YAPG Donates To MMC Project
October 2, 2018
Mount Marty College’s (MMC) long-awaited athletic fieldhouse is one step closer to becoming a reality.
On Tuesday, Yankton Area Progressive Growth (YAPG) donated $1 million to MMC as a show of support for the college’s major initiatives. The athletic fieldhouse project is the primary focus of the gift.
According to MMC President Dr. Marc Long, the funds are more than a gift towards the construction of the fieldhouse.
A timeline isn’t yet set for when ground will be broken on the project. Press & Dakotan sportswriter Jeremy Hoeck reports that the overall project will cost $15 million.
“In the last year to 18 months, there have been a lot of businesses and individuals that have chosen to support this,” Long said. “This groundswell of support has been gratifying for us to see. Our hope is as the money comes in, we move closer to being able to announce a timeline sooner than later.”
MMC Athletic Director Chris Kassin is looking forward to the extra space the fieldhouse will provide for the school’s athletic students.
“We’re a little cramped right now,” he admitted. “Having the ability to spread out and have adequate sport space with a field turf and track will help our young student athletes flourish.”
This donation is one of the largest in YAPG’s 40-year history.
“We at YAPG so appreciate the leadership Mount Marty has shown as they expand their vision and create bold strategic plans for long-term growth and sustainability,” YAPG CEO Nancy Wenande said.
Assisting MMC with its goals will ultimately come back to benefit the Yankton community, she added.
“YAPG knows that projects like this at Mount Marty are extremely important to the entire community,” she said. “Having a fieldhouse will help with their recruitment and retention of future students and faculty, which will bring additional dollars from outside of Yankton and help boost the economy.”
YAPG voted unanimously to give the $1 million to MMC, which, as Yankton Mayor Nathan Johnson pointed out, said a lot about the organization’s relationship with the college.
“It demonstrates a trust and a belief in the importance of this Benedictine liberal arts college’s contributions to the health of Yankton,” Johnson said.
An MMC alum, Johnson stated that collaborations between entities can lead to the accomplishment of a project, referencing Dive In Yankton and the ongoing construction of West City Limits Road.
Groups coming together with a shared goal get things done, he said.