Friends of
Ronald Reagan
Sports Park
We are dedicated to the proliferation of
I N D I V I D U A L I N I T I A T I V E
Each of us must decide if we are going to be the kind
of person who takes positive action, or the one who stays
in a comfort zone, waiting for someone else to act.
The trouble with the latter is -- as Forrest Gump noted about life
and chocolates -- you never know what you are going to get!
About Our Park:
On March 3, 1983, President Ronald Reagan, in a speech before the United States Olympic Committee, paid tribute to the nation's can-do spirit, specifically citing the volunteers and donors of Temecula, among others. He said:
"The folks in a rather small town, Temecula...got together and built themselves a sports park, held fund-raising barbecues and dinners. And those that didn't have money, volunteered the time and energy. And now the young people of that community have baseball diamonds for Little League and other sports events, just due to what's traditional Americanism."
May we never lose that spirit!
Click the controls to watch "You Can Do Too,"
to understand our motivation.
(If you donate $100 or more to our Monument
Fund, you will become a member of our Can-Do
Club and can receive a copy of this DVD, upon request.)
Some History
Between 1979 and 1982, before Temecula became a city, the area was a rural community of fewer than 4,000 people. There was no safe place for children, or adults, to play baseball or any other sports.
Mothers, fathers, adults and children pitched in to transform raw land, donated by Kaiser Corporation, into a sports park. They pulled weeds, planted trees and grass, held fund-raising barbecues, spaghetti dinners and other events, dug holes, and raised light poles so kids could play after the sun went down to escape the often uncomfortable heat of summer days.
Businesses and service organizations lent their talents and equipment, grading the land, feeding the volunteers, donating money and providing all the essentials that enabled the community to achieve its goal.
Understandably proud of its accomplishment, the community chronicled its progress in a scrapbook, collecting flyers and news clippings that were generated along the way.
Then, on March 3, 1983, the deeds of this group of volunteers was recognized by the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, who, while addressing the members of the United States Olympic Committee in Los Angeles, noted that one of the top priorities of his administration was to encourage the American people as individuals, as organizations in private and in business life to get more involved in getting things done, solving problems, and helping each other.
"Private initiative," he emphasized, " is our most precious American resource, and it's as alive today as it was when our ancestors used to join in barn-raising parties when it was needed for a neighbor."
The President cited examples of what can happen when the right spirit of "Can do" and "I will" replaces "Let's wait" and "I won't."
He spoke of "the folks in a rather small town, Temecula," who got together and built themselves a sports park," "and now the young people of that community have baseball diamonds for Little League and other sports events, just due to what's traditional Americanism."
FRRSP was formed to help keep that spirit alive. As part of its effort, it has donated to the Temecula Valley Museum an audio CD of the President's speech, in its entirety. Anyone who wishes to hear it may contact Museum Services Manager Wendell Ott or any staff member to arrange a hearing. It runs approximately 19 minutes.
Can-Do Spirit of Volunteers Lives in Temecula
Ronald Reagan SP
While he was Mayor of Temecula, Mike Naggar made a motion to rename the City's sports park. Before deciding by formal vote whether or not to change the name of Rancho California Sports Park to Ronald Reagan Sports Park, the Temecula City Council invited public comment from local citizens. The date was September 15, 2004.
Among those who spoke in favor of renaming the park were: The Californian columnist John Hunneman, a navy veteran whose Commander-in-Chief was Ronald Reagan; Adele Harrison, a former school teacher; Carol Strode, who with her father, Gene Tobin, was part of the volunteer army that built the sports park; and Strode's daughter, Hailey, who read aloud a letter she had written about why she admired the late President. The last to speak for the change was Perry Peters, who had served as vice chair of the Cityhood Committee that successfully petitioned to make Temecula a city in 1989.
On the Cityhood Committee, Peters had served under Chairman Jimmy Moore. Peg Moore, Jimmy's wife, served as secretary for the group. Peg, a former City Council Member, was a founding board member who served as secretary of the board of Friends of Ronald Reagan SP (FRRP). Harrison and Strode were board members, as well.
Not content to settle for what he believed would only be a superficial exercise, Peters asked that the name change be given greater meaning with a new expression of the Can-Do spirit by the present day residents of Temecula.
He asked that costs associated with the name change, any monument built to commemorate it, and dedication ceremonies, be paid for by funds raised voluntarily in the community. The former Temecula Chamber of Commerce manager was convinced that the occasion was an opportunity to highlight and demonstrate the spirit of personal initiative that was truly a human resource abundant in the community. He felt that the spirit should be captured, encouraged and perpetuated.
What does a great president have in common with a great city like Temecula?
Ronald Reagan was a sentimental can-do kind of guy. As biographer Peggy Noonan noted, he had character, when character was king. He had a clear vision, enabling him to accomplish great things. He never cared who got the credit, just as long as the job got done. His glass was always at least half full.
So what has that got to do with Temecula? And what makes Temecula so great?
Reagan once owned land in the Temecula Valley, many years before we became a city. The late Don Rohrbacher, father of now Congressman Dana Rohrbacher, resided here. In the early 1980s, Dana was a speechwriter for the President.
More than 20 years ago, President Reagan was speaking at a luncheon meeting of the United States Olympic Committee in Los Angeles. He talked about out how sports was a great way to bring people together. He praised the USOC for raising the money from the private sector, that enabled the United States to host the Olympics. He described the "noble American tradition of direct citizen involvement" -- the definition of democracy.
He gave that speech on March 3, 1983. "One of the top priorities of our administration," he explained, "has been to encourage the American people as individuals, as organizations in private and in business life to get more directly involved in getting things done, solving problems, and helping each other. Private initiative," Reagan recognized, "is our most precious American resource, and it's as alive today as it was when our ancestors used to join in barn-raising parties when it was needed for a neighbor."
He spoke of "the folks in a rather small town, Temecula." (At the time, we were a rural community with a population of under 4,000.) "They got together and built themselves a sports park, held fundraising barbecues and dinners. And those that didn't have money, volunteered the time and energy. And now the young people of that community have baseball diamonds for Little League and other sports events, just due to what's traditional Americanism."
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of residents, businesses and service organizations in the area chipped in. Companies large and small offered the use of earth-moving and other equipment, services and supplies. Restaurants fed the volunteers. Parents and children pulled weeds and planted trees. It was a three-year effort, and in the end, the people of Temecula had their sports park.
Any visitor who cares to delve more deeply can get the flavor of what went on by visiting the Temecula Valley Museum in Old Town and asking to see the sports park scrap book. As you turn the pages, it becomes clear that the folks took great pride in their community.
That was Temecula then, but what makes Temecula great today?
More than half a century ago, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote a book called, "The Power of Positive Thinking." It was a best seller and made him a popular speaker and author. A preacher, he got his inspiration from the Bible. His premise was studied, used to pursue one or another motivational aspect of the concept, embellished and distorted, and by the time he died in 1993, at age 95, his once exciting insight had faded from public memory.
Nevertheless, great ideas have a way of sticking with us and it helped that the President was a deeply religious man and a product of the Norman Vincent Peale era. In his heart and mind, the can-do spirit was nurtured and he applied it in his personal and public life. "Mr. Khrushchev! Tear down this wall!" Talk about the power of positive thinking!
These days, teachers struggle with the challenge of instilling in their students a feeling of purpose and self worth. Two points in history, the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the building of the Rancho California Sports Park in Temecula, provide marvelous opportunities for instilling positive attributes.
In one, the most powerful individual in the world, the President of the United States, made a statement that led to the end of the Cold War. In the other, ordinary moms, dads and kids took it upon themselves to build a sports park on their own initiative, and showed us all that the Can-Do spirit is potent, not just in the souls of great men, but also in the hearts and minds of ordinary people.
This, of course, is an oversimplification. In the case of the Berlin Wall, the timing was right. Many other factors played a part, but the sum of all of them - including the resolute voice of a man with a mission - got it done. And in the case of the sports park, Temecula families were desperate for a decent place for the kids - and adults - to play.
The nay-sayers would have you dismiss this element of human self-engineering. The truth is, nothing gets done without someone - many someones - with enthusiasm behind it, pushing. Enthusiasm often is ignited by the example of others.
Dr. Peale probably influenced President Reagan. The President no doubt motivated Mike Naggar, who, demonstrating his own initiative, ran as an outsider and won a seat on the City Council. (Can do!) Deeply impressed by the Great Communicator, Naggar vowed one day to name a Temecula park after the man he admired.
After President Reagan died, John Hunneman mentioned in his column in The Californian that the President, years earlier, had talked about the great people of Temecula in one of his speeches. To Naggar, the tremendous outpouring of affection for the late President at his death was a sign that the moment was right to name the sports park after him.
Naggar had the name change put on the agenda of the Community Development Commission, which has jurisdiction over the City's parks. The motion passed, 5 - 0, but final authority rested in the City Council, sitting as members of the Community Development District, which voted, 5 - 0, to officially change the name of Rancho California Sports Park to Ronald Reagan Sports Park.
Finally, on March 3, 2005, twenty-two years after the late President put the unincorporated area of Temecula n the map, the people of the City of Temecula formally dedicated their first sports park in his name.
Naming the Sports Park
Ronald Reagan Sports Park
Rancho Vista Road
Temecula, CA
92592
Friends of Ronald Reagan SP
42968 Agena Street
Temecula, California 92592
perrypeters2_verizon.net
Copyright 2009 Friends of Ronald Reagan SP - All rights reserved.
