Tony Axtell and Mike Schuldt, both on the Hartford Area Sports and Rec committee, accept the check from the Sioux Falls Scheel’s during their 12 Days of Giving. The Hartford Area Sports & Rec plan to put the money towards portable scoreboards which would be useful for several sports in Hartford. (Photo/Submitted)

Sara Stadem | Editor

The giving season continues as the Hartford Area Sports & Rec (HASR) committee was one of the recipients of the Sioux Falls Scheel’s 12 Days of Giving. The HASR received a check for the amount of $2,500 to put towards their continued improvements to the sports facilities in the Hartford community.
Dan Wagner and Mike Schuldt, HASR committee members, explained the 12 Days of Giving was online through Scheel’s where it was put online where they wanted the gifts to go and from there it would be voted on by community members.
Schuldt said, “One of our board members put it out there to vote for us. People went out and started to vote and that’s how we got it.” Wagner added, “Someone saw it around Thanksgiving and everyone just started sharing it and people around here went out and voted for us. They gave it to 12 different organizations and it was pretty cool that we got picked.”
When asked what the money will be used for, Schuldt explained they are in the talks right now about getting a couple of portable scoreboards which would help every sport in the Hartford community right now. “We don’t have new scoreboards on the multipurpose fields and we don’t have one on the soccer fields. There is also nothing so far for flag football,” Schuldt said. “So, any sport could benefit from this purchase. Scheels was amazing for giving us that.”
The HASR committee, which was established in 2009, is currently made up of seven members which include President Tony Axtell, Vice President BJ Olson, Wagner who is the Secretary, Schuldt as the softball representative, Treasurer Norm Steuck, Tim Goehring as the soccer representative and Matt Evans, former President.
According to Schuldt and Wagner, the HASR has worked on several projects and fundraisers over the years. There are currently two multi-purpose fields at the Swenson Sports Complex for softball and baseball along with three large soccer fields now that they are currently waiting for grass to grow and be established.
Previously they held a Chase the Ace fundraiser to raise money for the complex out at Swenson Park, which was mostly focused on the concession stands.
Schuldt also said, “They are working on two new multi-purpose ballfields as we speak. So, there will be a four-plex out there with concessions which will be huge for the city and for softball and baseball to bring in tournaments.”
The HASR are the ones that handle the can trailer in the parking lot of the Hartford Plaza as well. Wanger explained anyone who would like to donate their cans would be appreciated as they take that in and get money for the cans. HASR is working on another trailer for the community, hopefully coming soon this next year in 2022.
Another project that was worked on was for a shelter at the complex. “We filed for a FEMA grant for a shelter which was finally awarded to the City of Hartford,” Schuldt said. “So, it will be a weather shelter in case there is inclement weather out there.”
Wagner added HASR also recently got a grant from Legends for $1,000 to put towards new soccer goals. “A full set of new soccer goals is what we will be using that for as those are pretty expensive. It is $3,700 for one goal so we are fortunate to have gotten this grant.”
Future projects that the HASR have been working on include bathrooms on the softball side and a playground area along with lighting for the softball fields. In addition to those projects, HASR is looking to possibly establish a soccer league similar to something like Sioux Falls and Tea along with considering a flag football league.
Wagner and Schuldt explained they are looking to grow the HASR and anyone is welcome to join. “We actually try to have a representative for every sport and right now, outstanding is a baseball representative,” Schuldt said. “We have been in contact with the West Central baseball to get a baseball representative on the board and next we will probably be working on a flag football representative.”
“This is their community and sports are pretty huge here,” Schuldt said. “So, we want to get people involved and tell us what they think and help out.”
Wagner added, “The big thing now is that we are going to be looking for more grants and start applying for them. Most of us are coaches and we are busy with that. We don’t always have time to apply for these things.” He continued, “We work with the city with what we would like to see out there and get their buy-in.”
They also explained that someone who is interested in joining HASR does not have to be living in Hartford as half of the board currently lives in the country outside of Hartford.
Wagner said, “We have been on the board for about four years now so it has been great to be a part of this. We just had the two diamonds out there when we started and now we have more fields and soccer fields, scoreboards and whatnot.”
Schuldt added, “It’s been great to work with the city of Hartford to get these projects finished out there. We have worked with Hartford Area Softball Association to help get some of this stuff done out there as well.” He concluded, “There are many, many people who have invested in this, time and money, to see this all through for the improvements.
The HASR hold monthly meetings on the second Sunday of each month. The meetings take place at Pizza Ranch at 7 pm. If a meeting is modified to another date, changes are noted on their Facebook page, Hartford SD Sports & Rec.
Due to scheduling conflicts, their next meeting will be held on Sunday, January 16. HASR encourages anyone to join that would like to check out the committee and possibly lend a hand.