Dexter Regional High School launches $250,000 field lighting project
DEXTER — SAD 46 has launched a $250,000 field lighting project, making the announcement on Feb. 27 on the school Facebook page, which includes diagrams of a synthetic athletic field and track and grandstand and concessions and storage buildings.
The post says the lighting project will be the first phase of a larger multi-sport turf field renovation project for the school and community at the site of the current football field and surrounding dirt track. Installing permanent lights will increase safety, allow evening practices and games, create more opportunities for athletes and make it easier for families to attend.
Last fall a T-Mobile campaign gave the school $75,000 toward an upgraded athletic facility.
NOT TO BE DENIED — Dexter’s Cameron Paige drags a pair of would-be Mattanawcook Academy tacklers on the way to the winning score via a 5-yard touchdown during the fourth quarter of a 2019 Class D North semifinal. SAD 46 has launched a $250,000 field lighting project.
The school is inviting the community to be part of something lasting. All donors will be recognized on a permanent Donor Recognition Wall at the field with four categories: supporter $100; bronze $500; silver $1,000; gold $5,000; and platinum $10,000.
Supporters can buy a pole for $25,000 and be recognized with a specialized plaque located on each light pole.
Donations can be made online at www.aos94.com or by contacting Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Adam Gudroe at agudroe@aos94.org or 207-924-5536.
Dexter Regional High School serves over 140 youth athletes across all fall athletic programs and plans to complete installation pending fundraising progress, with targeted completion by September.
In the fall the school finished third in T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights contest with more than 500,000 online votes being cast from around the country, receiving $50,000 along with another $25,000 for being one of 25 national finalists. The money was ceremonially awarded at a November assembly in the Ed Guiski Gymnasium.
T-Mobile representatives appreciated the opportunity and everything the school and community did in the contest, T-Mobile Maine Rural Market Manager Nick Nowell told the audience.
“For a school this size to come in third place in the country was just a fantastic turnout,” he said.
“That $75,000 is going to go a long way and make lighting at the facility here at Dexter Regional High School a reality,” Gudroe said, saying there would more information on the project once planning begins.
“This is huge for us and for a lot of what you have done, with all the social media posts, you should give yourselves a big hand,” he said.
“We are super appreciative of being in this position and the opportunity that T-Mobile has given us,” Gudroe said after the presentation. “Third in the county, not bad. We were going for first but to come away with [$75,000] feels pretty good.”
With more than 2 million votes received out of the 8 million cast for 25 national finalists, Dierks High School in southwestern Arkansas won the $1 million prize. Lebanon High School in northwestern Oregon came in second with nearly 1.5 million votes.
“It feels good to be recognized as a community and all the hard work that we put in to make this a possibility for our students and our community,” Gudroe said. “All the work we put in, it was worth it.”
Gudroe explained the challenges of maintaining the current grass field given the realities of Maine weather, along with other factors. Despite having a strong football program, winning the 2021 8-man Small School championship and having eight titles between Class C and D from the 20th century, Dexter has never been able to host a Friday night home game under the lights.
A committee began meeting with community partners to discuss goals for a football field project.
“This $75,000 that we have received so far is going to go a long way toward the planning, preparing, engineering and design,” Gudroe said. “All those things that you don’t really think about when you are fundraising, all of that does cost money.”
“We’re very appreciative of all of the support we have had from across the state of Maine,” he said, saying people from across the country reached out to say they were voting for Dexter in the contest. “That feels really good for a small community in Maine.”