On Thursday evening, the Valpo Parks Foundation held their 10th Annual Friends and Legends Celebration at the Butterfield Family Pavilion. The event honored Valparaiso individuals and one family for their dedicated volunteerism, contributions, and leadership, but the event also focused wholeheartedly on a promising future.
“The Friends and Legends event is meant to recognize people who volunteered and donated and to give special recognition to those that have gone above and beyond for our parks here in Valpo,” said Jamie Sulcer, President of the Valpo Parks Foundation.
Three individuals and one family were recognized for their outstanding service and contributions. The Samardzija family received the Community Champion Award, Doug Pierce received the Legendary Friend Award, and Dr. E. Ric and Kaye Frataccia received the Malasto Legends Award. All of these people are either a part of a long legacy that has made giving back a core value, or they are the spark that has inspired so many others to give back as well.
“This [event] is celebrating folks that really make Valparaiso special,” said John Seibert, Valpo Parks Foundation Executive Director. “The idea is that those folks reflect selflessness, reflect generosity, reflect compassion, reflect volunteerism... all values that make Valparaiso great.”
The Parks Foundation has continued to achieve great results, and that is thanks to a very high volume of private donations and widespread volunteerism.
“We are supported by public dollars and we are very thankful for that, but we have a high level of private giving and volunteerism,” said Seibert. “Over the last five years we have had over $5 million of private giving to support a variety of projects that we have done and over 55,000 hours of volunteerism.”
The Legendary Friend Award and the Malasto Legends Award have been annual recognitions that recognize decades of service, but this year the Foundation also introduced a new award: the Community Champion Award. This new award has the future in mind.
“The new one we’re giving tonight will be celebrating people that are younger that are stepping up,” said Seibert. “It’s not only celebrating what they’ve done but also their leadership and what they’ll do in the future.”
This award was given to the Samardzija family to recognize their many generations of commitment to the community but also the upcoming opening of the new baseball field, Samardzija Field, at Tower Park. The presentation of this new award also reflected an important value of the Valpo Parks Foundation - investment in the future. In fact, that is the very reason events like this are held in the first place.
“For our community to thrive and continue to be better than ever, it is important to remember the values that got us to where we are tonight and to encourage others to step forward, continue to remember those values, and take us to an even higher level,” said Seibert. “That is happening, whether that’s second generation folks or people moving to this community.”
By the end of dinner and a wonderful presentation that included everything from laughs to heartfelt dedications to influential Valpo families and individuals, all of the attendees had shown their love and dedication to a community they continue to give back to.
“The parks are a very visible symbol of the quality of life,” said Seibert. “We take that very seriously, and our foundation and those honored tonight think that it’s worth that investment.”
To learn more about the Valpo Parks Foundation as well as the many projects coming up this year, please visit their website.
