REDMOND, OR -- After winning a local Shark Tank-style entrepreneurial competition, a group of Redmond eighth graders will present their idea to city officials, Wednesday evening. Elton Gregory Middle School Leadership teacher Marques Hase oversaw the team as they created a plan for an outdoor workout station in the Dry Canyon. They won $2500 in the "Teen Tank" competition, earlier this month. "They personally don’t get anything for winning, but the money is going to the project," Hase tells KBND News. "We did get some donations from Parr Lumber and the project managers; we have some general contractors who are going to volunteer their time to build this to code. So, with their help, we were able to reduce the costs greatly."
He says students originally wanted to place various stations along the paved trail in the canyon, but after testing the idea decided it was more logical to cluster the equipment in one place. "It’s been awesome. A couple times, I kind of asked if they needed any of my help or needed me to contact people. They told me ‘no, we got it and leave us alone.’ And so, it was a little nerve-wracking on my end that they were going to do what they needed to. But, it was pretty impressive the leadership that they took, and took some pride in this and really worked hard." The kids also produced a 3-D model of their concept and are learning about the politics involved with turning it into a reality.
They'll present their idea to the Redmond Parks Committee, Wednesday. Hase says, "It sounds like this has been talked about before, so maybe with our involvement and a little publicity, we can make this come to happen."
