Newsletter
Cooper Edwards
Hometown: Cedar City
Nutrition Major
Leadership
The Park Where I Met My Wife
Growing up in Enoch we had a small run down park were all the kids in the neighborhood would meet and play “night games”. Every night during the summer we would meet to play soccer, tag, and other fun games. It was all we had in the small developing neighborhood. The park for many kids, kept them out of trouble and gave them something to do.
Now finally this Summer Enoch City has announced that they have raised enough money to improve the park and this summer they are going to have a plan to complete phase one of two. I of course signed up to be one of the organizers and be the one to see phase one get completed on time. The project includes installing a park bench, a BBQ, and creating a stage for neighborhood and park events.
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I was really motivated to be a part of this project because it was the park where I met my first crush who ended up becoming a really dear friend and eventually 14 years later becoming the love of my life and dear wife. This park will always be a special place and being able to make renovations like this, to give back to the community was a opportunity I didn’t want to pass up. I know the park will be use even more now and seeing a face lift on this park really brings joy to myself.
There were some challenges to this project. One of which was the design of the stage area. The shape of the stage as you can see in the picture above was a kidney bean shape. It took me a couple of days of deciding what kind of stone I would use. The first idea I had was to use flag stone, but as I checked the prices at Home Depot the flag stone was all picked through and didn’t give me much to work with. The second idea was using pavers and deciding a color was difficult. Lastly the shape of the stage was going to require a lot of cuts with a tile saw. This ended up taking a lot of time, but I was happy the way it turned out.
In the completion of phase one of this park renovations the government has put a program in place to feed lunch to kids whose families are struggling. It is truly amazing to see the community engaging with each other and helping one another feed the hungry in the neighborhood. I hope this program will be able to continue and thousands of children will be fed. I hope this park will become a beacon of hope for those that are in need.
This really has been a joyful experience for me. To be in the service of my fellow men and women has taught me how to become a better American citizen. It has reminded me what it is all about to be in this great country. It was founded on men and women who served each other and to get a taste of that has fueled me to be more willing to serve others.
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