About 40 Hennessey and Enid community volunteers and others interested in the Hennessey Legacy Foundation’s progress shared fundraising and other information and ideas during a dinner meeting May 9 in Hennessey.

The evening buffet dinner was jointly hosted by the Hennessey United and the Cherokee Strip Community Foundation at the Eat It Up Banquet Hall.

The Hennessey United Board recently selected the Cherokee Strip Foundation as the group to invest donations in its Legacy Foundation.

Stacy (Grimes) Cline, Legacy co-chair, kicked off the meeting, then asked Richard Simunek to speak.

Simunek, an HHS grad who moved back to Hennessey a few years ago from Washington, D.C., is known as a preservationist. He has restored two downtown properties on Hennessey’s Main Street.

The Champlin Station is now the Champlin Apartments and the former Roberts Sinclair Gas Station is being readied for an office and museum.

He has also fostered the foundation idea so that families and former HHS graduates may give back to their town by financially supporting the non-profit foundation’s projects, or projects of their own.

Simunek pointed out the Boy Scout Cabin Park that is in disrepair, and said he thought former scouts would want to make financial contributions to see it preserved so that youngsters could play there.

Cline introduced Legacy Foundation and United board members present, then turned the meeting over to Mary Stallings, executive director of the Cherokee Strip Community Foundation.

Stallings introduced her board members and staffers and many of the board members told their own stories about how they became involved in their foundation.

NBA legend Brent Price, son of the late Denny Price, told about their family starting a memorial to honor their father. He loved the Enid YMCA, so they started an endowment in his honor, Price said.

Annie Dillingham, chair of the Cherokee Strip’s Grant Committee, suggested the Hennessey group challenge high school graduates to make donations at their reunions.

Cherokee Strip staff members also discussed matching funds, setting up endowments and how funds are invested during two hours of Q&A.

Hennessey Legacy Co-Chair Scott Hajek attended the meeting along with foundation member Tammy Henderson. Cline, Hajek and Henderson are all United board members with Henderson serving as treasurer.

Other United members attending were Barb Walter, vice president; Cathy Howard, secretary, and Jack Quirk.

For more information, contact Legacy co-chairs Scott Hajek (405-853-5097) or Stacy (Grimes) Cline (405-853-5454) or Mary Stallings, executive director of the Cherokee Strip Foundation (580-234-3988).