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What is Friends of Huxley?
Friends of Huxley is a non-profit (501c3 organization) established in 2021. In its charter, Friends of Huxley seeks to improve the appearance, functionality, services, amenities, or activities for Huxley, Iowa and its citizens. Pretty broad mission, but really, in looking at all the ways this community is a home for us, we didn’t want to leave anything off the table. How we hope to accomplish anything is through volunteerism, activism, fundraising, and grant writing.
Today, we are made up of five Board Members including three officers and two at-large members. Jonathan Frantz serves as President, Keisha Cretsinger is the Treasurer, Susan Frantz is the Secretary, and Jeriann McLaughlin and Ashley Hokel are at-large members. We all live within Huxley (or immediately Huxley-adjacent) and want to see Huxley grow and thrive in ways that maintain who we have been in the past, who we are today, and who we can be in the future. Look for upcoming posts about each of us to get to know us.
One of our common threads is that we love this community. The time immediately after the derecho in 2020 really showed the character of this community. We observed athletic teams from the school help clean up debris, neighbors offering their generators, and even some running extension cords across yards to give charging stations to other neighbors. When we aren’t faced with an emergency, our parks in the community are well-used, our school is celebrated, and our business community is growing. At Friends of Huxley, we want to spotlight people and businesses that make Huxley the great community that it is, provide a welcoming environment for people coming into town, and let them see more of what we know is great about Huxley. As with any community with aspirations, the hopes are sometimes bigger than our budgets will allow in both time and money. Friends of Huxley hopes to help in those areas where we can.
Since we started as an official organization, we have adopted the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail section from Slater to Huxley. We began what is now a regular clean-up effort on November 21, 2021, where we had 36 hours of volunteerism clean up 187 pounds of trash from this section. Our Spring 2022 clean-up yielded an additional 514 pounds; Fall of 2022 brought in 311 pounds, and Spring of 2023: 390 more pounds!
We are identifying “wish list” projects around the city that could benefit from greater community support, and are in the early stages of finding potential grant opportunities to apply for those wish list projects. We have started a spotlight effort to highlight Huxley Heroes (outstanding efforts from people and business who give back to the community). Finally, as we look forward, we are looking forward to sharing what we learn about this community’s history and people.
Keep reading and following us on socials—and please don’t hesitate to share with us what you like about Huxley, what you wish we had more of, or things we could do without! This wish-list we are developing will stay a work in progress, and it would be great to hear from you on how it could be filled out.
Get Your 50124 Apparel!
Now through May 22, you can order a 50124 t-shirt, sweatshirt, or tank top in a variety of colors and have it shipped directly to you! The more you buy, the more we get back to help fund the Huxley Splash Pad. Order today through Bonfire!
Current Projects
Thanks to a generous starting gift from Kreg Tool, a splash pad play area for the community has been on the top of the wish list for the Huxley Parks and Recreation department for years. Public surveys have reiterated that support, but figuring out how–and even where–it would get done has been complex.
In the last year, through encouragement from the City Council to streamline costs for installation and ensure access, the Parks and Recreation Board developed a plan for this park feature to go in Nord Kalsem Park on Main Ave. Friends of Huxley is proud to throw our efforts behind the goal to raise money and construct a splash pad for Huxley.
Completed Projects
Friends of Huxley is happy to report that two new water fountains were purchased and donated to the Huxley Parks and Recreation Department in late summer, 2022. This donation was the culmination of fundraising efforts and collaborations with local businesses to put the water fountains and bottle filling stations at Railroad and Centennial Parks. The fountains were installed to start the outdoor season in Spring 2023.