This is the second in a 3 part series on collaboration among clubs that have resulted in great projects.
Following the disastrous 1996-1997 Winter, the 1997 spring floods brought much devastation to the Red River Valley. Donations from Rotary Clubs locally, nationally and internationally came to the 4 Rotary Clubs (Fargo RC, Moorhead RC, Fargo West RC, & Fargo Moorhead AM RC) of the Fargo Moorhead Area. The clubs met to decide how to use the donations and elected to use the funds to construct a “floating bridge” between the two communities. The bridge is located near the Red River dam in Fargo and is installed in the spring and removed in the fall each year by the Fargo Park Board.
In 2001, the Presidents of the 4 Rotary Clubs met and made a policy that Rotarians from each of the Clubs should be encouraged to attend the other FM Area Rotary Clubs and to make this more appealing, Rotarians would not be charged for meals at the club being visited. The clubs also began President monthly meetings to share information of membership, goals and speakers. This was the beginning of the relationship of unity.
In the 2004-2005 Rotary year, the 4 Rotary Clubs explored ideas for a Centennial project to honor Rotary’s 100-year anniversary in 2005. A committee comprised of 4 clubs with 3 members from each club was formed and an application for 501(c)3 status was made. The application was approved by the IRS in January 2006 which allowed Rotarians to seek businesses in the FM Area to contribute over a 5-year period to the project. The Centennial Universal Playground ($265,000 total cost) was completed and dedicated on May 17, 2006.
Later in 2006, the Rotary clubs agreed to contribute $2,000 each toward international projects, which at that time, consisted of Guatemala & India schools. This has been the policy every year since.
In 2010, a Rotarian from Moorhead noticed an article in the Rotarian Magazine showing a Miracle Field built by an Atlanta, GA Rotary Club and offered this idea to the 4 clubs as the next local project to consider. The project went from drawing Board to reality in just 6 months! The project allows the 400 children who are wheelchair bound in the FM Area to play baseball on a rubberized field, this eliminating serious injury when rounding the bases after hitting the ball. The outfield fence is roughly 125’ in distance from home plate. The Fargo Moorhead Miracle Field total price tag was $254,000.
In 2008, Heather Ranck proposed building a Playhill project in Moorhead above the Red River. The project was to be done working with the Moorhead Park Board. The $1,267,000 project was completed and dedicated in June 2004. COVID had a big impact on the fundraising and construction, but dreams do come true eventually!