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Medford man campaigns for parks Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Loren Swan is starting a Medford Parks and Recreation Foundation to raise money for a sports park planned on this farmland south of Medford on Highway 99. By Jessica Smith Loren Swan says his work is far from over. The Medford man who pushed for years for the development of the city�s first sports park will soon be out drumming up donations to help pay for it. Swan says he expects to find a lot of support for the Medford Parks and Recreation Foundation, a nonprofit organization he hopes to run. "It�s not hard to turn people on to a good thing," explained Swan, a one-time surfer, marathoner, Little League coach and steel production supervisor. Medford residents already seem to be on board with the concept of the sports park, he pointed out. Voters this month approved a 50 percent increase to Medford�s hotel-motel tax to partially fund the purchase of a 124-acre farm expected to one day serve as the sports park. Two city fees also were increased to pay for the $4.8 million purchase. The city plans to buy 124 acres of land straddling Bear Creek between the freeway and South Pacific Highway for the park, envisioned as a local sports mecca and a regional hub for baseball, softball, Babe Ruth and soccer tournaments. But funding for development of the park, and other aspects of the city�s park master plan, are less certain. Swan�s idea is to put together a fund-raising foundation that would financially support the master plan, which includes purchasing land and improving existing parks and trails. Donors would be able to specify where their money would be spent. The idea sounds like a good one to Greg Jones, the city�s parks and recreation director. "You start developing a group of citizens in the community who are willing to help you raise donations to develop the park system, which I think is a good thing," he said. According to Jones, citizens and corporations are more inclined to contribute money when presented with the income tax write-off benefits offered by nonprofit organizations. The foundation also will be eligible for state, federal and private grants, he said. Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, said he plans to seek state economic development funds in the 2001 Legislature to help pay for park development. But it�ll be between four and six months before the foundation can accept any money, Swan said. Incorporation papers expected to be filed by the end of the year must be reviewed by the state and federal government before the foundation receives its nonprofit status. In the meantime, Swan says he wants to build name-recognition so that when he goes "knocking on doors" people are ready to open their checkbooks. Swan, who found the property for the park and worked with the city to develop the plan, says he wants people to know that his heart is in the project. To prove it, Swan said he won�t take 5 percent of the foundation�s collections as salary for serving as the organization�s executive director, as he originally planned. "For the sake of the project, I�ll do it pro bono," he said. "Money is not my motive. I don�t want anybody to think it is." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.