On Sunday, children took advantage of the upgrades at the city park.
By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune Managing Editor
If a community is as strong as its volunteers, the city of Ludlow has a solid foundation that extends far beyond its borders.
Volunteers from all over the region turned out last week to help give the city’s Elm Street park a makeover.
Duke Energy employee and Ludlow High School baseball coach Kevin Gray paints dugouts at the city park Friday (photos by Mark Hansel).
Many were Duke Energy workers participating in the company’s Volunteers in Action program, which supports the grassroots volunteer efforts of employees year-round.
Lee Freedman, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, said the company encourages employees to participate in volunteer events in communities in its service areas.
Duke Energy offers grants and employees supply extra elbow grease to help make community projects that are in the works even better.
“There are several projects going on that will help this park prosper and make it more useful for residents,” Freedman said. “Kevin Gray, the Ludlow High School baseball coach and assistant basketball coach really got this started. We caught wind of this and thought it was great so we helped get more employees here and more money to expand the project and some kids from the high school are also pitching in.”
Gray, who works in distribution design for Duke Energy, spent the morning painting dugouts at the baseball field. He said what started as a small project just took off.
“Originally, I signed up for some vouchers to redo the mound and the batter’s boxes and got them approved,” Gray said. “Then Angie Mulberry (another Duke employee) came down and saw the park needed some work and it all escalated from there. I haven’t heard a dollar amount for the project, but I’m sure it’s quite a few thousand – and that’s not counting the labor.
Duke energy workers install new lights at the softball field.
The large park, which serves as a community hub, includes athletic fields, a skate park a children’s’ play area and picnic areas.
Renovation efforts were taking place all over on the chilly Friday morning. Volunteers in the Kid’s Play area were painting equipment, installing playground pieces and spreading sand, while another group was giving the skate park a much-needed makeover.
High above the softball field, Duke Energy line crews were working on light repair and pole replacement, while another group was at ground level putting up new bleachers.
The new lighting will allow for night softball, pewee baseball and the youth football program will be able to have evening practices in the fall when it gets dark much earlier.
An extensive landscaping project included grounds maintenance, mulching, and planting around the park.
Ludlow High School students work on a section of a mural that will be installed at the park.
Several groups of students worked on a large-scale color-by-number mural in a covered picnic area that will be installed at the park. Meanwhile, another group of Duke volunteers were assembling additional benches that would be used to create another picnic area.
Ryan Ward, a Duke volunteer working on the skate park upgrade, also helped out with a cleanup project at the Covington Landing in advance of the city’s bicentennial celebration.
“It’s a great company to work for and it’s great that they care so much about the communities,” Ward said. “There are a lot of opportunities throughout the year and we try to give back whenever we can.”
While most of the upgrades went smoothly, there were a few glitches along the way.
A group installing playground equipment was missing some hardware and the bleacher crew was collectively scratching their heads over the less-than-step-by-step instructions. The resourceful volunteers, however, overcame the obstacles and the bleachers and playground equipment were in working order by the end of the morning.
Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play.
Duke Energy volunteer Todd Hunter ensures a dinosaur spring rider passes the stress test.
Todd Hunter, a Duke volunteer working on the playground project, decided to stress-test a dinosaur spring rider toy to “make sure it was assembled properly.”
“Well, we know it can hold up to 145 pounds,” Hunter, who clearly tipped the scales a few pounds higher, said to the guffaws of his co-workers.
Brian Lokesak was watching the landscape renovation with his daughter Stella, 4, son Silas, 2, and the family dog, a six-month-old Great Dane named Loki.
The family was paying close attention to ensure that a vintage fire truck toy, which Brian played on as a kid and his children now enjoyed, remained intact.
“I’m from Ludlow originally, but we just moved back after 10 years in Florence and it’s great to see all of these improvements,” Lokesak said. “We want to be a part of the generation that is bringing Ludlow back to its former glory. All of us thirty-somethings remember our great childhoods here and we want to let our kids experience the same thing.”
In all, more than 100 Duke Energy employees and about 40 students contributed to the renovation efforts
Many of the students who participated in the project are also participating in programs at Gateway Technical and Community College. The volunteer work is part of a program that allows them to gain up to 24 college credits while still in high school.
Brian Lokesak of Ludlow wrestles with Loki, the family’s Great Dane pup, while Stella and Si Lokesak check out the park renovations.
Mike Borchers, superintendent of Ludlow schools, said Duke Energy has always been a great community partner.
“It’s not the first project they have been a part of here. This started out as a high school perspective project and it’s turned into something that is going to help our elementary students, and our whole community,” Borchers said. “This is kind of the center of our community and our kids have recess down here every day, so this is going to be an enhancement for them as well.”
Thousands of Duke Energy employees and retirees nationwide lend their time and talents each year to a wide variety of projects through the Volunteers In Action program.
“Our employees are in the communities nonstop,” Freedman said. “It’s part of our commitment because as a company and as employees we know we can’t be successful unless our communities are. These are places where employees live and lead and work and we want this city and this region to prosper.”
