Rotary volunteers build Legion park paths for disabled

EVERETT — At a park that overlooks the inlet their club is named for, volunteers with the Port Gardner Rotary Club shoveled fine gravel into wheelbarrows and packed it down Saturday to form new paths through the damp grass.

For about a year, the club has been planning to improve Legion Memorial Park on Alverson Boulevard. After talking with Everett Parks &Recreation, they decided to put in paths that make the viewpoint there accessible to people with disabilities.

The club raised money for the $15,000 project and got help from Rotary District 5050, which stretches from Everett past the Canadian border. This year, the Rotary Foundation, a nonprofit that supports parent organization Rotary International, is celebrating its centennial.

Next year, the club may continue its work at the park by adding more walkways, said Marge Fairweather, president of the Port Gardner Rotary. This spring, though, it wanted to focus on the area with water views, benches and interpretive signs.

“We have a number of benches here, and a number of signs, but you have to step out onto turf when it’s rainy and wet,” said Geoff Larsen, supervisor for horticulture and forestry with Everett Parks. “This connects people to those features.”

The Port Gardner Rotary has 29 members. About half came out Saturday morning to help. They were joined by parks staff and other community volunteers, forming a group of nearly 40. While most hauled gravel, flattened the path or laid down beauty bark along its border, a few fired up the barbecue for the volunteers’ lunch.

“We’re a relatively small club, but we do a lot,” Fairweather said. “We decide what we want to do, and then we find a way to make it happen.”

It’s not just local projects. A few years ago, 10 Rotary members went to Guatemala to help build systems for gathering and storing clean water.

Closer to home, the club helps each year at different parks. They’ve weeded and picked up litter around the city.

For the past 17 years, the club has raffled off a car each fall to raise money for its work. This year, it’s a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro in crimson and gray. The raffle continues until October.

The Legion Memorial paths are an example of the type of improvements Everett Parks wouldn’t be able to do without volunteers, director Lori Cummings said.

“The Rotary is amazing, with their ability to activate volunteers on projects that make sense for us,” she said. “They’re just great partners.”

Steve Chittenden, who has been a Rotary member for 29 years, acted as the liaison to Everett Parks during planning. He’s been coordinating volunteer projects with the parks department for at least seven years. Pitching in around town is a no-brainer for him.

“Everett’s our home,” he said. “And as Rotarians, we like to work.”

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.