GLO receives $100k for park, competing for matching funds
Aug. 1—Lucasville rallying behind GLO at a recent parade
Growing Lucasville Opportunities (GLO) has become a household name to many in Scioto County over the past few years, as they've taken a grassroots approach to community development of the Lucasville area, focusing on seasonal events, bringing back the drive-in for limited time engagements, and the development of the first ever community park their home has ever had.
They've now not only attracted the eyes of the community, but the leadership at Kubota.
Not only have they recently been awarded $100,000 from the organization to develop their park, but they are currently in the running for an additional $100,000 that the organization says will ultimately fall on the community to determine if they win.
"For the third consecutive year, Kubota Tractor Corporation has named five winners in its annual Kubota Hometown Proud™ Grant Program," Kubota released in a statement. "This year, the company is especially proud to announce that Lucasville Community Park, submitted by local Growing Lucasville Opportunities (GLO) and supported by local Kubota dealer Ricer Equipment, is one of those winners!"
The money raised will go directly to their park development, which will ultimately see a covered shelter, construction of an amphitheater, playground, and scenic multi-use path through the woods. They've raised nearly $500,000 to date, including the $100,000 already received from Kubota. The shelter house that's already been built cost the organization $165,000. They're now using the $340,000 they have to award a bid to build the amphitheater.
Kubota spoke highly of their underdog participant, explaining, "Lucasville is a two stop-light community located in the great state of Ohio; a small town with a big heart and community spirit that shines. Every hometown needs a community gathering space, and that is what this project is all about: building a community park for the residents to gather, socialize and celebrate. A newly formed non-profit, Growing Lucasville Opportunities (GLO) applied for a 2023 Kubota Hometown Proud grant and, together with their local Kubota dealer Ricer Equipment, we are proud to announce them as a 2023 recipient. This $100,000 grant will allow them to build an amphitheater in the new park for local groups to gather and perform."
If the current competition is a success, and the group receives the additional $100,000 up for grabs, they will be able to start either a playground or multi-use path for phase three of the construction
"We're unsure of which we will go with first," Kenny Boldman of GLO said. "There is another grant we're currently working with, and our decision will ultimately be based on what grants are available and what makes the most sense moving forward."
The multi-use paved path will be a quarter mile, six-foot-wide, and will go into the wooded area of the property. It will be handicapped accessible and welcoming to wheelchair users.
"It's very beautiful woods and will be a very nice way for people to walk, get exercise, and enjoy nature," Boldman said.
GLO started in 2019 with smaller activities, events, and functions in mind, but quickly grew.
"One of the things we quickly realized was that Lucasville has never had a community park or greenspace. When Covid was running rampant, and things began closing, about that time, we realized how bad the need was. Restaurants were closed, and then, when reopened, had no inside seating," Boldman said. "So, people had to get food and sit in their cars, because there was no picnic shelter or anything like that. At that, we took on the park project. We've pursued grants and other fundraising to make this happen. In two years, we've raised half a million dollars, which is very nice, but it only gets us about halfway to our goal."
GLO is happy to receive the support of Kubota and is excited to enter this next round.
"Their support has been tremendous. They told us they had 800 applications across the United States and they chose five finalists to receive $100,000. We are now all competing for an additional $100,000, which will be done through online voting done daily. Kubota really appreciated our efforts, though. They appreciated all our little groups that have put in an effort to make this park a possibility. We've truly made it this far only because of the amazing people we have who have already done so much. For a small community, that's impressive. Please vote for the Lucasville Community Park!"
Boldman said that the competition will be stiff and a lot of larger cities with larger populations will be competing. Due to this, it is important for the community to come together and vote as often as possible.
"It would be tremendous. We pretty much have the funding for the amphitheater now. Winning this grant would give us a tremendous jump start into next year's construction," Boldman said. "The community is very much in favor of it, and we have major employers in favor of it and are going to step up and help us get out the vote. We even have some people in Columbus, Huntington and other areas helping us get the word out. We have a lot of support, but we also have our work cut out for us."
To support the community park and help the group secure the additional funding, vote at the following link daily between August 1 and August 14. Vote once per day, per email address, through the voting period.
In addition, every voter who participates is entered into a separate sweepstakes* for a chance to win a Kubota BX Series sub-compact tractor or Z200 Series zero turn mower.
Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at jpratt@aimmediamidwest.com, © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.
