Sport always works to unite communities and provide valuable skills to its players, but for some communities, size or location can make it more difficult to access. To address this, the Plum Coulee Sports Committee strives to create and maintain sports opportunities in its area.
“Our main goal is to try to keep the sports programs alive and growing and sustained and [to keep] the costs as affordable as we can, [since] we know costs in many areas are rising,” says Frank Bergen, a member of the committee.
The Plum Coulee Sports Committee has recently undergone significant changes that have altered how it accomplishes its goals.
“There was a couple of couple of members that had been on [the board] five plus years and they . . . wanted to take a break and step back, and we definitely thank them for all the years of service,” says Bergen. “[Now,] we've got a bunch of new young fresh faces that are eager and excited.”
Bergen himself is one of the new additions.
“I've been on the on the board for just over a year and . . . a majority of us have been on it [for] a year. This is all fairly new to us,” he says. “I wanted to be involved in an organization where my kids were getting involved in sports. That was important for me, so this was an easy decision.”
Now that the committee has new members, it’s turning its attention to fundraising dinner for a program that it has reinstated.
“You can enjoy a meal and some live entertainment, and then all the proceeds are going to our soccer program,” says Bergen. “We brought it back and we revamped it, so this is going to cover some of the startup costs for that.”
Plum Coulee’s soccer program petered out about five years ago.
“It started out strong and then it kind of fizzled with the lack of volunteers and kids and all those types of things,” says Bergen. “It was put on the shelf. And now, with the [new] sports committee as well, we wanted to bring another sport to the community, and soccer was an easy choice . . . . We’re hoping . . . that it'll be strong and that it'll stay for many years to come.”
The community is showing tremendous interest in the return of the soccer program, which is for children ages 4-14. Bergen says that almost 100 children registered this year.
“We're definitely excited and hopefully, the kids are excited as well,” says Bergen.
The fundraising dinner will help with some necessities for the soccer program.
“The funds . . . are going to the start-up cost for the jerseys for the nets and soccer balls,” says Bergen. “It helps kids with the registration fees as well. If they don't have it, we don't want to turn any kid away. That's never an option for us, so we want to help families in that way as well.”
This Friday, the fundraising supper will begin at 5 p.m. Bergen says that the meal will include burgers, chips, and ice cream. The dinner also doubles as the opening event of Plum Fest, which means it will be accompanied by entertainment. This is the second year the Plum Coulee Sports Committee has held the fundraiser.
“These fundraisers that we put on help promote and keep the costs [low] and the programs running,” says Bergen.
Friday, Community members who want to support local sports programming will find the committee’s fundraiser on Main Street across from the main stage in Plum Coulee.
~With files from Ty Hildebrand~