by Scott Sacry
The Stevensville School unveiled a state of the art Athletic Improvement Center (AIC) on Wednesday, March 8th. A diverse group of community members had given their time, effort, and donations to help establish the new facility and were honored with a first look at the center.
The Stevensville School District was represented by Superintendent Dave Thennis, Principal Eric Larson, Athletic Director Brian Gum, and football head coach and teacher Trae Williams. “We want to thank all the donors who made this possible,” said Brian Gum, “as well as the Booster Club and Breanna Gum who worked tirelessly to raise funds. Trae Williams did an amazing job throughout the whole process organizing everything.”
The Athletic Improvement Center will be named the John L. Munk weight room after the longtime Stevensville teacher and coach. The new facility consists of all new equipment including multiple squat racks and weight benches, free weights, cardio equipment, weight machines, an advanced sound system, and more. This center will give the high school athletic program the foundation it needs to build successful athletic programs.
The genesis for the project started four years ago when then Athletic Director Chance Edman had the idea to raise funds to improve the existing weight room. Current athletic director Brian Gum then took the baton and with the help of the Stevensville Booster Club went about raising the funds. In the end, nearly $60,000 was raised to complete the project. All the funds came from local donations from both individuals and businesses.