Doing The Hard Things – August 2026
What’s inside: A note from the Director of AdventureGluski Park: GroundbreakingGluski Park: Building SupportU.P. in Smoke: Crusher Mass Start 2026Crusher MS: Never SurrenderCrusher P2P: “My worst days were also my best days.” -KIKONew on Made U.P. PodcastAdventure Team Hike: One Step at a TimeEvents with 906AT A note from the Director of Adventure I write you today to provide an update on our campaign to build Gluski Park, and to talk about the future. Like every 906AT event, it has been and will continue to be an adventure. There Is A Finish Line. It’s easy to get excited about the vision for Gluski Park. What’s not to love? A park instead of a hotel? Preserving a green space? Creating a community trailhead for outdoor adventure? Honoring Tara? Everyone was in. Then we’d talk about money. What’s it gonna cost? $2.1 million. Eyes got big. There’d be a pause. “That’s a lot of money.” I felt that every step of the way people wanted to see it happen, but they had their doubts. I never did. Whether it took one year or twenty, the only way we wouldn’t build Gluski Park is if someone took us out! We went to work a year and a half ago. If you’ve never been a part of raising money for a project of this size, please allow me to give you the cliff notes. You hurry up and… don’t talk about it (publicly). You work behind the scenes. You write grants. So many grants. Ya do a lot of planning. So much planning. And most of those plans don’t work. You get some wins, but the wins are disproportionate to the losses. Translation: You lose more than you win. Yer’ tested at every turn. You learn fast that positive thinking isn’t going to make things happen – tenacity and perseverance does. And then you take the project public. So, in May we did, and what happened next no one expected. In short order, we met the goal: 2.1 million dollars. The campaign has attracted 250+ donors scattered across the country. Not the county – the country. Support has poured in from every direction. Notable and generous support has come from: Great Lakes Sports Commission, Daniel J. Kobasic Foundation, Innovate Marquette, Hirvonen Foundation, a state appropriation sponsored by Representative Karl Bohnak, and too many more donors to mention in this letter (a full listing of all supporters can be found on our website). We met our goal. Does that mean we’re done? No. It means we’re just getting started. There is no finish line. Let’s talk about the future. We have secured $2.1 million in financial commitments, but we still need to build the park. Pledges can get pulled back. Costs can increase. Projects uncover unexpected complications. It happens all of the time. We have to be prepared for the unexpected – like any 906AT event. It’s a time to celebrate, and a time to stay focused (read: not relax). Let’s say everything gets done on time, and the project comes in on or under budget. That would be great, but that’s not the end. We need to put it to work (new programs). We need to take care of it (annual maintenance). We have a promise to keep: Build a community trailhead for outdoor adventure so every kid in Marquette gets the chance to discover the best version of themself through outdoor adventure, and Honor Tara. There is a finish line. There is no finish line. Multiple-truths. We hit a goal, and hitting that goal gets us closer to the next goal. The next step. The next chapter. As we grow the organization will require more support – not less. On that note, I am going to do a hard thing, and ask you to continue to support us. Support us today. Support us in the future. Help us build the park, and help us maintain it. Help us launch more youth Adventure Teams. Help us continue to bring people together through adventure. Support 906AT Gluski Park: Groundbreaking 906 Adventure Team officially broke ground on Gluski Park this morning (August 3, 2026) at 9:06 AM. Supporters and partners of the project gathered on site to celebrate. Rock Solid Trail Contracting is now working on building the trail infrastructure, including the pump track, hub, technical trails and the walking path. This first stage of work is expected to be completed later this Fall. Phase two of the project will begin in the Spring. Gluski Park: Building Support On one of my first days with 906 Adventure Team, in early March of 2025, Todd handed me a rolled-up set of plans for Gluski Park. He said simply, “learn everything there is to learn about these.” And that began the next year and half of work. I carried those plans with me for months. In my car, under my arm, at the kitchen table – they were always with me. And so was the task at hand: fundraise $2.1 million to build Gluski Park, a community trailhead for outdoor adventure. I suspected then, what I’m 100% certain about now – raising money, building this park, sharing the vision – it couldn’t be done by just Todd and I. In those first months, I sat down with anyone who would listen. Christopher Germain at the Lake Superior Community Partnership, Karen Kovas with the City of Marquette, Zosia Eppensteiner with the Community Foundation of Marquette County, trusted friends and partners in the community, Representative Karl Bohnak, Dave Nyberg, Michele Butler, Jess Jones, Rick Rhoades, Brad Canale – and countless others. Through those early conversations I began to learn how to connect 906AT with available resources and share our vision and plans for Gluski Park with the community. It was a huge undertaking. There were ups and downs. Moments of celebration and moments of disappointment. But through it all, there was so much enthusiasm, positive energy, and encouragement. I don’t think I heard one single negative comment about the project the entire time