Story and photos by Cort Reynolds
A project that began in the spring of 2017 came to full fruition as the Ada park tennis courts received their official opening on a community Fun Night Monday, Sept. 9.
Fundraising chairman Bryan Marshall spearheaded the effort to refurbish the four decayed park courts. Grants had to be applied for and a fundraising campaign was begun to raise the needed local dollars.
"They say it takes a village to raise a child, but a village and then some were needed to refurbish the Ada Park tennis courts," Marshall noted. "As a result of everyone's efforts, tonight we can see the fruits of our labors.
"This community will will benefit from these tennis courts for years to come," he continued, adding that there will still be a need for funds to keep the courts well-maintained over time. "And for that we are most grateful," he added.
The old courts had cracks and poor surfaces, and also were badly in need of painting and sealing. Weeds also popped up through the cracks all over the courts, making play difficult at best, and unsightly.
The 14-5 Ada tennis team played all its home matches at the Ohio Northern University Marmon Courts this past spring.
Along with two $10,000 grants from the United States Tennis Association, Ada received $29,235 dollars in state funds from Ohio Nature Works to fix the cracked courts.
The village came up with $16,840 through its own fundraising efforts from local contributors. In a short speech at the official opening Monday, Marshall noted that the total project cost was $66,075.
In order to secure the grants the deadline for raising the Ada part of the money was due by December of 2019, so the project was finished well ahead of time.
The costs included $55,125 for an asphalt overlay and acrylic resurfacer, plus $10,950 to remove and replace the fencework.
The acrylic resurfacer, painting the surface, layout and stripe the courts took place in July. The new asphalt overlay went on forst, and after a significant rain delay, the acrylic resurfacer was applied.
In addition, the old fencing was replaced with new fabric and tension wires, along with a fresh coat of paint.
The attractive courts were painted similar to the Ada school colors - tournament purple inside the courts, with a yellow sandstone color covering the areas outside the courts.
Members of the Ohio Northern men's and women's teams, as well as a few players from the Ada tennis team, were on hand to practice and hit shots on the new courts.
Anyone was allowed to try and hit prizes on the other side of the court with serves or groundstrokes. Among the prizes given away were t-shirts and carrying bags, as well as various items from the Western & Southern pro tournament held in Mason, Ohio every August.
The list of local contributors, a few of whom were on hand at the opening Sept. 9:
Ada Athletic Boosters
Ada Junior Civic League
Ada Kiwanis Club
Ada Park Board
Ada Tennis Association
Tom and Jeri Banks Family
Ron and Christy Beaschler
Mary Bowden
Harold Cotsamire
Jeff and Beth Gray
Dick and Eilene Hubbard
Liberty National Bank
Bryan and Colleen Marshall
Louise Miller
Lisa Paugh
Quest Federal Credit Union
Charles Van Dyne
Scott and Jamie Wills
Dexter and Melanie Caw Woods.
Committee members involved in the project included:
Marshall, park board trustee Bob Szuch, village administrator Jamie Hall, former Ada high school boys tennis coach and ex-treasurer Christy Beaschler, Ada Community Tennis Association leader Scott Wills, and Scott Mullins, an Ada High boys tennis team parent.
