SALEM, Ohio - For more than 100 years, the Rotary Club of Salem has been trying to make a difference in the community.

In honor of their 100th anniversary which was in 2021, the Rotary Club gifted the city a new family sports complex inside Waterworth Memorial Park in Salem.

"It really acts as a legacy piece so that not just this generation but future generations can enjoy the park and maybe ask a little bit about what rotary is because as you can see the color scheme and the rotary logos are all over the park and maybe that will inspire them to go hmm, I wonder what this is that caused this park to come to existence," said William Dawes, President of the Salem Rotary Club.

The Salem Rotary Family Sports Center features a central gazebo-style pavilion, a large children's playground, a practice soccer field, sand and grass volleyball courts, a cross-fit training area, two batting cages and two golf cages.

"Salem consists of six different park districts but we don't have anything in our park districts that compare to something like this to have all these different types of activities condensed into this one smaller area," said Shane Franks, Director of the Salem Parks and Recreation Department. "We get somewhere between 250,000 to 270,000 visitors a year in our Salem parks but obviously to have a facility like this is just such a great addition to our park department and to the community in general."

The park was funded entirely through community donations.

"We raised a quarter of a million dollars to make this park a reality and we did it during Covid, the most challenging time in our lifetimes," said Dr. Peter Apicella, Chairman of the park project. "We are thrilled with this park and we look forward to seeing the kids play in it very shortly."

"The best part about it is, it's all community funded, these are all people who live in the community, own businesses in the community and wanted to see a park like this come to our community not just for kids but also for families, so there is a golf box over there where dad can swing the golf clubs while son or daughter is swinging the baseball bat or on the crossfit gym, so its not just a place where kids can come to gather but also family," Dawes said.

The motto of the Salem Rotary Club is "service above self" and Dawes says this complex is the apex of a hundred years of Rotary serving the community and children.

"We really believe that community is founded in our children and the families that live within our community and if we can serve them by having a place like this that is inclusive and safe, that our future will be well-founded because our families will stay here," Dawes said.

The park is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and is open for everyone to enjoy.