Liqui-Grow has donated $10,000 to the West Liberty School District for the new athletic complex.
Liqui-Grow, a privately owned, Iowa-based company, is headquartered in Davenport, and has 15 retail locations throughout the Midwest. The company is a family-owned business, started in 1958 by the Tinsman family, and is now transitioning the third generation of family ownership. CEO Hov Tinsman said investing in the communities they serve has always been important priority to the family, and in particular, education.
“We plan to be here for a long time,” Hov said. “To that end, I am mentoring my nephew, Chris Tinsman, as part of our long-term transition plan.”
The West Liberty retail location is managed by Kurt Kirchner, who is also transitioning his role to the next generation. He has worked at the West Liberty location since 1986, as manager for the past seven years and said a strong school is the best recruiting tool for attracting talent.
“I have lived in West Liberty my entire life and I am thrilled the company is giving to the new athletic complex,” Kirchner said. “Nothing will bring families and potential employees to the community like a good school system and extracurricular programs. Seeing the school improvements planned makes me optimistic for the future of West Liberty and the Liqui-Grow facility here.”
The new complex will be built south of the high school and include new baseball, softball, soccer, football, and track facilities. The administration said relocating all facilities to one location will be more efficient, cost effective, and easier to find for out-of-town visitors. Liqui-Grow is sponsoring a large centrally located flagpole and landscaping.
“Currently, it’s confusing for people to locate our facilities and parking is not convenient or adequate,” Activities Director Adam Loria said. “It’s going to be a huge upgrade to have a complex that houses everything. We will have a large concession area and flagpole in the center of all the fields. Landscaping often gets overlooked, so it’s awesome to have Liqui-Grow sponsoring the flag and beautification in a critical area.”
The school district has raised $1.3 million dollars since March with a total fundraising goal of $2 million. The outdoor facilities should be completed by fall of 2023 and planning for an indoor facility will follow if the fundraising goal is met.
“We are going to bid on the outdoor facilities before the end of July,” Superintendent Shaun Kruger said. “The project is progressing on schedule, and we hope to break ground in August. We have had a lot of families support this project and now we are seeing the business community get involved. As superintendent, the business partners that support our school district are critical in giving West Liberty a competitive edge and I can’t thank the Tinsman family and Kurt and his team enough for this gift.”