Voters elect community pool board of directors

Community members elected the first board of directors for the Tecumseh Community Memorial Pool Sunday night, Oct. 7, at an open house held at the pool on North Maumee Street.Interim President of the Friends of the Tecumseh Community Pool (FTCP) Danielle Ward welcomed the public to the open house in preparation for the election. “We are so grateful to the district residents who approved the millage to support the pool,” Ward said. “We officially became an LLC [limited liability corporation] and 501 (c) 3 [nonprofit organization] and have formed a partnership with the schools to maintain this fine facility for public use. I encourage everyone to keep up with pool news by logging on to www.ftcp.org for regular updates on events and programs that are going on at your pool. It’s a great place for people to come and exercise and relax.” The website is currently under construction, but will have helpful information and scheduling times for community use soon.After the opening remarks, ballots were passed out to those in attendance and the following board members were elected: Brian Barbre, Pat Forsyth, Steven Linn, Brandi Moore, Kelly Nevins, Carolyn Russell, Joshua Tuberville, Danielle Ward, and Mark Wolfe. At a subsequent board organizational meeting, the directors selected executive officers. Ward will serve as president; Linn, vice president; Nevins, secretary; and Wolfe, treasurer.Board members were elected to terms of varying length to keep an experienced core of trustees in office at all times. Ward, Linn, and Moore were elected to three-year terms, Barbre, Forsyth, and Nevins were elected for two years and Russell, Tuberville, and Wolfe will serve one-year terms.FTCP members have been busy with maintenance chores at the pool since the successful passage of the .25 mill for support of the pool this past February. FTCP volunteers have helped install new fixtures, furniture, and rugs, along with cleaning drains and painting. Pool Director Sarah Eubanks thanked the FTCP members for their efforts at the meeting. “I can’t express enough how much we appreciate what you’ve been doing here,” said Eubanks. “And I can’t leave out our gratitude to the voters who approved the millage to allow it to happen.” Wolfe said, “This facility is a dream come true for this community. It’s now our responsibility to make sure that it is maintained in the fine shape that it is in now. We need more participation and more members who are committed to that goal. Many hands make light work.” Pool regular Don McCallum said that the support of the voters and the new board will raise the profile of the facility. “This is more than just a place to come and swim,” he said. “It is also a place where people come to socialize. It’s truly an indoor water wonderland.”Tecumseh Public Schools Supt. Mike McAran was present at the open house and assured the new pool board that the school board will support the directors in their decisions about maintenance and equipment replacement. “A lot of people on this committee have done a lot of work to get the pool to this point,” McAran said. “We need to keep the channels of communication open between the Friends and the school board. You let us know what is needed and we will work together to get it done.”Former Tecumseh High School diving champ Marisa Proctor was visiting Tecumseh and dropped by the open house. She said that she remembered her days on the Tecumseh High School Swimming and Diving team fondly and said she was happy to see that the facility is being maintained so well. “It looks really great,” she said. “The colors are a little different from what I remember, but overall nothing much else has changed. I had some really great times here.”Ward reminded those present the Friends would be hosting another open house April 13 with swimming clinics conducted by two visiting former Olympian swimming champions. More details will be announced as the date nears.