Vocal Point: Sports complex needs community support to succeed

It’s been said that people come into our lives for a reason, and that as different as we seem to be we can still learn from one another and bring each other great gifts.

Unfortunately, we rarely afford each other the privilege of coming together and working side by side to achieve a common goal and fight for a common cause. Instead, we live in a highly competitive world where money and influential networking often determines how success is defined and who will be the winners at the end of the game.

Collective investments of time, money and sweat don’t always buy the ticket to the big-picture vision. It’s kind of like that kid who has cleared the field, has a bat and ball in his hand, but nobody will let him in to play.

And so it is that we, as the families who made up the original investors in Sports USA, have been left as sideline spectators, reading the stats from the stands. Our group is not high-powered or politically active or rich and famous. We are a group of common people with uncommon energy, a group of regular people just like you, with a dream for creating something bigger than ourselves.

We are made up of middle-class families – teachers, a policeman, a nurse, an investigator, a ref, small-business owners, an administrator and a couple of accountants – families, not corporations with deep pockets and unlimited finances, stepping forward to make a difference by acting on our values.

We came together with a goal to do something really right by all the children of this community, regardless of ability to pay or physical limitations. We contributed knowing what it means to be part of a team. If you are never given the opportunity to even try it out, how do you know where you can take it?

The newly formed Churches Alliance that is set to buy the former Sports USA complex shares many of the same ideas that were outlined by our original group. Grass-roots fundraising, linkage with community service groups and parks and rec organizations, along with commercial and celebrity endorsements, are pieces of the equation that are all too familiar.

Believe us; it wasn’t from mismanagement, lack of hard work or heart that forced us to close. The opportunity to take an established foundation and make a unique, far-reaching impact on this community is now in your hands. Open, honest communication is key.

Please consider us a part of your team. We share so much common ground and working together as a team, we can move this project forward quickly and efficiently. After all, we have run the first leg of your relay and by passing the baton carefully, we can all come out to be winners.