Reds, St. E's & Duke refurbish, dedicate community ballpark

The Reds Community Fund, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and the Duke Energy Foundation partnered for a day-long service project at Memorial Park and Lemker Field in Ludlow, Ky., on Thursday. The volunteer project culminated with the dedication of Lemker Field at St. Elizabeth Ball Park, celebrating a major renovation more than two years in the making.

Over 80 volunteers from the organizations and the community worked on beautification projects, which included painting the dugouts, picnic shelter and skate park, planting and mulching around the park and prepping the baseball field. Frisch’s Big Boy provided breakfast for the volunteers, and the day finished with an official field dedication at 5 p.m. A large contingent of Ludlow residents attended the event and stuck around despite rain showers that led to the cancellation of the Ludlow High School game against Lloyd High School.

Among the many local dignitaries, city officials and partners in attendance were Scott Smith, Ludlow city administrator and police chief; Mike Borchers, superintendent of Ludlow Independent Schools; Rhonda Whitaker Hurtt, vice president of community relations and economic development at Duke Energy; Karen Forgus, the Reds' senior vice president of business operations; and Garren Colvin, president and CEO of St. Elizabeth Healthcare.

Reds Community Fund executive director Charley Frank emceed the event, with the Ludlow baseball and softball teams lined up on the field wearing specially designed baseball caps to commemorate the day.

“We figured out the model for this Northern Kentucky collaboration back in 2019 during the 150th anniversary of the Reds,” Frank said. “When we initially decided to renovate a ballfield to celebrate that and one of the fields we picked was on the Ohio side in St. Bernard, Reds president and chief operating officer Phil Castellini said, ‘You’re not going to build just one field, you’re going to build two. Because you’re not going to celebrate without doing this both in Ohio and Kentucky, that’s the Reds way.’ And we wound up in Bellevue working with the Bellevue Vets on a similar and outstanding project.”

The project was first discussed late in 2019 when Dan Sullivan, the athletic director and coach at Ludlow, visited the P&G MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy and talked through his vision with Frank and others. About 30 months later, Sullivan’s vision has become a reality.

“To be honest, when Dan sent me an email with his vision, I kind of said, ‘OK sure,’” Smith said. “I’ve heard a lot of ideas, so I thought, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ I knew it was a big undertaking, it was a lot of money, and there were a lot of people involved in this. Then we had meetings and COVID-19 hit, but through it all, the people here came together and still made this happen.”

Duke Energy was one of the key players in both pushing the project off the ground and seeing it through. The Duke Energy Foundation contributed financial support and Duke Energy staff members volunteered throughout the day. Whitaker Hurtt, who lives close to and often drives past Memorial Park, was able to witness the transformation over the last few weeks.

“This is the kind of meaningful project that really impacts a community, so we’re thrilled to be a part of this,” she said. “It’s our purpose to power the lives of our customers and vitality of our communities. But when we get out and do these type of volunteer projects, that’s when our employees really get excited. When they can roll up their sleeves and be a part of the community where they live and work.”

St. Elizabeth played a major role as well, with Colvin, a former Ludlow High School student-athlete, supporting the efforts, including helping with the finishing touches by getting his hands dirty with the volunteers during the service day.

“I’m proud to work for an organization that gives so much back to our community, and I’m so proud to partner with Duke Energy and the Cincinnati Reds to bring something so special to this community I love so dearly,” Colvin said.

The ceremony concluded with a ribbon cutting and three ceremonial first pitches from Borchers, Colvin and Ludlow Mayor Josh Boone. While Mother Nature ultimately didn’t allow the contest to be played, there will be many more games the Ludlow community will have the opportunity to enjoy at Lemker Field.

“It takes a village to pull off something like this,” Frank said. “It was a joy for the Reds, the Reds Community Fund and our other partners to be a part of this Ludlow community and to see not just the city leaders, but the folks from the independent schools and the entire neighborhood step up to make this possible. This truly took the work of everyone, and that’s what makes it special. You can tell through the whole process what a very special community this is.”