Can do, did and done: Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park 'celebrate the spirit'

By: NELSY RODRIGUEZ - Staff Writer | Saturday, March 22, 2008 10:38 PM PDT ∞

TEMECULA ---- Optimism abounded during the third annual Can Do Day at Ronald Reagan Sports Park on Saturday. Not only were the essays written by local elementary schoolchildren upbeat and joyful, but so were the musical performances and speeches prepared by high school students. Even the pinning of new members seemed to be full of the "can do" spirit.

But historically, that's how it is with the Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park, sponsor of the ceremony. Just as the residents of the area that later became Temecula joined together to build a park because there was nothing else to do and no one else to blame that on, so continued the progressive community involvement during the afternoon ceremony. Students were honored for their work, community members praised each others' talents, and momentum was maintained for the construction of a monument at the park.

"A lot of projects go on behind closed doors," said U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Michael McCracken, who spoke on the connection between the city of Temecula and his mates aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. "But what you see is the end result."

Friends of Ronald Reagan Sports Park is a group that initiated naming the park on Rancho Vista Drive for the 40th president, after Reagan used Temecula residents as an example in a 1983 speech regarding the power of conceiving a goal and accomplishing it, said club president, Perry Peters. The club works to protect park space in Temecula and pushes the agenda of turning personal incentive into public service.

Three elementary schoolchildren were honored for essays they wrote about the president. Each won a savings bond in the amounts of $50 for third place, $100 for second and $150 for the first-place essay, written by 9-year-old Evan Bonnand.

The speeches will all be printed in the July edition of the Community Little Book Yellow Pages, said Janese Reyes, a representative of the directory.

Bonnand's essay, which he read aloud during the ceremony, described the struggle to build the sports park and what it means today.

"I thank the residents of Temecula who built this great sports park that I've spent my whole life enjoying," Bonnand said in closing his speech.

Also honored was Nikolas Nunez, a home-schooled senior who wrote a speech about the struggle to persevere, which detailed his grandfather's migration from the economically-stifling communism of Cuba to the United States.

"We must have the courage to do what is morally right," Nunez said to a standing ovation.

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.