The Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome Gene Griffin, our guest blogger for this month.
Gene will share information about the Griffin Bike Park.
Well, looks like the “New Year” is going to have some new adventures for all of us. Just wanted to say congratulations and to renew my thanks for your help with the Park in 2016. You’ve probably got more on your plate now than you can handle, but I’ll provide a few links for you to see just how successful everything has gone with the park.
We had over 1200 Volunteers that donated over 16,000 hours and we have 90 sponsorscomposed of corporations, foundations as well as state and local governments that have helped us raise over $1,350,000 in cash and in-kind donations. Since June 15ht of 2016 we have had over 32,288 visitors to the park.
As you probably know, VP Elect Mike Pence and his wife Karen came to cut the ribbon in front of over 1000 folks for our Grand Opening on October 15th and the Pence’s brought their bikes and rode with us in the Basic Training Skills Park area. As they made their way along the ride on the trail, they passed by 18 by 24 inch color photos of the heroes KIA from Indiana since the War of Terror began on 9/11. What a tribute it was.
Here’s some short local media pieces on the Grand Opening:
WTWO News – Griffin Bike Park Officially Open
WTHI 10 NEWS – GRIFFIN BIKE PARK – GO
Here’s some National News bringing great attention to the State of Indiana:
Singletrack Griffin Bike Park Built to Honor Fallen Soldier
Singletracks Blog – Massive Griffin Bike Park in Indiana built to Honor Fallen Soldiers
7 Trails along I-70 that will make your next Road Trip Rock
Mountain Bike Action Magazine – Griffin Bike Park
We’re now headed into Phase II and will be putting in electricity, showers and bathrooms to really make this park into a truly World Class facility. Then we will be installing a bike wash, tool station and water station to finish all the amenities. Of course, we’ll be working on adding about another 10 miles of trail to our 15 mile system along with many exciting features for those who want to be challenged with opportunities to sharpen their skills.
There’s no mystery here, it all takes money, however the resources continue to come in as we share our cause of honoring the fallen, providing opportunity for better health and fitness with our multi-sport complex. Tie that in with the great economic impact for the region and you have a shining star shining over Indiana’s beautiful landscape lighting the way to a bright Hoosier future.
