est.1946
Harper Community Park
President: John Paul Fogle
Vice President: Steve Wetz
Secetary: Krista Bennett
Treasurer: Pam Fogle
Members: Kenny Bode, Kacey Key, Fiona Gideon, Glenna Short, Henry Sherman and Keith Ake
"The Harper Community Park was established in 1946 and has been serving the Harper community for about 73 years. Our organization was founded with the intention to serve the community and provide a space that the town and area ranchers could meet for special events, take part in specific pastimes, raise money for special needs or organizations, or just relax and enjoy the beauty of a quiet neighborhood with a picnic.
As the Harper Community itself has grown and changed over the years, so has the Harper Community Park. In order to meet the continuing & changing needs of the community that we strive to serve, the Harper Community Park Association, Inc. Park Board, encourages the use of the park & its facilities for charitable, religious, and educational activities by providing reduced rental fee for use of the Harper Community Hall to approved charitable organizations and non-profits organizations alike. These groups include the Harper Independent School District, 501 (c)(3) groups such as the Harper Community Library, Harper Parent Teacher Organization, Harper Chamber of Commerce, area Churches, as well as the Historical Society & Pioneer Museum who would not otherwise have access to the necessary venue that the Park provides to help aid them in their fundraising needs.
Also, the Park fosters national and international amateur sports competitions by providing a venue for youth horse riding clubs, rodeos, & other groups in our rural area that would not otherwise have access to the much needed facilities that the Harper Community Park offers. Just as in its early days, the Park Board continues to encourage the use of the grounds & facilities for those groups advocating for relief of the poor, the distressed, the underprivileged, as well as a venue for groups helping with the advancement of religion, education & sciences. The Annual Brush Arbor Day is a great example of an Event that brings multiple groups together to foster a spirit of Community and Fellowship in our rural locale.
From an educational perspective, the Park is always available for the school to use both for fundraising needs such as the Harper PTO's Annual 5K Run that draws in both local and out of town participants alike to support our HISD students and teachers, as well as the hands-on, out of the classroom educational opportunities that abound in our natural setting with the Hill Country native plant & animal habitats and pond to explore!
The erection and maintenance of public buildings and historical sites, in addition to the Community Park itself, is also of vital importance to the Harper Community Park Association, Inc. Board. Many do not realize that there is NO government support of the facilities and the structures maintained by the Park. Both our funding and labor are generously donated by community volunteers and friends of the park. While the amount we are previously generated as a 501 (c)(4) is not great, it IS greatly appreciated because those structures now serving the Park would deteriorate without the support of the Harper Community Park Association, Inc., and the financial support of the community which it serves. Of particular interest in regards to the erection of, or maintenance of, public buildings, monuments or works, and the Harper Community Park Association Board's need to lessen the burdens of government by combating community deterioration, it should be noted that without the ability to seek large grants and individual donors as a 501 (c)(3), the Harper Community Park is in jeopardy of becoming neglected and obsolete unless steps are taken to help the Park continue to help the Community that created it and who it serves.
Please visit us in Harper, TX and see why we LOVE our Community, our Park, & our Heritage! Help us continue to help others..."