“I met some really wonderful people and made some real lasting friendships…I feel more invested in the community,” Adam said, talking about his six years volunteering on the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association board. He moved into the neighborhood 10 years ago, and found out about Nokomis East Neighborhood Association through a curbside appeal grant. Through this grant, he was able to receive funds to turn the hill in his front lawn into a brick terrace with plants, all done by him and his wife.
During his time on the board, he served as vice-chair for about 1 ½ years and the board’s chair this past year. He also spent a lot of time on the events and fundraising committee. While on this committee, Adam created Nokomis East Neighborhood Association’s kickball tournament.
This year, Adam is running the fourth year of NENA’s Great Kickball Tournament. Over the years, it has grown to ten teams of fun-loving neighbors, businesses, and organizations competing for a trophy. This year is going to be bigger and better than any year previous. With two leagues both competitive and noncompetitive, and the option to be a free-agent and get assigned a team if you aren’t currently on one, we are going to take over Keewaydin park and have a great time.
The idea of starting a kickball tournament was simple, “Softball is too hard, soccer is too athletic…what’s easy?” Adam thought as he was mulling over ways to get the community to come together, “Kickball. We all know kickball. You can’t really get hurt. We all know the rules, it doesn’t matter how athletic you are or how in shape you are. The entry level is pretty low. It’s all something we’ve done. Even if it’s been 30-40 years. We’ve all done kickball!” It’s true. Who hasn’t escaped kickball in gym class? It is one of the only fun sports that doesn’t involve height or weight or skill. It is a great way to get people to come together in a fun and relaxed way, to bring community members together who would not have normally met, and to raise money for a great cause for our community. To learn more about the kickball tournament, and to sign up, please click here.