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Schools

Q&A With Diamond Anniversary Campaign Spokesman Brian Vandenberg

Capital campaign for new sports complex at Lake Forest High School's east campus hits $1 million mark.

 

The diamond is slowly being polished. 

Earlier this year, Lake Forest High School boosters

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The goal: to privately raise $2.5 million for a new facility that would be home for a new track, bleachers, press box and synthetic turf fields. Sports such as field hockey, girls' lacrosse and girls and boys' track and field would use the complex as their primary venue along with high school wellness classes, intramurals and other activities.

The name of the fundraising efforts is the "Diamond Anniversary Campaign", which is in reference to the high school's 75th birthday this year. 

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Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch spoke with the campaign's front man, Brian Vandenberg of the Lake Forest Booster Club, who provides an update on the project.

You reached the $1 million mark in raised funds. How significant is this?

We're at a point where it's a critical milestone. We've been effective with the current high school community. Being at $1 million is consistent to where we want to be in terms of breaking ground this summer (2012).

Where has the money come from?

We aren't releasing names of donors at this point. They will be recognized but not yet. This is a community project and every dollar pledged has come from local donors. It's substantially individual families. A small portion has come from corporations. 

Can you give us an idea of what $1 million would build? 

One of the components is the track. The existing track needs replacement and resurfacing the next few years irrespective of the project. The short answer is where we are today, you can get turf field done. I don't know if it would be best to do a turf field over track. It's about phasing and prioritizing. This would require a lengthy discussion with many people weighing in. I'm not sure what people would choose. We're not focused on that. 

You are still $1.5 million shy of goal. What has surprised you about this process?

Every capital campaign is unique and different. There are going to be surprises along the way. It's a little surprising to me the lack of familiarity as to the existing conditions over there (East Campus). It's a prominent location. You would expect people to have a better understanding. Some have presumed the West Campus facility takes care of everything and solves problems because technically it's an athletic campus. This doesn't mean it's the location where all the programs are housed. Most are not. The vast majority take place at East (campus). So we have to educate folks on what we are doing. 

What is next phase?

Whenever you look at a campaign like this, you look at layers in the community. When you think about the number of families that have kids in high school, it's a small subset. Our communication efforts and bookends outside of high school community haven't been our focus and we will reach out to those areas. Alumni is important as is elementary schools. The biggest beneficiaries of the facility will be kids not even in high school yet, and we need to reach out to them. 

How will you be reaching out?

Through direct mail outreach, events and a community awareness program. We need to continue to expand our core committee with folks that are more deeply involved. We have a Facebook page. I don't know if that's the most effective way to communicate, but when it goes viral it can be. We want to have people think of this as a permanent enhancement and benefit not just this year or next year but generationally. When it's there they will think, how could we do without it? 

You can link to the Diamond Anniversary Campaign's Facebook page here

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