Note from the Newsroom: Mission Valley Aquatics: A dream becomes reality

I think about it and that space behind my eyes starts to swell. My cheeks pucker and my body, from head to toe, feels weak for just a moment.

It's completely irrational, I know. The facts are, I'm a relatively new member of this Lake County community. I hail from a big, East Coast city. I have no right to cry tears of joy about Mission Valley Aquatics.

But, the thing is, I'm also a Disney kid. I grew up on movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. Apparently, I'm a sucker for fairy tale endings and longshot dreams come true.

I also happen to be a lifelong swimmer and I know the immeasurable value that a community aquatics facility will bring to the Mission Valley.

Growing up, I probably spent more hours splashing around in a pool than inside my house. We'd run and belly flop into the deep end; hold our breaths and try to make it across the pool's 25-meter length; do continuous underwater summersaults until we were dizzy or our lungs ached - whichever came first. There were endless games of Sharks and Minnows, Marco Polo, Ladder Tag and Jump, Dive or Belly Flop. One of my favorite

games, aptly named "baseball," involved jumping in or pushing off the wall and swimming underwater to the first, second or third lane

lines painted on the bottom of the pool. Whoever was "it" had to tag the runner out before he made it home to the wall.

I worked as a lifeguard every summer from age 15 until I graduated college. Learning basic first aid, teaching kids to swim and

occasionally testing the limits of my role as an authority figure - it was a lifestyle that was not only fun at the time, but extremely

valuable to me now. I can go boating, rafting, fishing or snorkeling. I can compete in triathlons and adventure races; jump into a creek in the middle of a sweaty backcountry hike and not be afraid of getting swept away by a gentle current. I love the water and wouldn't have it any other way. I think every kid should grow up swimming because it's a skill that every adult should have, especially when they live or play around water.

I first heard of the MVA fundraising campaign when I moved to Polson in 2008. A mil levy had just passed voter approval and two large, anonymous donations had people buzzing around town. Still, the physical reality of a pool seemed oh-so-far away.

Fast forward to this past December and all of a sudden we're at 80 percent of the fundraising goal - scaled back, but tangible nonetheless. It occurred to me then, just how special this campaign is to not only the people involved, but also to those citizens who have been the backbone of support for Mission Valley Aquatics and its predecessors over the last 50 years.

MVA currently has land donated for the facility and numerous individual pledges for about $3 million in all. An eight-lane, 25-yard pool with locker rooms, a lobby area and birthday party room have been designed and construction of the building is slated to begin this summer. So, this will happen thanks to the incredible work of some of my closest friends here in Polson.

But we're not quite there yet. Construction of the building's first phase will require about $650,000 more. That doesn't include the cost of a

warm water therapy pool, which would be a wonderful addition for our young children and elder community, and it would allow for the lap pool

to have a cooler water temperature for lap swimmers (like me). I'd love to see MVA reach that fundraising goal and start building comfortably this summer knowing that they have enough funds to complete the project on schedule.

At the very least, I'd love to see a big crowd of support at the groundbreaking ceremony July 8 at noon.

After all, this is our pool. Our community facility. Our dream come true.

Let's all get out there and show our support for this true, community-driven, grassroots campaign and help Mission Valley Aquatics put that big ‘ol hole in the ground and fill it with water.