Since 1995, Friends of the Park of Putnam County has been committed to recreation, parks and trails, serving as an open-door resource for community interest groups to pursue outdoor recreation goals. Formed by a group dedicated to improving recreational options for all, Friends reaches its funding goals through grants and gifts from generous individuals, families, corporations, foundations, and organizations that understand the importance of consistently improving parks and future parks and recreation projects.

Now operating from the Putnam County Visitors Center, with the county’s three primary outdoor recreation-focused organizations, Friends is focused on dreaming big, supporting programs, developing assets, and maintaining and growing infrastructure by focusing on fund-raising, grant writing and partnerships – ways to bring ideas to life. The partnership allows the organizations to share resources, collaborate and align direction and goals for a team approach to pursuing the goals of Putnam County’s five-year outdoor recreation master plan.

This county has more acreage in protected nature preserves than any Indiana county. It has numerous public parks offering a variety of activities, and Friends helps maximize and expand the development of recreation venues with the goal of increasing options to exercise, explore and enjoy our natural resources. It does this through two endowments, one in the Putnam County Community Foundation and one maintained internally by the Friends’ Investment Committee. Both were created to ensure the county’s outdoor recreation-related assets are maintained and expanded.

Throughout its history, the group has:

• Supported a grassroots effort by a group of parents and youth to create the Greencastle Skatepark, one of the best concrete skateparks in the Midwest, featuring two nine-foot bowls. The Tony Hawk Foundation supported the project;

• Worked with the City of Greencastle to create an open-space park next to Greencastle City Hall in loving memory of Mary Rogers Field – a place to relax, read, draw, or have lunch with friends. Special plantings in this park are designed to attract birds and butterflies;

• Supported the restoration of Greencastle’s Robe-Ann Park by replacing and remodeling two shelters, furnishing handicapped-accessible picnic tables, new life jackets for the “learn to swim” program, a new audio system at the Aquatic Center, and improved landscapes;

• Brought the community together annually through support of “Celebrate 4.” More than 10,000 people enjoy this old-fashioned 4th of July celebration that involves music, contests and more;

• Collaborated with Area 30 Career Center, the Putnam County Community Foundation and the Wal-Mart Foundation to help develop Big Walnut Sports Park, an 80-acre facility offering baseball, softball, Little League and soccer fields, a walking trail, picnic tables, disc golf course, and dog park;

• Helped complete the Robe-Ann Park bandshell structure and launch both the 1.5-mile Jaycee Park Multi-Use Trail project and the Bob York Splash Park project, a splash pad with multiple features for families to enjoy on a summer day;

• Supported the creation and development of the Putnam Pickleball Players club and, among many other things,

• Helped build People Pathways, the county’s multi-use trail system, or “linear park.” It’s no coincidence both Friends and People Pathways began in 1995. The partnership is stronger today than it was when both organizations had a vision for outdoor recreation that has expanded, attracted more partners and is more creative and dynamic than ever.