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Wam-Sag-Man Trail Awarded $30,000 Grant to Support Trail Project - June 12, 2008
(June 12, 2008) Wamego, KS — The Wam-Sag-Man Trail Fund, a fund with the Wamego Community Foundation (WCF), has been awarded a $30,000 Project Grant from the Chicago-based Tawani Foundation. The grant will be used to support the Wam-Sag-Man Trail, a biking, jogging, and walking trail that will stretch from Wamego through St. George to Manhattan.
“We are ecstatic that we have received this generous grant from the Tawani Foundation,” said Diane Novak, Wam-Sag-Man trail committee chair. “The total cost of six phases of the project is estimated at more than $4 million. Through our biking events, as well as other grants and individual and corporate donations, we’ve raised more than $75,000.”
The Tawani Foundation grant will be dispersed in three equal distributions of $10,000 annually through 2010. Since January 2008, nearly $15,000 has been raised in grants and individual donations, including from Westar Energy Foundation ($1,000), the Wamego Lion's Club ($100), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas ($1,000), and matching funds from Modern Woodman ($2,500) and Pottawatomie County Thrivent Chapter #30321 ($500).
In-kind donations from Manhattan area businesses include Martin Tractor, who donated the use of their trac skid loader in February; Growing Concerns, who paid for native grass seeds for seeding of the trail right-of-way; and The Pathfinder, who donated a $1,000 gift certificate for a drawing to be held October 4 at the Yellow Brick Road Ride event in Wamego.
Novak noted that the trail will be built in several phases. Volunteers expect to start work in the fall on Saint George Phase I, which they cleared in February, and trail volunteers continue to mow and maintain the area. Westar Energy Green Team has also pledged to assist with the project this fall by seeding the right-of-way.
“The plan is to work with Landplan Engineering out of Junction City and Lawrence as well as with continued volunteer support. We are hopeful that more in-kind donations will come in, allowing us to move forward with the project as we have the money,” said Novak. “The purpose of the trail is to eliminate the need for users having to share busy roads with motor vehicle traffic. It will provide a secure place for children and families to exercise together and walk and bicycle to school and work.”
The trail project started in 2001 when the Wamego Chamber of Commerce and an ad hoc tourism committee hosted a visioning session to define future goals for tourism and recreation in Wamego and the surrounding area. Two projects stood out: A recreation trail from Wamego to Saint George and a new river landing in Wamego.
In 2002, the recreation trail and river landing projects were adopted into the Chamber’s strategic plan. In 2003, Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC) adopted both projects into its strategic plan and in 2005 included both in their tourism plan.
“Both projects have moved forward because people in the area became excited about them,” said Bob Cole, executive director of the PCEDC. “Dedication of the new river landing/boat ramp in Wamego will take place June 27 at 5:30 p.m. and feasibility and engineering studies, cost estimates, and trail staking have been completed for the trail project.”
Numerous bike rallies and fundraising events, including the annual Cabin Fever Challenge in March and the Yellow Brick Road Ride in October, have been held. The trail fundraising committee continues to work on fundraising and developing partnerships with local businesses. Members of the committee are Keith Ratzloff, Tim Ryan, and Linda and Chuck Burton, Manhattan; Dave Karnowski and Bob Cole, Wamego; and Diane Novak, St. George.
For more information about the trail project and how you can help, visit
www.wam-sag-man.org or www.thewcf.org/Giving/donate.shtml.
About the Wamego Community Foundation
The formation of the Wamego Community Foundation in 1998 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation created an efficient mechanism through which individuals, families, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations have been able to create funds and make gifts to benefit their community. Since its inception, the Foundation has received approximately $1.2 million in gifts and donations and has distributed back more than $500,000 to the community, including toward scholarships, the Wam-Sag-Man recreation trail, and the Friends of the Park, just to name a few.
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For more information, please contact:
René Eichem, executive director
Wamego Community Foundation
529 Lincoln Ave. | P.O. Box 25
Wamego, KS 66547
P: 785-456-8444 | F: 785-456-8443
| Wamego Community Foundation • PO Box 25 • Wamego KS 66547 • P: 785-456-8444 • F: 785-456-8443 • E-mail |