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Titans' Facilities Fund press conference comments from Dr. Skretta



Good morning! Welcome, and thanks for joining us this morning for the Creation of Domination Titans' Facilities Fund kickoff.

My name is John Skretta, I'm Superintendent of the Norris School District & today I have the pleasure of introducing the Norris School Board members who've served on the ad hoc committee for facilities development to steer this project.

We have here today Board members Jim Kruger, Craig Gana and Jim Craig.

I want to thank them and the entire Norris school board for its aggressiveness and opportunism in setting forth the vision for this great project.

Over two years ago as the district was planning for its bond issue that subsequently resulted in the successful passage of a $14 million bond resolution for our new intermediate school and high school renovations the Board at that time undertook a comprehensive analysis of facilities needs.

We conducted comparability studies looking at other, similar sites districts and evaluated the status of the resources we have for our programs. What we realized is that we have some needs in the athletics realm and that we want to address them, together. We looked at the total depth and breadth of services and resources provided to students.

It is widely acknowledged that activities involvement is one of the best means of engaging students and ensuring their academic success while also preparing them for a lifetime of success. Students who are active and engaged, students who are members of the team and experience that sense of unity and shared commitment have a deep bond with their school. Norris has a long tradition of strong activities involvement from our wonderful student body as well as having a long-standing practice of community access and use of our facilities for youth groups and youth sports teams.

Today we establish the Titans facilities fund for the development of enhanced athletics facilities here on campus including expanded fitness center for strength training and aerobic conditioning, artificial turf field, baseball diamond, and tennis courts. The Titans facilities fund is a donor driven initiative, and it is the intent of the Norris district to solicit donations from friends and patrons of the Titans in order to accomplish this ambitious plan.

To communicate the plan, we have developed literature and published a website that provides accessible and accurate information:


www.titansfacilitiesfund.com


The customized website also provides an easy means of donating through the click to give page that gives you that instant gratification from giving back & I'll show you just how easy it is.

Folks, we need these facilities, and we believe in the generosity of our parents and patrons and our community’s willingness to support the school. We have an exciting lead donation announcement that will be made by our Athletic Director Greg Hardin. I'd like to turn it over to Greg now to share that information, after which Greg will introduce some program coaches who can convey to you the importance and urgency of Norris accomplishing this project.

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