Carmichael native Peter Tateishi founded the Carmichael Recreation and Park District Foundation two years ago this month. / Photo courtesy, Peter Tateishi

Foundation established in 2009

Organized as the Carmichael Recreation and Park District Foundation on Jan. 20, 2009, the foundation was designed to improve the district’s parks and programs through community reinvestment via tax-deductable contributions.

The foundation, which has the ability to recruit, solicit and accept funds on a tax-free basis, is committed to further advancing the progress of various district projects from simple repairs to having a new pool constructed at Carmichael Park.

Peter Tateishi, a Carmichael native and a former member of the park district board, said that he founded the CRPD Foundation through his desire to advance the district’s continual efforts to improve upon its offerings.

“I had done a lot with the park district and I recognized that we actually didn’t have a nonprofit that was dedicated to helping the park district in Carmichael,” Tateishi said. “Seeing all the good work that the park district had done with the community, I thought that it was important that the community had an outlet in which they could help the park district to enhance and continue their work.

“The park district, just like any government agency, is obviously going through tough times. So, if this is the way that the community can come together and help rally and support (the district), we thought we needed that vehicle, that engine. That’s why we started the foundation.”

Former swimmer, coach

A dog plays with a tennis ball at Carmichael Park’s off-leash dog park, which will eventually be enhanced through foundation funding. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Tateishi, a 1998 Jesuit High School graduate, who later earned a bachelor’s degree in government at Sacramento State University and a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Southern California, said that as a person who spent many years involved in local swimming activities, he was especially interested in assisting the Carmichael Aquatic and Park Projects (CAPP) Committee.

“From the time I was 10 to the time I was 24, I swam (on) or coached different swimming teams,” Tateishi said. “The park district had set (up the CAPP) Committee and they were trying to do an engineering survey. It was costing some money and (the district) needed a vehicle to pay for those things, so the foundation was able to help with getting some of those funds and helping transfer those funds for paying for those services, so we could see whether or not the aquatics center would be a viable assessment tool for the community.”

Tateishi, 30, added that he hopes that he can one day have children of his own who can swim at Carmichael Park just like he did during his childhood.

Project ‘wish list’

In its efforts to set goals, the foundation has worked with the district to create a “wish list” for park projects, which require funds that are not yet available.

Among the “wishes” that can be found on the list are: a shade structure for the skate park at the La Sierra Community Center at 5325 Engle Road, window replacements, new carpeting and a proposed petting zoo at the undeveloped Capra Park site at the corner of Kenneth Avenue and Aboreata Court.

Another one of the foundation’s projects is to continuously acquire and put aside funds for the Wall of Honor, the memorial landmark at Patriots Park – Palm Avenue, off Dewey Drive – that honors people from the community who died in the line of duty.

One of the district’s major projects is to replace the more than half-century-old, abandoned pool at Carmichael Park. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

As an ongoing project, new plaques need to repeatedly be purchased, engraved and installed on the wall.

A plan is also underway to enhance the current, off-leash dog park at Carmichael Park.

Foundation funds will additionally be used to replace vandalized items at the district’s parks such as the butterfly garden sign and a “spinner” playground apparatus that were recently destroyed at Patriots Park.

Community support needed

Since the foundation is still considered to be in its infancy, it is no wonder why Tateishi said that efforts continue to be made to simply inform the community that the foundation exists.

Among the ways that the foundation has promoted itself thus far is through advertising in the district’s program activity guides and on the district’s Web site, www.carmichaelpark.com, speaking to community groups and passing out brochures and fliers at local events such as Founders Day and 4th of July events.

Tateishi mentioned the Daughters of the American Revolution as an organization that learned about the foundation and soon afterward made about a $5,000 contribution to the foundation for the nature pathway for the blind at the Charles C. Jensen Botanical Garden at 8520 Fair Oaks Blvd.

In its efforts to better serve the district, the foundation’s board meets four times per year.

Repairs on this park bench with a missing seat will be paid for with funds donated to the CRPD foundation. / Photo courtesy, CRPD

Current foundation board members are: Tateishi, the foundation’s CEO, Ron Greenwood, who is a member of the Carmichael Water District Board, Mike Koerner, a former CRPD director and a retired San Juan Unified School District administrator, Paul Pennington, a financial advisor, and Gary Hursh, an attorney in Carmichael.

Tateishi said that it was these board members with the assistance of CRPD Administrative Analyst Lee Ann Yarber who “made everything happen” for the foundation.

He added, however, that special recognition should also be given to CRPD Administrator Jack Harrison, whose vision of enhancing the park district helped lead to the creation of the foundation.

Since its establishment, the foundation has raised about $10,000 for park projects.

Parks are important

In contributing to the foundation, community members and organizations can assist local parks, which are a part of our lives that Tateishi said are not always entirely appreciated.

“(Parks) are so important to the community, they’re so important to how we grow our families and how we live our lives,” Tateishi said. “I don’t think people fully understand that all the time. We kind of just take for granted that there will always be a park there.”

This dilapidated picnic table is among the items that can be repaired with foundation funds. / Photo courtesy, CRPD

Fortunately for those who have the interest and the means to help support efforts to preserve, improve and develop local parks and park sites, the foundation has been made available for the purpose of accepting tax deductable contributions and directing the distribution of such funds.

Tateishi described the act of donating to the foundation as an opportunity that represents a showing of one’s community pride and appreciation for the value of the district’s parks.

“Carmichael parks are our gathering places for our community,” Tateishi said. “We’re giving you the opportunity to say, ‘Yes, I support the park district,’ ‘Yes, I support parks,’ ‘Yes, I support the recreational value of having a recreational system and I want to support this park district and I am happy to make a donation to help reinvest in my community.’”

Tax deductable donations can be made by sending a check made payable to the CRPD Foundation and mailed to: CRPD Foundation, 5750 Grant Avenue, Carmichael, CA 95608.

For additional information regarding the CRPD Foundation, call Lee Ann Yarber at (916) 485-5322, ext. 24 or write to Peter Tateishi at the e-mail address peter.tateishi@gmail.com.

lance@valcomnews.com

One of the Carmichael Recreation and Park District’s most unique parks, Patriots Park, will add one more name to its Wall of Honor during a special ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 10 a.m.

A ceremony will be held on Saturday, Nov. 6 to introduce the twelfth inductee of the Wall of Honor at Patriots Park. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Although the park is only three years old, many who are familiar with this 3.68-acre neighborhood park know that it is far from an ordinary recreation and leisure spot.

At the center of the park sits a 20-foot-long by 3-foot-tall by 3-foot-wide concrete and stone wall with much more significance than its durable materials.

Recognized as the Wall of Honor, the wall is so significant, in fact, that when the park was dedicated on Nov. 15, 2008, an entirely separate dedication was held on the same day to present the Wall of Honor and its first inductees to the public.

The park, which is located just east of the Carmichael-Fair Oaks border at 6827 Palm Avenue, off Dewey Drive, features the latest in park designs with walking paths, a playground, a picnic area, a basketball court and a butterfly garden.

But it is the Wall of Honor, which is the park’s most treasured feature.

Tracy Kerth, recreation services manager of the Carmichael Recreation and Park District, observes a photograph of the wall’s newest inductee, Lt. j.g. David A. Warne. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

The wall features 11 plaques with the names of local heroes, who gave their lives serving their country or community.

The Nov. 6 ceremony will honor former Navy pilot, Lt. j.g. David A. Warne, who was lost at sea at the age of 27 on Jan. 12, 1991 during a nighttime training mission over the Mediterranean Sea.

Tracy Kerth, recreation services manager of the Carmichael Recreation and Park District, explained the background of the creation of the Wall of Honor.

“We were trying to name the park and the community came forward and they said, ‘Well, how about we name it after this young man (the late Army Sgt. Ronald L. Coffelt), who grew up in the area and his family still lives here.’ But then we started thinking about all of our heroes. So, then we thought about naming (the park) Patriots Park and having a Wall of Honor and that would include not only military people, but it would include firefighters and police and CHP and Sheriffs and civilians who died in the line of duty.”

With the creation of the wall, such local heroes who resided, worked in or served the community within the park district boundaries could be honored as part of this lasting monument.

This honor is available to those who showed acts of courage beginning as early as 1945, when the district was established.

Nominations for candidates for the Wall of Honor are accepted until July 31 every year.

Official nomination forms are available through the district’s Web site www.carmichaelpark.com or by calling (916) 485-5322 to arrange for a form to be mailed via the United States Postal Service.

The first inductees

The first inductees to have their names placed on plaques and displayed on the Wall of Honor were:: As previously mentioned, Coffelt was the inspiration for the Wall of Honor.

Photographs of the Wall of Honor’s first inductees sit on the wall in 2008. / Photo courtesy of Carmichael RPD

Army Sgt. Ronald L. Coffelt

Raised within walking distance from the park, Coffelt, a graduate of Del Campo High School, died on July 19, 2007 from wounds that he suffered as a result of a bomb that exploded near him in Baghdad.

Army Spc. Raymond Nigel Spencer, Jr.: Spencer, who was raised in Carmichael and excelled in hockey during his youth, was killed less than a month prior to Coffelt’s death when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire.

Sheriff Deputies Kevin Patrick Blount and Joseph Kievernagel: Blount and Kievernagel, who worked as partners in the North Division serving Carmichael, lost their lives during a burglary call on July 15, 2005, when the engine of the helicopter they were flying failed and the helicopter crashed.

CHP Officer Ronald Eugene Davis: Following his graduation from the California Highway Patrol academy, Davis moved his family from Carmichael to Barstow.

Davis died at the age of 25 when he was driving about 100 miles per hour while en route to a traffic accident.

When a pair of motorists failed to heed his siren, Davis, in order to avoid a collision, died when he drove off the highway into the desert.

Army 1^st Lt. Robert Scott Byrnes: A graduate of La Sierra High School, Byrnes, a former lifeguard and swimming instructor at Carmichael Park, lost his life in Vietnam.

Firefighter Dean Wesley Rhoades: An El Camino High School graduate, Rhoades died shortly after fighting a house fire in Carmichael on Jan. 6, 1981.

The second inductees

Last year, plaques for the following inductees were also added to the wall:

Army Spc. James Edward Schlottman: An El Camino High School graduate, Schlottman was killed by a booby trap while on patrol in Vietnam on Aug. 22, 1967.

Sgt. Brian E. Dunlap: A graduate of Del Campo High School, Dunlap was killed at the age of 38 on Sept. 24, 2005, when a roadside bomb exploded during his patrol in northern Baghdad.

Sgt. Larry Morford: The courage of Morford is recognized in the book, “The Least Beastly,” by Bernard “Burn” Loeffke.

Within a memorial tribute to Morford in this book, it is explained that despite being a young man who did not believe in war as a method of resolving disputes, Morford felt that he could not stay at home knowing that other young men were fighting for his country.

On Feb. 12, 1970, Morford, a graduate of La Sierra High School, was killed at the age of 21 in Vietnam while serving in his patrol just a few days prior to when he was scheduled to return home.

Cpt. Olin E. Gilbert, Jr.: While flying an F-106 in a training mission at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida on June 11, 1968, Gilbert was met with the plane’s sudden mechanical difficulties.

Instead of parachuting to safety, Gilbert, a Vietnam veteran, piloted the plane out to sea and away from coastline homes in Port St. Joe, Fla.

This act of heroism cost Gilbert his life, but in turn saved the lives of many other people.

A special honor for a local heroUnlike the previous two Wall of Honor ceremonies, the upcoming Nov. 6 ceremony will honor only one inductee.

This year’s inductee, David A. Warne, formerly resided in Fair Oaks and graduated from Sacramento State University in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

David, who enjoyed skiing and fishing and briefly worked at Aerojet prior to entering active duty in the Navy in 1987, completed his pilot training two years later and was assigned as an F/A-18 pilot.

Although David has a marker in the Arlington National Cemetery, since his body was never recovered after he was lost at sea, it was not possible for his remains to be buried in a local cemetery.

Because of this fact, David’s family and some of his closest friends, who will be attending the event, are additionally appreciative that David will have his name officially placed on the Wall of Honor.

David’s mother, Betty Warne, recently expressed her appreciation that her son will have a local memorial to honor him.

“We don’t have the grave marker here in the area for him, so that’s really nice to have (David’s name on the Wall of Honor) here in this area,” Betty said.

David’s father, Evans Warne, a retired Air Force colonel, pilot and Vietnam veteran, also expressed his appreciation that his son’s name will be placed on the wall.

Navy Lt. j.g. David A. Warne will become the twelfth local hero to have his name placed on the Wall of Honor. / Photo courtesy of Carmichael RPD

“(Having David honored on the wall) means an awful lot to me,” Evans said. “It means that somebody is recognizing his service and that whoever goes to that park will realize what a sacrifice he made and recognize what he did.”

Lee Ann Yarber, administrative analyst of the park district, said that the ceremony, which will also be attended by park district advisory board members and Sacramento County District 3 Supervisor Susan Peters, is a great opportunity for the community to show appreciation for David, as well as other heroes of the Wall of Honor.

“We absolutely invite all the community to come out – anybody who ever lost a loved one or anybody who wants to pay honor to the family of the fallen hero,” Yarber said. “It’s just a nice ceremony, so come on out and honor our local heroes.”

Navy Lt. j.g. David A. Warne, who was lost at sea at the age of 27 on Jan. 12, 1991, will be honored in a special ceremony at Patriots Park on Saturday, Nov. 6. / Photo courtesy of Carmichael RPD