Something big is happening right in the middle of our city. Something that will ensure our future generations will have beautiful, green space to enjoy for years to come. The 100 acres of land in the heart of Lafayette that most know as the Horse Farm is being transformed into Moncus Park, and EB Brooks (fearless leader, Executive Director) is helping the vision come to life.
There was a point in time in which the future of the Horse Farm was uncertain. Commercial developers were looming and looking to get their hands on this untouched land right in the middle of the city. Luckily, EB and a friend, Danica Adams, were up to the challenge of defending the land and started a campaign to “save the Horse Farm.”
As someone who has been spoiled by the ease of gaining traction through Facebook, I was curious, how did they get the word out? While there were social media platforms such as MySpace at the time, EB informed me that it took a little bit of ingenuity and elbow grease. One evening, when there was a meeting being held to talk about the future of the park, EB and her friend created a large sign that read “Save the Horse Farm.” While her friend stood by the road with the sign, EB started making some calls. She called all the local news stations and said something to the extent of, “There is this crazy girl outside with this big sign, and you might want to check it out.” Check it out they did, and a movement was born.
As the Executive Director, EB’s vision is to “be a steward of the process to get the community’s vision to come to life.” As a privately funded non-profit organization, it is up to local business leaders to support the park. As EB puts it,
“It really allows the leaders in our community to live up to the vision that businesses and the private sector should support public goods like parks and recreation in a meaningful way.”
In return, the park will act as an economic driver, bringing top talent to our area and helping us to retain the top talent that already exists here.
With events like Christmas in the Park bringing the community together over food, shopping, music, and hot chocolate, there truly is going to be something for everyone at Moncus Park. Keep an eye out for more developments and events at the park in 2018, and check out the vision for the park here: https://moncuspark.org/the-vision/
