One good turn deserves another — and another — in a virtuous circle.
Last month’s announcement of Raccoon Valley Bank’s $100,000 donation to the Dallas County Conservation Board, to be used to leverage federal and state grant funding for building a connector trail between the Raccoon River Valley Trail and High Trestle Trail, was imitated this week by the Dallas County Foundation, which announced it will put $60,000 toward the link trail.
Mike Wallace, Dallas County Conservation Board executive director, received word Monday of this latest major pledge for the connector project.
A letter from Dallas County Foundation Vice-President and Grant Committee Chair Cheryl Semerad said, “On behalf of the board of directors of the Dallas County Foundation(DCF), we applaud your efforts in pursuing the connection of the Raccoon River Valley Trail to the High Trestle Trail with 9 miles of new bike trail. To assist your efforts the DCF extends its help with a three-year pledge of $20,000 per year.”
Founded in 2005, the Dallas County Foundation gives about $100,000 a year to “improve the conditions of the communities and rural areas of Greater Dallas County,” according to the group’s website. Its grant funding supports projects in the arts and culture, youth development, education, health and human services, recreation, environment and community betterment.
“A big thank you goes out to everyone involved in the DCF,” Wallace said. “Their pledge will help leverage other donations and support for this project.”
“This is great news,” said Terry Nielsen, Raccoon Valley Bank CEO. “We hope our pledge jump starts and incubates a lot of support for Dallas County Conservation’s efforts with the connector trail development. The benefits will be significant for Perry, Bouton and Woodward.”
The Raccoon Valley Bank presented their donation Thursday morning in a brief ceremony at their Perry branch. The Dallas County Conservation Board will receive the grant at the DCF’s annual awards ceremony, to be held this year in September at the Hotel Pattee in Perry.
ThePerryNews.com video by Mark Summerson
