Holly and Willow from The Nicholas J. Pernokas Recreation Park (The Nick)
stopped by our meeting today to update Rotary on where the donations are going.
The Nicholas J. Pernokas Recreation Park was once the Albee Sand Pit and home of the Albee horse stable. In 1998 the Wolfeboro Area Recreation Association (WARA) Board of Directors was formed to fulfill a community identified need to increase recreational opportunities in the Wolfeboro area.
The Albee Sand Pit was purchased in 2001 by John and Jill Pernokas in memory of their late son, Nicholas, and they, in turn, donated it to WARA. Plans were then drafted to turn the sandpit into a recreation park and construction began in 2004. Upon completion, The Nicholas J. Pernokas Recreation Park opened to the public in August 2006 as a 27-acre recreation facility.
In 2011, Rotary of Wolfeboro made a pledge to donate $25,000 over ten years for the continued improvement of this important facility. We were pleased to learn that our support helped to start major growth initiatives. The Nick now has two little league baseball fields, an adult and a youth softball field, three full-sized athletic fields, a playground, a walking path, a dog park, and a 6-lane track. They receive no tax dollars; rather they depend on user fees from the leagues and organizations that use the facilities, fundraising efforts, and donations from the ongoing generosity of individuals and businesses throughout the community.
To learn more about The Nick and their impact on the community, please check out this video:
https://youtu.be/RxaGPY5fJiU