Submitted by
Dee Loflin SMT Manager/Writer
Poplar Bluff, Missouri - The Three Rivers Booster Club has pledged $50,000 toward a new Activity Center at Three Rivers College.
The Booster Club, which helps support Three Rivers’ athletics through events and fundraising, pledged to donate $25,000 per year for the next two years to the Three Rivers Endowment Trust, to be used toward a proposed Activity Center that will serve as a new home for the Raiders and Lady Raiders basketball teams, and for sports tournaments from across the area.
“We’re deeply appreciative of the Booster Club’s support for the Activity Center project,” said Riley Bock, Chairman of the Three Rivers Endowment Trust. “The new building represents a massive step forward for Three Rivers’ athletics, and it’s one that we’ll be making with their help.”
Three Rivers’ proposed Activity Center will seat 3,000 in a state-of-the-art gymnasium that will be convertible between a single full-sized court and three smaller courts for local tournaments and sports camps. The 60,000-square-foot facility will also have six locker rooms, a medical training area, hospitality rooms, concessions areas, coaches’ offices, a weight room, and a Three Rivers Hall of Fame. The building will also serve as a FEMA/SEMA-certified emergency shelter designed to withstand an F5 tornado.
“The Booster Club felt, as an organization, that the need for the Activity Center facility is very much evident. It will improve so much for our athletics, from better training facilities to increased seating,” said Don Crandall, Chair of the Booster Club. “Because funding for the project is tied to limited-duration FEMA/SEMA grants, this was a one-time opportunity that we could not ignore.”
Partial funding for the Activity Center has already been secured through a $2.5 million FEMA/SEMA Safe Room grant, and a $2 million bond sale. The remainder, approximately $3.5 million, is being raised by the Three Rivers Endowment Trust through donations from college supporters, community members, Raiders fans, and organizations like the Booster Club.
The Three Rivers Endowment trust is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, designated by Three Rivers College to receive and manage gifts on behalf of the College. It acts as a trustee for donations to assure that gifts are distributed in the manner specified by the donor. For more information on the Activity Center project or to donate to the Endowment Trust, call Executive Director Emily Parks at 573-840-9077.
Three Rivers College is committed to contributing to the quality of life in Southeast Missouri with quality, affordable higher education opportunities and community services that support and encourage the economic, civic, and cultural vitality of the region. For more information about college and workforce programs and upcoming events, visit trcc.edu.
