda Collins, Atwood Christian Fellowship, Kosciusko County Community Foundation, Good Excavating & Hauling, Jacob and Andrea Semonis, Atwood Aldersgate United Methodist Church; Lemon, Keirn & Rovenstine LLP; Lee Barker, S & T Supply, Paul and Ashley Barrow and the McGowan Insurance Group.
Amy said that every contribution mattered and they appreciated every gift.
“We are also grateful for the grants that helped us accomplish even more than what we could have done on our own. A special thank-you to OrthoWorx and K21 Health Foundation for their (CAP) matching grant. This opportunity allowed our fundraising dollars to go twice as far. This helped us create a more complete park than what we could have ever done through fundraising alone,” she said. “We also want to thank K21 Health Foundation for additional support toward the poured-in-place rubber playground surface.”
She said the Kosciusko County Community Foundation administered the WindSwell (Foundation) grant, which helped support inclusive playground equipment and ADA-compliant surfacing to make the park more accessible and welcoming to everyone.
“I want to thank the John and Juanita Wolf Frederich family for their gift in memory of their parents, who enjoyed using the walking path. It’s meaningful to know this path holds special memories for their family, and we’re grateful they helped preserve that connection to our community,” she stated.
“A project like this takes more than just funding. It takes people willing to give their time, talent, equipment and hard work,” she continued.
She thanked Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe who helped them get started on the park with her guidance and grant opportunities. “Her early support was really invaluable.”
Joe Irwin, Jim Moyer and John Good were thanked for helping to clear the woods for the walking path, providing and operating equipment throughout the process; and Joe and Jim also helped plan the park layout, as well as worked with Amy to reach out to donors.
Rich and Carter Grossman helped burn the brush and debris under fire control, helping the project to move forward safely, she said.
“Rich, Sara and I then worked on the final grading, and we had three young helpers pitch in with grass seeding,” Amy said. “A special thank-you to Carter Grossman, J.J. and another young volunteer who preferred to remain unnamed. It’s wonderful to see young people take pride in their community!”
Amy thanked the Yates family and the Atwood Community Building Board members who helped assemble all the picnic tables.
She gave Board Treasurer Sara Grossman a special thank-you for all she did behind the scenes, from helping to manage payments and helping with designing and color decisions to being Amy’s sounding board.
“To everyone who helped through physical labor, equipment, planning, fundraising or the many details along the way, thank you! We couldn’t have done this without you,” Amy said.
Her final thanks were to the people who helped make Sunday’s celebration special.
Pleasant View Church contributed toward the food and beverages, covering the costs of the bounce house and Gaga ball pit and volunteered to operate those attractions for Sunday’s games. She thanked Rich and Sara Grossman for planning Sunday’s menu, and the Atwood Fire Department volunteers for their service to the community and for grilling the hot dogs and hamburgers. Mike Harmon provided wagon rides.
“Our hope is that the Atwood Community Park will be enjoyed by generations to come. A place filled with laughter, friendship, activity and community pride. We hope it encourages children to play, families to spend time outdoors together and neighbors of all ages to connect. By creating opportunities for recreation and connection, we can help support generational health and well-being throughout our community. Thank you for being here and supporting this project and helping us celebrate this exciting milestone for Atwood,” Amy concluded before the ribbon-cutting ceremony with board members, donors and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.
Amy thanked many people in her comments, but she didn’t mention all the work she put into it herself.
After the ceremony, her husband, Joe Irwin, said, “She spent hours doing the grants, helping with design. Even down to the little things like picking colors, stuff like that. She got all the contractors around and the times they needed to be here in and out. She’s really the catalyst behind the whole thing, and I can’t even begin to tell you all the work that she’s put into it.”
He said they started the project probably about a year ago and she really started tackling it this past spring.
“So it’s come together fairly quickly,” Joe said, noting the hours and hours of work Amy put into it from calling contractors and getting bids to filling out grant paperwork. “She went with me to talk to businesses and churches to get funding, so there’s a lot that goes into it, especially when you’re not incorporated. This is all volunteer stuff.”
Jill Gross, K21 Health Foundation Board member, said K21 is always happy to help provide funding that benefits the health and wellness of people in Kosciusko County. “It’s great to see how wonderful the park is and how it will help generations now and in the future,” she said.
