By Ron VandenBoom
Parks and Recreation Director Dave Wilson was honored Monday in a ceremonial planting of the first in a grove of trees that will be known as The Wilson Grove.
The stand of nine trees is just the first installment of a grove of at least 18 that is destined to grace the campus at Havre High School, said Randy Graves, organizer of the event.
Wilson selflessly gives a lot of his time to the community and the youth, Graves said. Were just doing this as a thank you to him.
Mayor Phyllis Leonard said she had a lot of kind words for Wilson and referred to him as a man who, in his role as parks and recreation director, has moved forward on trying to beautify Havre and make recreational activities for kids.
Hes worked hard and always done such a great job, Leonard said.
Leonard presented Wilson with a photograph as a memento of the occasion and said it was her honor and privilege to recognize Wilson.
Dave is so appreciated by the city, Leonard said. I feel this is such an appropriate honor for Dave to have.
Wilson gave credit to the community for its cooperation in making it work.
Everyone in the community has been very supportive of what weve done, Wilson said, and allowed us to make a lot of progress and just make our community a better place to live.
Its due to the folks here that we are allowed to keep improving our community, Wilson said.
The planting of the trees was completed by Badlands Tree and Landscaping.
Support for the project came from the Task force for Urban Reforestation (TURF) and was paid for by the following local merchants: First Security Bank, Taco Johns, Western Security Bank, Valley Motor Supply, Culligan of Havre, Taco Time, Gusto Distributors, Mels Foods, Short Stop, and Gary and Leos Fresh Foods.
