Turf Groundbreaking Ceremony on 5/31 at 3:30!

Hello Friends!

You are welcome to join us at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new turf field on Tuesday, 5/31 3:30pm at Harding Memorial Stadium.

While it will be a low-key event, members of the Cleveland Browns organization, local media, and other officials will be attendance.

This is a significant milestone for all of us Bulldog Backers as this was our primary goal when we started our organization a few years back. It is through your efforts and support that this was made possible.

I hope to see you there!

Thanks!

Joe Singleton

Turf Update

Hello Friends –

Did you ever have a delicious sundae for dessert but wished it had one more thing?  Maybe it was a cherry on top, or perhaps a little more whipped cream?  That’s kind of how I’m feeling as I write this update.

The good news, no let me rephrase that – the epically, awesome, fantastic news – is that we are a GO for turf! Through a lot of hard work from A LOT of people, we have successfully raised enough money through cash donations, corporate sponsorships, and in-kind donations – to get the project done without any new taxpayer dollars.  When things kicked into gear at the end of 2020, that was a hard line with the school, and I am happier than a gopher in soft dirt that we were able to get it done.

Now, we had the goal of trying to get this project done in time for our first home football game, August 20th, and that is where we are going to fall a little short. So yeah, not bad news – but a little bit of a disappointment for sure.

Unfortunately, due to material and labor shortages (that every business seems to be experiencing), the turf will not be delivered until the third week in September. We discussed relocating home games or even switching out the manufacturer that we had been working with for months to try to get it done sooner, but it was just too much risk. Dr. Lloyd made that call and I 100% support that decision. It’s the right call.

Let’s give our seniors a full stadium and all of their home games this fall. Let’s celebrate a return to normal “Friday Night Lights” and a final season on grass. Then come the end of October, we’ll break ground and look forward to the sounds of Lacrosse, Track & Field, and Youth Soccer on the new turf field at Harding Memorial Stadium in the Spring of 2022.

Thanks and Go Bulldogs!

Joe

APRIL STADIUM TURF PROJECT UPDATE

Hello Friends!

As many of you may have heard, there has been tremendous progress over the past 6 months on the goal of installing turf at Harding Memorial Stadium.

Hopefully, you’ve had time to watch the first episode of BulldogCenter where Dr. Lloyd and Joe Singleton cover the most recent developments. You can watch that video here:

To summarize the key points:

• The OAC and OFSD were able to receive a commitment from a major new sponsor for $200,000. That sponsor will be announced shortly.

• All funds needed to complete the project must come from corporate sponsorships, donations-in-kind and from grassroots community fundraising efforts (just like this) with the exception of current school funds used to maintain the current grass field at the stadium.

• Once turfed, the stadium will be used by kids of all ages (just not high schoolers) and for multiple sports and activities - band, football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, etc.

• Utilization of the stadium will go from a couple dozen events a year, to a couple hundred. This increase in attendance will result in extra revenue for the school district that can be used to maintain and improve their academic fields, as well as academic clubs.

• The Engineering and Surveying part of the project is underway, with the Olmsted Athletic Commission donating $49,589 to cover the costs.

• Should there not be any surprises during that phase, and if we can close the funding gap (more on that below) we should be able to break ground in early June, with completion in time for our first home football game in August.

What are the costs and where are we with funds?

Between engineering, excavation, field stabilization, concrete, asphalt and the turf itself the project is approximately $850K - $900K. The good news is that we are almost there, and with our “Fill the Backer Wall” campaign kicking off we believe we will bridge any financial gap to get this project underway.

When looking at funds it is important to keep in mind three definitions:

1. Funds committed. This is the total amount of funds that are committed to the project and may be payable over the next 10 years. A good example of this is the Vitamix deal - where there is a financial commitment for $200,000 with payments of $20,000 a year for 10 years.

2. Cash in Hand. This is the actual amount of money that is in the bank. Again using Vitamix as an example, they have made three $20,000 payments since the agreement was signed - so there is $60K in the bank and thus Cash in Hand.

3. Donations In Kind. This is the cash equivalent value of a donation of goods or services.

So where are we? This chart paints the current picture as of April 5, 2021:

4-5 Financial Picture

* OFSD Contribution is current allocation from maintaining grass field (paint, fertilizer, etc.) at Harding Memorial Stadium.

Our goal is to raise another $100K+ in the next 60 days to ensure that we close the approximate $75K-$125K funding gap. We will be reaching out to associations, businesses and families in our community to push this over the finish line.

While this does not guarantee that we will have turf installed for this fall, a successful fundraiser in the next 60 days gives us a real great shot at making it happen. There are a few unknowns out there and we hope to get clarity on these items in the next 30 days or so as the engineering and surveying work is completed.

We know it’s a big ask from our community - but we are very very close in fulfilling one of our core missions when we started the Olmsted Athletic Commission 18 months ago. We’ve had to face several obstacles (School levy, COVID, etc.) and yet we are in a position to make it happen.

If you’re already a 3-2-1 Crew Member, we wouldn’t be in this position without you. We’ve already made a difference in the community with the baseball field renovations, and are able to contribute $100,000 to this project. We are now looking to do more - so please take a look at how you can upgrade your level of support and become a member of the Varsity, All-Star or All-American Crews.

For those of you that were holding back and waiting until we got to this point - we’re there and we would welcome your donation. It’s a great chance to not only support a project that will benefit all kids in the community, but a chance to leave a legacy on the Bulldog Backer Wall.

Please keep your eye out for more posts and more episodes of BulldogCenter as we share updates.

Thanks!

June 2020 Update!

Hello Friends –

It has been awhile since our last update and a LOT has changed. Here is the TLDR for those that do not want to read the details:

1. Baseball fields are done and practices and games are being played!

2. Levy and COVID have caused some loss of momentum.

3. Looking to ramp up fundraising.

4. Soccer Fields and High School Turf are Priorities 1a and 1b.

And for those of you that want the details…

Baseball Fields

On February 11th we announced the major renovation of the six infield baseball diamonds at Olmsted Falls Early Childhood Center (ECC), Falls-Lenox and Olmsted Falls Intermediate (OFIS). We wanted to address three main issues:

1- Improve the fields’ ability to take on rain was the primary goal. Too many practices and games were lost last year due to standing water. Often, it would take 2-3 days of clear skies in order for any activity to occur on these fields. We wanted to be able to play on the fields at worse case the next day, and best case that evening if it rained in the morning and cleared up in the afternoon.

2 – Improve the playing surfaces. Anyone that has played in the infield knows how important a smooth infield is in cleanly fielding a ground ball. It is not just making a clean play, but also preventing an injury. I played in the West Denison league back in the early 80s, and I had my fair share of baseballs to the face at shortstop due to the field conditions (my father would say it was my ability as a shortstop but we digress). A great playing surface is better for the development and safety of the player.

3 – Reduce the maintenance costs of our baseball and softball organizations. Due to the poor field conditions, a lot of the fees collected were being used to purchase drying agent and additional sand. By greatly reducing these costs, these organizations can put those dollars into upgrading equipment, playing more games and tournaments and improving the development of our players.

We replaced the top 2-3 inches of each diamond with a new sand and clay base and had every field professionally laser graded. We also extended the field at Middle School East to a full 90 feet, giving us another full baseball field to play on. The early feedback from players, coaches and opponents has been fantastic! The fields are some of the best in the area and we accomplished our goals. There is some touch up work to a couple of fields that needs to be done once we get a few hot days in July, but other than that they are ready to go.

The overall project cost was $70,000. The following organizations contributed:

• Bulldog Field Initiative (care of the Olmsted Athletic Commission - OAC)

• The Urban Foundation

• Olmsted Community Summer League (OCSL)

• Olmsted Travel Baseball Association (OTBA)

• Olmsted Community Baseball/Softball Commission (OCBSC)

Fundraising Update

Before getting into the fundraising picture, I want to talk about two issues that have dampened our fundraising efforts – the school levy and COVID.

The levy was a critical issue for the school and obviously while we are independent from the school, the vast majority of us and our supporters are parents with children in the system. It was decided that we would not compete with the school during the run up to the levy vote for share of voice. There was also recognition that while the levy and fundraising are not ‘tied’ (each one is an independent financial decision among other things), we did not want to get in the way with the messaging of the school and unintentionally introduce any confusion.

Then the lockdowns of businesses and schools began…

Then the election was postponed for 6 weeks…

It would be an understatement that the fundraising environment has been challenging the past 4 months. That being said, we continue to get a trickle of new Bulldog Backers here and there. We have 131 Bulldog Backers right now that have pledged nearly $150K. We hope that with the completion of the Baseball Field project and the projects that we look to accomplish next (more on that below), that our fundraising efforts in the community can ramp back up. We want to be sensitive to any financial hardship that folks are going through right now, so we will be tactful. We also need to be sensitive to restrictions on gatherings and events.

However, we have faith in the community and folks that may have been on the edge before and needing to see ‘proof’ that these dollars were going to be spent according to the mission are going to come to the table if they can. There were also many in the community who thought that the funds would ONLY go to the football program and stadium so they were reluctant on donating. Obviously those opinions were wrong (see Baseball Fields). Every dollar we raise is going back into the fields in one capacity or another and we are deploying that capital strategically and where it makes sense. We hope that many of you reading this will share the message of what we are looking to do and what we have accomplished. Referrals continue to be the best way for us to get the message out.

From a corporate fundraising standpoint, well to be blunt, we are at a standstill. There are several factors why that is the case:

1 – Businesses were severely impacted by COVID and have paused/reduced/eliminated community donation programs. This is the case with a lot of businesses that we have talked with – especially in the medical and retail space. It is hard to justify sizable donations and sponsorships when you are laying off and/or furloughing your employees.

2 – Businesses that were not severely impacted are taking a wait-and-see approach. There are some sport retailers who were perhaps interested and still maybe but are waiting to see what the fall looks like. A good example is a company who may sell football equipment to youth and high school programs across the country. If there is a reduction in the amount of games, or heaven forbid, the elimination of fall sports – these retailers will face incredible financial pressure. No programs = no equipment orders.

3 – It has been impossible to meet face-to-face and move conversations forward. For those of you in sales, you know it takes more than one 60-minute conversation to ‘get to yes’. There are hours of conversations, internal champions to win, and multiple decision makers to cut a $250K-$500K check. These things take time, and the environment has not been conducive. Conversations have been picking up the past couple of weeks and we continue to make inquiries – but the corporate side is going to be an uphill battle.

While this sounds insurmountable – it isn’t. I just wanted to communicate with all of you the challenges that we face. No one has given up hope and everyone is still committed to our mission of improving our fields for our kids. It’s just going to take a little bit of patience and hard work to get there.

Next Projects

While we have one big win under the belt, our attention has now shifted to the soccer fields at Schady road and turfing the High School Stadium.

The soccer field project is a HUGE project – not just in scope of getting the work done, but the sensitivity of the homeowners in that area. That is not to say that the sensitivity and opinions are unfounded – far from it. It just means that any improvement of those fields MUST be done with all stakeholders involved – school, homeowners, township, county, etc. and that the project must not only improve the fields for the children (the primary mission), but ENSURE we do not cause additional issues there and if possible, help alleviate some of the issues that the homeowners have faced. We have started to engage with firms on what it would take, both from a financial and engineering aspect, to get this done. As this project progresses, we will engage with the appropriate parties at that time and will look to rally community support to get it done. We believe we have raised enough funds to pull this project off, so now it comes down to navigating the challenges as noted above.

The Stadium project continues to be a focus of ours. We have met with several turfing companies and are in the process of getting bids and understanding all the different factors that need to be decided upon to ensure a great, safe playing surface. The major challenge with this project is the corporate fundraising (see above). However, there is no cost for planning and understanding the details and getting to a point when we raise the funds, we have the project ‘shovel ready’.

Again, to be transparent – we do not believe we will have the funds necessary to get turf installed for the fall of 2020. Is there an outside chance? Yes. The more likely scenario would be the spring or fall of 2021.

Wrapping Up

If you’re still with me, thanks for taking the time to read this overdue update. I talk to several of you in the community and I know other folks involved – Ryan, Josh, Robert, Jill – are chatting with many of you as well. We want everyone to know what is going on, and in these crazy and turbulent times, it has been difficult sharing. Bottom line - we continue to make progress on the mission and need your continued support and advocacy for our mission.

Thanks!

Joe Singleton

BFI Announces Major Baseball Field Renovation Project

The Bulldog Field Initiative (BFI) is excited to announce a major renovation project for the baseball fields in the Olmsted Falls/Township Community scheduled for completion in the spring of 2020. The $70,000 project will renovate the six infield baseball diamonds at the Olmsted Falls Early Childhood Center, Falls-Lenox Primary School, and Olmsted Falls Middle School.

Partnering with the BFI, through its non-profit entity the Olmsted Athletic Commission (OAC), will be the Olmsted Community Summer League (OCSL), the Olmsted Travel Baseball Association (OTBA), the Olmsted Community Baseball/Softball Commission (OCBSC) and the Urban Foundation.

The project will replace the top 2-3 inches of each diamond with a new sand and clay base as well as professional laser grading. The baseball diamond at Middle School East will also be extended to a full 90 feet, giving our youth another full baseball field to play upon. These improvements will greatly enhance the playing surface and improve the fields’ ability to take on rain during the spring.

“Our goal is to bring these six baseball diamonds on par with some of the other fields in the area,” said Ryan Mezinger, OTBA President. “We lost countless playable days the last few years due to rainouts. It would rain on Monday, and we couldn’t play until Thursday even if it was sunny in the days between. Even when they were playable, the fields themselves weren’t the best conditions with divots and uneven playing surfaces. This project should solve these issues and give all of our players the ability to get in more quality practices and games throughout the year.”

“When we started the Bulldog Field Initiative back in August of last year, we did so with the primary goal of improving our outdoor fields for our children,” said Joe Singleton, OAC President. “Our community has responded with over 125 families each committing $1,000 to improve our fields by becoming Bulldog Backers. This project will benefit nearly 1,000 youth baseball and softball players in the community from tee-ballers to our high school teams.”

“We hope that the community can see that we are deploying resources to help all kids and all outdoor sports,” said Jill Lukes, OCSL President and OAC Vice President. “I think when things got started there was the belief that only the high school teams, and specifically football would be the only benefactors. That is simply not the case here and I’m happy that in such a short period of time we are going to be able to make a real difference for our kids.”

For more information about the Bulldog Field Initiative and to become a Bulldog Backer please go to http://www.bulldogfields.org.

For more information about the Olmsted Community Summer League please go to https://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=ocsl.

For more information about the Olmsted Travel Baseball Association please go to https://www.olmstedtravelbaseball.com/.

Myth Busting - The Stadium

Over the past several months we’ve heard many different opinions on what we’re trying to accomplish. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on projects, priorities and what we’re trying to accomplish - and we welcome that feedback. There are occasions where an opinion is a little off base due to a lack of information. One of those opinions we hear about is that turfing the stadium will only benefit the football program and high schoolers.

In this short video we do some myth busting and explain why that isn’t the case…

$100,000 and counting...

All -

We passed a great milestone today with our 95th Bulldog Backer! With the commitments from the 3-2-1 Crew and other donations we have a committed raise of over $100,000 in less than 30 days. This is an absolutely amazing show of support for our children from the community.

Over the next couple of weeks we plan on putting out a new informational video on how this initiative can benefit ALL kids - not just high schoolers, and not just football players. I know some families feel this is the case - and I think we can better educate the community on these facts.

As you may have noticed - yard signs, t-shirts and car stickers are starting to pop up all over the community. To join the Crew and become a Bulldog Backer - just click on the 3-2-1 Crew link on the website.

Thanks to all of you for your support - and stay tuned. We have a lot of exciting things coming down the pipeline in the next 30 days…

Thanks!

Joe Singleton

Introducing the 3-2-1 Crew!

It takes time…

Less than 2 months ago, we launched this website and announced to the community what we were trying to accomplish.  We’ve had several meetings with stakeholders.  We’ve spent time trying to educate the community.  We’ve spent countless hours organizing and brainstorming on how we, as a community, can make things better for our children.

The Bulldog Field Initiative has over 50 volunteers working on various fronts – all working to make things better for our children.  We have another 100 hands that have gone up that are waiting for the call to help. 

It takes patience…

We have had a lot of conversations with people who have asked a lot of great questions.  The feedback has been AMAZING! Our assumptions have been challenged – and for that we thank you.  We are asking for a lot – and that ‘ask’ should be challenged. 

What we are trying to do isn’t easy.  It is easy to post a complaint, to register a grievance on Facebook, looking for someone else to fix a problem that frustrates so many of us – but mostly our kids.  It is so easy to talk about fixing something.  It’s harder to ACT – because now you put yourself out there.  You become invested.  It’s your time.  It’s your money. 

It takes a SINGULAR reason why…

Kids.  We want them to have better than what they have.  In this case good enough IS NOT good enough.  You are reading this because you know this.  You’ve gone through the rain outs, the awful field conditions, playing at other communities and seeing the fields and facilities that other children have.  It’s not a matter of keeping up with the Joneses.  If you have a child that plays soccer, baseball, lacrosse, softball, football, or is in the band – you know this.  Approximately 1,500 children (grades K-12) in our community participate in a sport, club or band that would benefit from this initiative.  It’s about putting kids first.   

It takes a village…

It’s now our turn to ACT.  As part of the Bulldog Field Initiative we are introducing the 3-2-1 Crew.  This fundraising campaign is looking to raise funds from the community to contribute to improving our fields. The 3-2-1 refers to the 3 donation options that you can select from:

• $30/month for 3 years

• $45/month for 2 years

• $90/month for 1 year

Upon your initial contribution you will receive a couple of the coolest t-shirts since the Tie-dye phase.  Upon your final payment, your family or business name will be inscribed upon a Bulldog Backer wall at either the Stadium or Field House.  JOIN THE CREW and become a Bulldog Backer and help support our kids and community. 

To find out more information please visit www.321crew.org.

To see the list of current Bulldog Backers who have already donated please visit: www.bulldogfields.org/bulldogbackers.

Thank you!

What's a Field House?

Greetings!

About a month ago, we had the pleasure of visiting the Milan Edison field house and were able to learn how they rallied the community to build a $1.2M facility for half that cost. It is an amazing story of how a community can pull together and accomplish great things for the benefit of all kids and the entire community. Please watch this video to learn more about what a Field House is, how this one was built, and how it can be used in the community throughout the year to address some of the very issues that we face all year long.

7/31 Meeting Recap

Greetings!

With over 30 people in attendance, the informational meeting on Wednesday evening was a great chance for the community to hear about the Initiative and our plans.

I have attached the presentation we covered in our 90 minute meeting. Some good questions were asked and a few of them we will be adding to the FAQ portion of the website.

One of the more important things that we discussed was the structure and organization of our committees to get things rolling. You can find that in the presentation.

Our biggest need right now is to fill the Community Fundraising committee. This committee will be meeting on Wednesday (8/7) at 8:00 PM at the OCC. We are looking to accomplish quite a bit of work between now and September 6th where we hope to launch our fundraising drive to the community.

If you have already volunteered, we will be reaching out to you shortly asking which committee you wish to serve on. If you haven’t yet volunteered to help, please click on the Join button on the website and select the committee you would like to participate on.

Click here for the presentation from 7/31.

Thanks.

Joe