Northfield Area Foundation

I stopped by the WINGS Oasis at Spring Creek Park and took these photos of some very hot and thirsty soccer players taking advantage of the new NAF drinking fountain. Click photos to enlarge. I’ve added these photos to the WINGS Oasis photo album.

I’ve put up a new weblog on the Northfield Rotary website and am updating that blog with WINGS Oasis news, too… including a post today about the new WINGS Oasis photo album. Here’s a slideshow of current photos:

The WINGS Oasis in Spring Creek park, adjacent to the Amerman Pavilion, is almost ready. I took the photo on the left early last week (click to enlarge).

Doug Grove wrote about the construction last week on his blog and he included photos of some of the volunteers who are helping to build it. The inauguration ceremony will be in June. NAF is funding the drinking fountain (see this blog post for more).

The 2007 Northfield Area Foundation Annual Report (PDF) is now available.

We recently received this email from Charlie Cogan:

Dear Friends at the NAF:

We expect to install the water fountain at Spring Creek Park in the next month and there will be a nice inauguration ceremony where all of the donors and sponsors will be invited and we’ll also be putting a plaque on the water fountain to thank the NAF for this huge contribution to the hundreds of people who play at Spring Creek Park all summer long.

I know that a report is due soon, but we’ve held off until we can get the fountain installed and get a photo. We’ve already purchased the fountain and it’s at Joel Walinski’s office awaiting warmer weather. The plumbing is all done and the site for the placement of the fountain is already prepared.

Sincerely,

Charlie Cogan
Rotary Club of Northfield, MN

I spotted (L to R) Jim Pokorney, Catherine McBride, and Charlie Cogan scheming at the GBM last week. What were they up to? (Click the images to enlarge.) Jim emailed me the details. I added some links:

As part of the community’s effort to enhance Spring Creek Park, Northfield Rotary is teaming up with WINGS (Women In Northfield Giving Support) to build the WINGS Oasis. The oasis is a small plaza located between the playground and the newly constructed Amerman Pavilion.

On the paver stone surface, the oasis will have three misting showers, a drinking fountain (provided by the Northfield Area Foundation), and two stone benches. Like any oasis worthy of its name, on a hot day the Wings Oasis will be a shady place to rest and a source of refreshing cool water for all to enjoy.

The WINGS Oasis is partially finished with final completion expected in May. Northfield Rotary is providing project management and labor and WINGS is providing a major grant to purchase materials. The WINGS Oasis was designed by Spencer Jones (Spencer Jones Landscape Architect) and expert construction support is being provided by Doug Grove (Grove’s Landscaping). The photo shown explains the oasis design. It was displayed at Rotary’s recent “Turkey Run” fundraiser for the project.

I met with some members of the NAF board today for a short presentation on leadership/organizational blogging.

L to R: Pat Allen, Pat Vincent, Bill Bleckwehl, and Rich Falck. Click the thumbnail to enlarge… and watch for blog posts soon.

Watch for posts from NAF bloggers… Real Soon Now.

Griff Wigley, Wigley and Associates