Valpo Parks Foundation celebrates 17th annual Friends & Legend celebration

On Thursday, October 2, the 17th annual Valpo Parks Foundation Friends & Legends celebration at the Butterfield Family Pavilion on Fairgrounds Park.

Valpo Parks Director Kevin Nuppnau considers this event to be one of the biggest annual traditions for the foundation. 

“This is a recognition event where we get to award individuals for their generosity throughout the year,” Nuppnau said. “It’s a great event to celebrate sponsors, partners, donors, volunteers, and our community supporters.”

Valpo Parks Foundation President Tim VerSchure admires this event for its ability to spotlight both the honorees and the foundation.

“It’s a rewarding event for us to recognize current and past leaders of the foundation and raise money to better the community,” VerSchure said. “These leaders have given their time, talent, and treasure to support our mission. We couldn’t do something like this without the help of our partners as well, which makes this an all-around special night.”

Three individuals were recognized at this year’s celebration for the mark they’ve made on supporting the Valpo Parks Foundation.

The Legendary Friend Award for years has honored an individual who has supported the Valpo Parks Foundation through donations of their time, talent, and funding. This year, the Valpo Parks Foundation elevated the award with a twist. Moving forward, the Legendary Friend Award will be known as the John Seibert Service Award as a homage to the former 34-year director of the Valpo Parks Foundation.

Jeff Zielinski is this year’s recipient of the Legendary Friend Award, and the first ever recipient under the newly named John Seibert Service Award. Zielinski has dedicated a lot of time and effort to the skateboard community, including his leadership of the new skate park that opened in 2023 at Fairgrounds Park. 

“I’m truly honored to be here,” Zielinski said. “A skate park is not exactly the most mainstream thing you think of when it comes to sports. People often think about baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. This new skate park is an amazing facility, and it should be integrated with everything else around.”

The Art & Irene Malasto is an achievement presented to give recognition and appreciation to someone who has supported the Valpo Parks Foundation through strong leadership and service. This year’s award recipient is Jim Cunningham.

“When Kevin first gave me the call, I felt as if I’m not worthy,” Cunningham said. “I’m thrilled to receive such an unbelievable honor. To be in the same name as Art Malasto and receive a plaque with his name on it is incredible and still hard for me to believe.”

Another award presented annually at the Valpo Parks Friends & Legends celebration is the Community Champion Award. This honor celebrates someone who demonstrates leadership and stewardship in the Valpo Parks Foundation. The Community Champion Award winner for this year is Frank Kusbel. 

“Valparaiso is a community full of people who give back each and every day,” Kusbel said. “It means a lot to be recognized by the Valpo Parks Foundation. I enjoy working with them to make things better for the people of Valparaiso.”

In the upcoming months, residents of Valparaiso can be excited for what projects are in the works for the Valpo Parks Foundation.

“We’ve been focused on finishing up a couple park improvement projects and turning our attention to an indoor community rec center,” Nuppnau said. “We have a charitable donation program, where people can ask for donations from the foundation and we write them checks in order to participate in our programs. It’s a collective effort of raising money for big projects, being a sustainable foundation, and creating small opportunities that are equally as impactful.”

Legend sponsor for this year’s event was Lake Cable LLC. Champion sponsors included 1st Source Bank, AM Stabilizers, Indiana Beverage, Thorgren Tool and Molding Inc., and Blank Construction. In-kind sponsors included Aberdeen Manor, Madewell Media, and Spare Room Studios. The father-son duo of Bruce and Karl Berner served as co-emcees of the event. Live music for the venue was performed by Paul Cullen and his guitar.

For more information on the Valpo Parks Foundation, you can visit valpoparksfoundation.org.