It felt like a big pep rally before an important ball game. People just kept showing up in the Stayton High gym. Faculty members and administrators. Community members and boosters. When the school bell rang at noon, throngs of students came in, donning the same white commemorative T-shirts that dominated the rest of the crowd.
Thus, the Ty Hart Memorial Fitness Center was inaugurated. A facilities upgrade that has been on the wish list of school officials and boosters for years, is happening.
It took auction-help from the Stayton Boosters Club, massive in-kind materials and labor donations from area companies, and a clinching-the-deal cash contribution by the Hart family.
Wait, let’s stop right there. First, we have to explain who Ty Hart was and why he matters at Stayton High. Hart, a three-sport athlete, cheerleader and 2012 Stayton grad, took his love of fitness and adventure and duty to the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was serving as a lance corporal and helicopter pilot when he died in a crash off Hawaii in 2016.
“Everyone who knew Ty remembers him as a student-athlete that represented all of the values that we cherish here at SHS,” said Athletic Director Darren Shryock. “Someone like that is worth remembering well beyond our lifetime.”
Superintendent Lee Loving said that Ty “was a great example of how to do life and make every day count.”
Ty’s mother, Trina, though, got the last word. Trina Hart, also a Stayton grad and a former member of the school’s legendary Highlights dance and drill team, pointed to a far corner of the gym to note where the weight room was during her school days.
“We are very Eagle proud and we need a weight room that is bigger than that,” she said. “We wanted to do something to build a legacy. Being fit was really important to Ty. There is something special about Stayton High and this is about you and the future at a place where you belong. You guys get a place to work out and stay fit and I’m honored to be part of this.”
The student section rose in a heartfelt standing ovation that cascaded to the rest of the gym. Then, everyone went through the gym door to the staked-out spot where the 6,000-square-foot facility will stand between the gym and the football-soccer-track and field stadium. A new access road will be built and fencing added that will make the stadium entrance more inviting.
Booster Randy Forrette brought together the key donors to turn over shovels of dirt and everyone posed for photos. In remarks, Forrette noted that five companies came through with a total of $100,000 in donations and other assistance in the final 24 hours. Donors include the Hart family, Emery and Sons Construction, Siegmund Companies, the Joe Wolf family, Freres Engineered Wood, Jungwirth Electric, Green Acres Landscape, Marion Construction, Brundage and Bone, R2M2, Industrial Concrete, and Harris Rebar.
Forrette said the building, which will feature the innovative Freres mass plywood panels, will cost approximately $1 million. The hope is to have it ready for the fall of 2024.
“The primary purpose of the fitness center is to increase the appeal and accessibility of our current weight room. … We are very limited in regards to the number of students who can be in there at once. The new facility will also have an updated trainer’s room as well as an additional storage area. All are very much needed,” AD Shryock explained.
“The key goals are to increase the overall health of our students and our athletes. We obviously think this will increase the performance level of our high school athletes, but more importantly, we believe it will make them healthy adults. When healthy habits are formed in high school, the likelihood of those habits staying with someone greatly increases.”
The Ty Hart Memorial Fitness Center will be available for the use of students, athletes and staff, Shryock added, and it follows a series of other facilities upgrades engineered by Shryock, Forrette, district staff and the community at large.
A video noted the upgrades, including field turf at the stadium, softball and baseball hitting facilities, softball infield turf, resurfacing the tennis courts, and making major updates to the main gym. And new paint seemingly everywhere.
If you build it, to tweak a phrase, you can make a difference.
