Thirty-five years ago, there was only an undeveloped property at the corner of 17th Street and Simpson Avenue and a group of citizens with a vision.
A collection of neighborhood leaders — a broad mix of people like downtown business owner Dick Kabat, Recreation Director Don Pileggi and youth sports volunteer Dick Grimes — began to raise money for a community center in Ocean City.
On Friday, everybody is invited to “An Afternoon of Appreciation” to thank the founders and all the folks who have made their dream a reality.
The event takes place 4 to 6 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Ocean City Community Center, the busy hub of activity that now includes the Ocean City Aquatics and Fitness Center, the Ocean City Free Public Library, the Ocean City Arts Center, the Ocean City Historical Museum and the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center.
The public event will start with the unveiling of a donor wall in the lobby of the Community Center at 4 p.m. The wall consolidates plaques recognizing the contributions of community members throughout the history of the center.
From 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., everybody is invited to a gathering in the Senior Center, where free light fare and refreshments will be offered, entertainment provided and where Mr. and Mrs. Claus just may pay a visit.
“You cannot believe how many businesses are coming together to give us food for this event,” said Ken Cooper, chairman of the Ocean City Community Center Association.
While there is free admission to the event, Cooper said the OCCCA will ask people for a voluntary donation “to honor those people and still move forward.”
“There are still many things to be done,” he said.
The nonprofit OCCCA raises money for the “extra things” that help define the Community Center: an after-school program for at-risk kids, timing system touch pads for the community C-Cerpants swim team, scholarships at the high school, digitizing Historical Museum photographs and free memberships for people in need, for instance.
“There’s a never-ending need,” Cooper said.
With the help of $1 million in federal funding that U.S. Rep. Bill Hughes Sr. helped secure, a $1-a-year lease of city land and the fundraising work of the community group, the original Aquatics and Fitness Center opened in 1979. The library, arts center and historical museum were added in 1990.
Despite some early skepticism and resistance to the potential cost of the project among many in Ocean City, the founders persisted in pushing for their vision, Cooper said.
“It really is a community center,” he said.
