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Darek and Kirk VanKirk at the Perry School Board meeting; photo by Joe Cerwinske

At the most recent Perry School Board meeting, they received some unexpected visitors that had a welcome surprise.

The VanKirk family, well known for the philanthropic work they do in the community, had an idea with something they could do with some of their late father Pete’s estate. Pete’s sons Kirk and Darek presented their idea to the Board, which involves donating $350,000 to the school for renovations to Dewey Field, under the stipulation the funds are matched by the school. The Board agreed to match the donation and will begin formulating a plan for the initial renovations.

Superintendent Lynn Ubben knew about the VanKirk’s plans before the meeting and thought it was a fitting way for them to pay tribute to Pete. She explains, “Their father passed away this fall, and they had some funds that Darek, Kirk, and Joyce wanted to do something with that’s something that Pete would kind of like. Maybe do something as kind of seed money to get something started. And you know in a school district, there’s always things we need to do. Sometimes we just need a little push or a little bit of help.”

Pete was once a coach for the Perry football team, and his sons said he was always a big fan and supporter of the program. They felt helping jumpstart the Dewey Field renovations was the ideal way to continue their father’s legacy. In particular, they hope some of the money will go towards replacing the concession stand, which Kirk recalled he helped build in industrial tech class 40 years ago. To hear more about the VanKirk’s donation, listen to Tuesday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.