THE WYAA MISSION: To use our cumulative knowledge, assets, and networks to secure funding for the development of a youth athletic complex that will be open to the entire Westport community.
We’ve gone out into the community and asked a few supporters why they give both time and money to the WYAA.
Lisa A. Mauk:
I joined the board in 2012 as Treasurer. I have been a soccer coach in Westport for over 15 years. Back when I originally started coaching, I came to the realization that there was no available space for practice. Because of the lack of space, I made a field at my residence and held practices there. When I heard that the WYAA was trying to create fields for Westport, I was excited and became willing to participate in any way that I could. I think these fields will be a significant recreational center for our town. They will be a place that brings people together. They will be a motivator in bringing something positive to Westport. I am eager and excited to be part of this endeavor!
Bob Grillo:
My involvement with WYAA came at its inception. My wife Lisa and I were on the Board of Westport United Youth Soccer and at that time our board was approached by Steve Fors, who was then on the Recreation Commission. We met with Steve and members from Little League Baseball and Girls Softball League. We collectively decided that more playing fields were much needed due to the growth in participation in all the leagues. I was nominated as the first president of WYAA and have served on the Board since then. It has been a long and, at times, difficult road to get to where we are today. Our goal from the beginning and to this day has been to have a place for all the youth leagues and our town to have a sports facility that we can all use and be proud of.
Ken Sullivan:
I grew up in Westport and throughout my whole life, I saw my parents involved in town politics and Lions Club. I learned from them about giving back to the town and I always knew that somehow I’d would get involved.
When I learned about the WYAA project in 2006, my son Owen was recently born and I knew I found something I wanted to work on. I joined the Board and quickly started to learn about the potential that lay in front of us.
The size of this project would afford our leagues to be independent with their own fields to manage. Space would be freed up in their cluttered schedules and the potential to make money with these fields gave us even more promise.
It hasn’t been easy but our Board is creative, connected and tenacious. I couldn’t be happier to have joined.
Gardner Lane:
My wife Elizabeth and I decided to sell our home in Chicago to move to Westport Harbor with our two young daughters in 2011. Soon after moving to Westport, I wondered what had come of the effort to build sports fields in town. I had given some money to the effort in memory of my childhood friend Cabot Squire when he passed away in Fall 2007. I had continued to give money every year with the hope that a field might be named after him. My wonder turned into action when I heard things had stalled during the financial crisis of 2007-2011. I tracked down the powers that be, and have been leading the efforts to raise awareness and funding for the Westport Youth Athletic Association (WYAA) since Fall 2013.
Steven Fors:
I grew up in a suburban housing development where a knock on 4 neighborhood doors would get you a 5 on 5 street football game. Exactly what makes our town so beautiful, the farms and open spaces, separates our children by distances too great to form the games that kept my friends and me active as children. Westport’s youth sports leagues bring kids together to make those games happen. They are by far the most prolific providers of youth recreation services in town, and, because they are all non-profit and run by volunteers, they do it for very modest prices. Their dependence on school facilities to run their programs creates scheduling nightmares and expenses that interfere with their ability to run their leagues effectively. The solution is a complex dedicated to youth sports like the one WYAA is building. The hard work is done. The land is secured and a long term lease in place. Now it’s time for us all to step up and make the construction happen. Our kids need it. Our town needs it.
