Niagara company officials congratulate Seguin
31 Oct 2023
City of Seguin, Quality of Life, Manufacturing, News
Seguin, TX, USA / Seguin Today
Cindy Aguirre
(Seguin) — Although they did not have a direct hand in selecting the winners, Niagara Bottling officials say they were more than ecstatic to learn last week’s announcement that Seguin’s Max Starcke Park had been selected as one of the three parks in the country to receive $75,000 in the Niagara Perk Your Park Contest.
Working in partnership with Niagara to head the contest was the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). After a nationwide call for entries, Seguin was one of nine finalists and ultimately a top winner in the online voting competition.
Sharing some of the company’s excitement is Ann Canela, the director of corporate giving for Niagara Cares, the company’s charitable organization.
Canela tells the Seguin Daily News that what makes Starcke Park’s win special is the fact that it is in the same exact community as one of its bottling plants.
“We were rooting for it. I mean I, certainly personally, was. We don’t control the outcome of the campaign. It really is a community process, but we are really glad that we are able to promote a healthier lifestyle in a plant community and we are just really looking forward to people getting outdoors. I’m just o pleased that I’m able to talk to you again and we are here celebrating a win,” said Canela.
Canela says the “Perk” component of the contest is, of course, the hands-on contributions that will be assigned to the future park project by Niagara employees.
“What happens first is the grant will come directly from the National Recreation and Park Association so they will be distributing the funds as soon as possible. Then, they work with our local plant in that community and our plant members will volunteer and they will choose the opening day and a ceremony and there will probably be a check presentation if there is an opportunity and we’ll both basically work hand in hand with the city team and the park’s district there to determine what kind of renovations are going to be happening and then we will do everything from support the groundbreaking to the actual dig out and then anything else that is needed to make the park’s perking happen,” said Canela.
What might, however, be most impressive for Canela and the rest of the Niagara and NRPA teams is the number of online submissions or nominations that were received for the selection of Max Starcke Park.
“I want to say this community, and we asked NRPA, they received over 32,000 submissions for this park. So, I just have to say that direct involvement from the residents in your area is really inspiring and this just speaks volumes to the engagement of the residents and also the need and motivation to get the park perked so it makes me very happy, and it really shows the care of the community for the people around us. So, I think you all should be very proud of this grant,” said Canela.
City officials say they are hoping to use the grant money as a catalyst to build a brand new playground at Max Starcke Park East. The playground would replace the Kid’s Kingdom Playscape which was demolished earlier this year due to age and unsafe conditions. If and when additional funding is approved by the city, the park’s office hopes to have the new play area in place by the end of six months.
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