Coca-Cola awards Greis Park $25,000
Lynbrook park to see new plaground, equipment
For years, residents and those from neighboring communities have gathered in Greis Veterans Memorial Park to play, picnic, exercise or watch a game or a concert. Now the park has received national attention, having placed third in Coca-Cola’s America is Your Park campaign.
Representatives from Coca-Cola presented Mayor Bill Hendrick and other village officials with a $25,000 grant on Nov. 23 at a ceremony in the park. Hendrick thanked the company, and the community, for their support. “It is fantastic to have our wonderful Greis Park get the recognition it deserves,” he said.
According to Recreation Department Director Pat McDermott, the funds will be used for new playground and park equipment, though the specifics have yet to be determined.
Coke officially named Greis Park its third-place finisher on Sept. 30. The contest, which ran from early June through the end of July, attracted fans of nearly 12,000 national, state and local parks around the country. The staff of the Recreation Department, which operates in Greis Park, led the park’s campaign, organizing a community voting effort.
Residents accumulated points for their parks, in the form of votes, in three ways: voting each day on Coke’s website was worth one vote; “checking in” at the park on the social networking site Foursquare was worth five votes, and linking the park to an activity on the website MapMyFitness yielded 10 votes.
Veterans Memorial Park in Moore, Okla., finished first, and received $100,000; second place, and $50,000, went to Mason Neck State Park in Lorton, Va.; and wild-card winner Woodlawn Lake Park in San Antonio was awarded $15,000.
McDermott said he was happy to see dozens of residents attend the ceremony, and thanked Coca-Cola for the grant. “I couldn’t have been more proud of the community and all the kids that worked hard to organize votes,” he said. “It was a whole community event.”
Greis Park moved into third place in the contest’s final days, and never relinquished it. The Recreation Department campaign, which was aided by the summer staff, wasn’t launched until more than a week after the contest began. Despite the late start, the park quickly climbed up the leader board, and now Lynbrook has $25,000 to show for it.
