This article is brought to you by the Kokomo Family YMCA. REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Our annual Turkey Trot 5K is back, so come run the race before you stuff your face! Join us Nov. 27th and combat those holiday calories while you have fun walking or running our scenic course. It’s a timed, family-friendly race and every participant receives a T-shirt & medal. Proceeds benefit the Kokomo Family YMCA’s Annual Campaign. This is a great opportunity to get active outdoors AND give back to the community by providing opportunities to families and individuals through the YMCA’s annual campaign by clicking here!

A crowd gathered beneath the new outdoor pavilion at Bona Vista/DSI recently as the facility was officially dedicated to a major benefactor of the organization. The Bill Hingst Outdoor Pavilion is now in operation, serving as a shelter and center of activities for the many clients of Bona Vista.

Clients, employees, and community members gathered at the organization’s South Plate Street facility to make a robust crowd as Bona Vista President Brianne Boles expressed gratitude for the new pavilion.

“We’re very grateful to everybody that was involved, but today I get the honor of honoring the Hingst family, specifically Bill Hingst, with the dedication of the outdoor pavilion,” said Boles. “The Mid-America Beverage Co. did donate this building to us, so we’re very grateful to them for that. We wouldn’t be able to provide the services that we do in this building for hundreds of individuals on a daily basis.”

In addition to the overhead shelter, the pavilion features several pieces of playground enrichment equipment, including musical instruments and games. The pavilion was funded, in part, by the United Way Serving Howard and Tipton Counties. Members of the nonprofit were on hand to help celebrate the pavilion’s dedication.

Miriam O’Malley-Long, Vice President of Business Development for DSI, took time to thank all of the sponsors and contributors to the project, including the City of Kokomo, Community First Bank of Indiana, the Community Foundation Serving Howard, Clinton, and Carroll Counties, Community Health Network, Shiloh United Methodist Church, Duke Energy, Cardwell Built, Play Pros, Huston Electric, the Walmart Foundation, the Hingst and McKinney families, and the Harold Shipley Memorial.

“Thank you so much to everybody who is here today to celebrate this fantastic opportunity for us and our clients,” said O’Malley-Long. “We would not be able to provide these services without the support of our community members, and we are very appreciative of everyone’s support.”