PHOTO BY BRENNA WHITE / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
CELEBRATION PLANNING … The Friends of the Montpelier Parks review the upcoming events planned for America’s 250th Celebration this summer.
By: Brenna White
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Friends of the Montpelier Parks met Thursday, March 12, 2026, to hold their first meeting of the year. Seth Miller was re-elected as president of the board, along with Matt Reid being selected as vice president again.
Members first approved the meeting minutes before moving on to the financial statement presented by Nikki Uribes.
During the financial report, it was noted that the organization’s account had been moved from WesBanco to F&M Bank.
Donations were also discussed, including donations from the Moose and the Eagles of Montpelier. Each organization donated $5,000 toward pool admission costs for the 2026 season.
The Eagles additionally made a generous donation of $40,000, which included the $5,000 for the pool admission.
They requested that an undecided amount of that money be set aside for a Kiddyland revitalization project, with the rest to be undesignated. The board opted to designate $20,000 towards the future Kiddyland project.
Additional financial action included releasing funds for softball and baseball registrations. The board released $4,800 for the softball program to cover 2026 entry fees.
An additional $5,000 for baseball entry fees was also approved along with $500 to cover the annual sponsorship fee for the Eagles.
Sandy Gordon, recreation director, then updated the board on the upcoming events planned for the summer and America’s 250th Celebration. A time capsule from 50 years ago will be opened on August 1, 2026.
A new time capsule will be created and will be filled with many photos of residents, businesses, and events of the Montpelier area.
“Going through this whole process of revitalization of the downtown, what we wish we had was more pictures of the downtown and the people that were here,” explained Gordon. “Fifty years from now – it’s a gift we are giving our future community.”
The Iron Horse River Trail’s disc golf course is steadily making progress.
The equipment has been ordered and is ready for installation. The board hopes to see the course fully installed by the Montpelier Bean Days.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m. The next Friends of the Montpelier Parks meeting will take place June 4, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
